The heart of any telescope is the primary mirror. The primary started life as a cast pyrex blank from Newport Glass, ordered for $550. Purchased with f/4.5 curve generated and a blanchard ground backside. A polarized light test showed no visible stresses.
I wanted a primary better than the average mirror. So instead of purchasing the mirror a deal was struck. I commissioned Tom Peck of Tucson to grind and figure the mirror. Tom was at the time a fabrication technician at the University of Arizona optical sciences department and regularly works on much larger and more demanding projects. Just before starting my mirror he was finishing a 72" lens! With a hologram etched on this impressive piece of glass will test a secondary for the 6.5m Whipple MMT telescope.
His price for the mirror... a second 18" frame.
I delivered the blank to Tom and received a finished mirror six months later. Under an interferometer it showed a smooth 1/16th wave surface. Star testing shows no obvious defects. A coating applied by Spectrum Coatings and I have a beautiful primary. The seconds frame was completed a couple years later when Tom purchasedan 18" blank of his own.