might just have to have a look up at the sky the tomorrow morning on the way to work at daft a clock, last 2 weeks hardly a cloud in the sky so getting some good views but its freezing

Considering I live in NJ, the light pollution is TERRIBLE.  
 
I am VERY new to astrophotography, so you are welcome to get into it and we can walk through it together.  But first you need some equipment.  
 
I want to build a platform on my roof.  I am currently rebuilding my 14" telescope to shave over 20 lbs off it.  Trying to get it from 60 lbs to under 40 lbs, because that is the recommended max weight of the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) just for fun.  The 10" Astrograph reflector is going to be the norm, and the 14" for observing, but if I can get the 14" on the mount then I am dying to see what type of pictures one can take with a 14" with tracking :)
 

oh this is great! Love the pictures of the night sky. My street is waay too lighted for me to do anything but will be moving in the near future so hopefully have a chance to get into viewing the night sky.  I study astrophysics so my regular astronomy knowledge is not as strong as my knowledge on the distance objects and how they move =D. 
 

I just went out to look, no good here, cloudy as can be. Snow on its way too.

Mirror fits like a champ.  

 
So far I have about 80% of the work done, and I am weighing in at about 28 lbs :)

 
 
From 68 LBS down to 28.  When all's said and done It will fall well under the 40 lbs recommended weight of my mount.

You're always up to something. Wish I had half your energy.!!!!!!
Keep up the good work, I like work, I watch you work on all these things and not break a drop of sweat.

Test was a success.  The shower poles did their thing, providing an easily adjustable unit.
 





 
Measuring the distance between the front assembly and the rear was the biggest question of the entire build.  I now have the answer I was looking for.


 
Just inserted the camera, and put the focus about halfway in the middle and moved it until the distant mountain came into focus.  Collimation wasn't important.  Since the focus was in the middle it gives me some wiggle room.  Not to mention I can move the mirror itself forwards if need be...  31" is a good spot.
 

 
Now struts will be made to length and all the finer details like paint and scope rings can be made.
 

Such a cool project, Nateman!! I think it may be a good idea to leave one pole like you said for a handle. Is there any need to paint the interior a dark color? I am wondering if it may help with picture quality [light refraction]? Thanks for sharing your project, I find it very interesting.  

Struts installed, and they "work".  You can even pick up the telescope by them. 
 
A few unforeseen things like taking into account the height of the T-nuts embedded in the wood.  Also I used ultra conservative ones so not to split the ends.  I drilled the holes to big for some so they pop out easily.  ordered some new ones that have more bite and will epoxy them.  Now I have to figure out a solution to the excess height while some now hardware is on the way.   
 
Collimated the telescope and it actually works.  Propped it against an open window and saw stars.  A huge hurdle for this will be getting the center of balance on the lower half of the unit or I have some extreme engineering to overcome.
 
unfortunately my phone took a dump, so no pictures for a few days until a new one arrives.

Your doing an amazing job on the telescope nateman, and I am sure there are many that are enjoying your build progression.  

The Ursid's aren't anywhere as nice as the Geminids or Perseids, but its there nonetheless.  I plan to poke my head out as the clouds FINALLY cleared last night.  Haven't seen the sky in 2 weeks.  Wasnt really heart broken about 2 weeks of clouds since thats about how long it took me to build the scope.
 
Didn't really google too much, just that the design that my scope originally was, and other home made scopes follow the same truss design.  Since I avoid math as much as possible I designed it around adjustability.  Now if I can't get the center of balance on the larger tube section... I may have some more work ahead of me.

Halloween Asteroid orbits every three years. Sept. 2018 is next pass. I say it's a month early..... 
 
https://www.space.com/39173-halloween-asteroid-2015-tb145-returns-2018.html  
 

Finally got a new camera, so here are the promised pictures:

 
Still didn't paint it yet, or trim off the excess wood where the shower rods were used.  Struts installed, new hardware, and infinitely stronger then it was.  I can pick up the entire scope with 1 hand and we cut the weight of the original tube almost completely in half.  Original OTA (gray tubes in the background) specs say its 63 lbs.  This thing clocks in at 34.lbs
 
Sadly the center of gravity is about 4-6" forward of the rear tube.  If I leave it as is, I can make a single ring around the rear tube assembly, and make some sort of bracket to clamp to the struts to hold the scope to a dovetail, but that will render it unable to rotate, and make shroud design difficult.  Not being able to rotate it isn't the end of the world since its purpose is astrophotography, but I do have to look through it to do the star alignment process, and that shroud is critical to keep excess light from getting in the void where the struts are.  
 
I do think I have a solution...I figured I can add some weight to the rear of the scope and still fall under the 40 lbs.  I also figure I can make maximum use of physics by installing a counterweight at a distance off the rear of the scope.  Imagine installing a 2 lbs weight directly on the back of the scope will move the center of balance back towards the tube.  a 2 lbs weight on the back only increases the weight to 36 lbs... But taking that 2lbs weight and installing it 12" off the rear of the tube, that would far more drastically move the center of gravity while still weighing in the same 36 lbs (minus the structure which holes the weight out).  It will look awful... but it can potentially put the center of gravity where I want it.
 

(high res: https://i.imgur.com/TyvXCm6.jpg)
The size comparison is crazy.  10" 1000mm focal length vs a 14" with 1650mm focal length.  The 10" pictured next to it will likely be the full time astrophotographer.  Its much easier to move that thing around despite it being heavier.  Far less bulk.  Also its a back-up plan should the 14" not work.  This was nothing more than an experiment.  So far it seems successful, but until I get it on a mount... I just wont know.  
 
Either way, this is where I stand at the moment.  Around 2 weeks to build a telescope from scratch.  Not bad for my first time :)
 
 

Confirmed physics last night.  Threw a small counterweight 3 feet off the back end of the scope and it threw the center of balance off much closer in the direction I wanted it in.  It was just an experiment.  Will be dialing it in in the coming days to account for the camera and making it somewhat adjustable.
 
In other news, Christmas brought a "pretty" scope for my youngest.

 

 

confirmed physics. 

the slide-able weight sets the center of gravity in the center of the mirror tube.  

as horrible as it looks, it cost zero dollars.  I used one of the wood cutouts, and left over aluminum rails from the struts.  All to keep the costs down for this experiment.  Also did a bit of grinding on the struts to eliminate hard edges.
 
Up next, painting, final assembly and making some rings to hold this thing.  The scope itself weighs in at 39.something lbs.  trimming some of the corners off the front will also help.  but with the camera it will likely weigh 40 lbs if not a hair over.  Not the end of the world.  Still shaved a 68 lbs scope down to 40 lbs.  Objective met.