Amateur telescope making

This article is about the hobby. For the series of books by Albert Graham Ingalls, see Amateur Telescope Making.
A 22-inch Newtonian reflector sits in front of the clubhouse at Stellafane, home of the Springfield Telescope Makers

Amateur telescope making is the activity of building telescopes as a hobby, as opposed to being a paid professional. Amateur telescope makers (sometimes called ATMs) build their instruments for personal enjoyment of a technical challenge, as a way to obtain an inexpensive or personally customized telescope, or as a research tool in the field of astronomy. Amateur telescope makers are usually a sub-group in the field of amateur astronomy.