Roger W. Tuthill has suspended business, and perhaps permanently...

[Alan W. Craft]

I got this in reply to an e-mail I sent awhile ago...

"Thank you for your inquiry, however, Roger W. Tuthill, Inc. is not doing
business at this time. If you have sent us an email previously, or have
placed an order, we will be contacting you shortly.

For over 30 years, Roger W. Tuhill, Inc. has appreciated your business
and support."

Would you believe that someone replied within an hour, and at almost
midnight to boot?

Alan

[Rod Mollise]

>
>Would you believe that someone replied within an hour, and at almost
>midnight to boot?

Hi Alan:

Well, it sounds like an automated setup. But at any rate, the end of Tuthill is
a rather sad day. For many years a reliable fixture in the amateur astronomy
world.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto <http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html>

[Mike Jones]

Same kind of sad like when Telescopics, Ken Novak, Jaegers, E&W Optical and John
Meshna all called it quits. Those were some good businesses and products. I still
like Telescopics' Sky Micro Giant 2" focusers best of all - I have 3 on different
scopes and wish I had more.
mij

[Dale]

Alan W. Craft wrote:

Perhaps they will be bought and reestablished by another company (a' la
Lumicon).

Dale

[Kevin Smith]

I thought it would be difficult since Roger passed away. He was the man
behind the company, and with no disrespect couple that to the new solar
filters out there, it didn't seem that they could continue as they had
before. Maybe someone will take on the odd product here and there. Only time
will tell.

I only met Roger once, and that was on the Romania eclipse trip in 1999, and
what lovely bloke, and such pleasent company.

Automoated reply or not, nice touch.

Kevin
www.kevsmith.com

"Alan W. Craft" <mauri...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gvv0jv8nkjlqf7chr...@4ax.com...

[Gary Hand]

Rod, it's not the end of Tuthill. I talked to Nancy Tuthill at Stellafane. They are
doing a partnering with another company that is taking all its time. They will be
back selling tuthill stuff after that.
Thank you
Gary Hand
Hands on Optics

[EDWARD HILLYER]

He died last year.

"Alan W. Craft" <mauri...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gvv0jv8nkjlqf7chr...@4ax.com...
>

[Rod Mollise]

>They will be
>back selling tuthill stuff after that.
>Thank you
>Gary Hand

Hi Gary:

Thank YOU for the info, sir!

[Bob Schmall]

No wonder it took him so long to answer.

"EDWARD HILLYER" <edward...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3DaYa.52$jq1....@news.uswest.net...

[Bill Meyers]

I have a Telescopics 6 inch f5 Dob and it is a great widefield scope. I regret not
having bought the 8 or 10 inch as well. All t three have rotating tubes, for example.
I believe I got my 16.3 mm 80 degree field Erfle from them too.
It is sad when very high quality suppliers go out of business. I bought some things
from E & W Optical in Minneapolis and they were fine too. They made a fine lightweight
portable aluminum equatorial mount that I have always regretted not buying. It was the
most sensible equatorial mount for a 6 inch reflector I have ever seen. Do any SAA
people own it, I wonder?
Bill Meyers

[Mike Jones]

No mount, but I still have and use two fused quartz diagonals I bought from E&W, 1.5" and
2.0" minor axis. When I started working at General Dynamics in the 70's I brought them in
to work and tested them on the sodium light Newtonian interferometer. When he said 1/20
wave P-V he really meant it. Arrow-straight fringes, no turned edge even at the toe.
Still the flattest diagonals I have.

Also, I passed on incorrect info in my previous email: I had heard 2nd hand that Ken Novak
was closed. Wrong (yay) - Ken Novak is still in business, still at Box 69, Ladysmith,
Wisconsin 54848, phone number (715) 532-5102, still no website. I visited with Ken this
morning and he is still selling mirror cells, spiders and diagonal holders, and parts for
Obsessions. His focusing mount supplier bellied up so he doesn't sell them or Cassegrain
mirror cells anymore. Forgot to ask him about finder rings. He can also custom make large
aperture components, and is working on a spider for a 30" right now.

Here's a good task for SAA: Ken said he is having great difficulty finding reliable,
reasonably priced aluminum foundries to make his mirror cell casting blanks. He is behind
on orders because he can't get the cell blanks. I gave him Ed Byers' phone number to see
if Ed knows of any good foundries in Southern CA. Can anyone else point him towards good
aluminum foundries? Ken makes the best telescope components out there, so it would be
great to help him along.

Mike

[Alan W. Craft]

On 06 Aug 2003 06:29:55 GMT, rmol...@aol.com (Rod Mollise) ...reflected:

>>
>>Would you believe that someone replied within an hour, and at almost
>>midnight to boot?
>
>Hi Alan:
>
>Well, it sounds like an automated setup.

Naivety, thy name is Alan.

>But at any rate, the end of Tuthill is
>a rather sad day. For many years a reliable fixture in the amateur astronomy
>world.
>
>Peace,
>Rod Mollise
>Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
>Like SCTs and MCTs?
>Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
>Goto <http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html>

Alan

[Howard Lester]

"Mike Jones" wrote

> Here's a good task for SAA: Ken said he is having great difficulty
finding reliable,
> reasonably priced aluminum foundries to make his mirror cell casting
blanks. He is behind
> on orders because he can't get the cell blanks.

Sad indeed. I am in need of an 8" cell, and he said he has none... and to
call back in 3 months. Looks like I'll have to get an expensive one from DAR
if I want a really nice cell.

BTW, I still have, and use, the Solar-Skreen sample Roger Tuthill sent me in
1972. I met him at Cellophane that year, telling him that weather conditions
could be good for the 1979 eclipse in the northwest, contrary to what he had
heard. As promised, I wrote him a long letter about weather propects, and he
sent me the sample for my 6". Very nice!

Howard Lester

[half...@gmail.com]

I'm not sure this will,post and so keeping it short. My astronomy intensive days are somewhat passed as my eyesight, physical strength and Brooklyn skies make the effort vs benefit ratio too high. But back in the day the pasionmand energy were very high and I received much support from Roger Tuthill..and I don't think I spent more than $200 on his products. While we both belonged to the amateur club in Cranford, I neither met him there nor mentioned I was a member. I was strictly a customer who visited his home/business a few times and took quite a bit of his time, never decisive enough to spend the big bucks instead going to the major companies (which proved a big mistake), and he knew I did. But you know what...he was always gracious, interested enough to show me his "inventions", left me alone with his displays and books for as long as I wanted. His two helpers were perhaps even nicer. Wish I'd bought one of his from him just for the memories. Roger was a good guy and great for the amateur community. He was an engineer and perhaps too straighforward or not as savvy at handling people from a business perspective, given the reviews I read. I never saw that and I'm difficult to please, somewhat paranoid in fact in that way. Roger did a lot for amateur astronomy as it was for us in those days. And that's the short version.

[RichA]

On Wednesday, 6 August 2003 08:43:04 UTC-4, Mike Jones wrote:
> Same kind of sad like when Telescopics, Ken Novak, Jaegers, E&W Optical and John
> Meshna all called it quits. Those were some good businesses and products. I still
> like Telescopics' Sky Micro Giant 2" focusers best of all - I have 3 on different
> scopes and wish I had more.
> mij

Before dirt-cheap to manufacture Crayfords took over...