In late 2007, I sold my ETX telescope.  No I was not done with astronomy, but I found I was not getting any use out of the scope anymore due to the apartment complex I was living in, the difficulty in setting up the scope, and what I was getting out of it.  It just wasn't suiting my needs.  I wanted to do astrophotography, but it couldn't handle the load.  I wanted to do visual observations with a telescope I could quickly set up, but this one was a challenge to assemble and then align to the sky.  I cannot stress enough that it is extremely important that the capabilities of whatever astronomical equipment you get matches what you plan to do with it.  I learned this lesson the hard way.  But what better way is there to get the features and equipment you want, than to make it yourself?  In 2008 I started making my first telescope with exactly the features I desired.  And now I can use that telescope both for astrophotography and for a quick visual setup, because I planned it that way when I made it.  I hope that in these articles, you will find that you can make your own astronomical telescopes and other equipment just like I did.