A relic from my boyhood - worth refurbishing?

From: Kelly (humulus_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 12/05/04 

Date: 4 Dec 2004 21:45:51 -0800

When I was young (or more likely before I was born) my father, a
do-it-yourselfer, built a telescope. This would have been probably
around 1955-1960 or so. I can remember using it as a small child, but
in 1966 (when I was 4 years old) we moved to a location unsuitable for
stargazing, and the telescope has sat since then in a dark corner of
the basement. My dad passed away several years ago.

Recently my mother, at my request, boxed up the scope and sent it to
me in pieces. I know next to nothing about telescopes, so excuse me
if my terminology is incorrect. Here is what I have:

The 'main' lens/mirror is 8". Molded into the backside is 'PYREX MADE
IN USA' and '8 D .' On the back side is a ripped paper label, the
remaining letters say

      /ION
      /ORS
     /RATION
  /DALE 5, CALIF
 (The '/' indicates where the tag is ripped. That first letter in the
first line is ripped right through, it could be an 'H', 'M', or 'N' I
suppose... Any guesses who the manufacturer was?)

The 'tube' is 60" long and 10" in diameter, it is thin-walled steel.
There is an elliptical, flat secondary(?) mirror, about 1" by 1.25".
It has broken off of a small arm which holds it in position. There is
an eyepiece which attaches to the exterior of the tube. There is a
'sighting'(?) telescope which attaches to the tube for coarse aiming.
There is a wooden mount which holds and adjust the position of the
main lens/mirror. There is a wooden mount which holds the tube, on
the bottom of which is a pipe flange. That's it, so I guess I'd have
to build some sort of adjustable mount which could connect to the pipe
flange.

The main issue (I think) is that the main mirror is somewhat
corroded/tarnished. Holding it up to the light and looking at the
backside, I can see pinholes in many places.

So, my questions would be, is this thing worth fixing up? It has some
sentimental value to me, but I'd probably not invest the time and $$
if what I'll end up with isn't worth using or having. As far as the
mirror goes, is this something that can be chemically or mechanically
cleaned up in someway to get it at least into a usable condition? Can
it be recoated, and if so, about how much would it cost? Again, would
it be worth it?

Any general advice as to how to proceed?

Thanks for any advice to a newbie,

Kelly

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