How to Build a Solar Finder Scope

You can make a very effective "no magnification" solar finder scope for about $2 as follows:
 

Materials -

• 35mm plastic film cannister (one of the gray or black ones - don't use the semi-transparent ones)
• A tube about 8" to 12" long - length isn't critical.  (1 1/4" plastic drain pipe works well, or you can use a cardboard tube (saran wrap has nice heavy wall tubes).  This finder scope tube should be big enough to fit the film cannister inside, but smaller than the diameter of the cannister lid.)
• 3"-4" square of wax paper.
• Rubber bands
• Friction tape or duct tape

Procedure -

• Drill a small (1/8" or so) hole in the center of the lid of the 35mm film cannister. Cut off the bottom 1/4" - 1/2" of the film cannister.
• Place the film cannister (with lid on) in one end of the finder tube.  You may need to wrap several layers of tape around the film cannister to make sure it fits snuggly in the finder tube.
• Place the piece of wax paper over the opposite end of the tube using a rubber band to hold it in place.
• Place the finder on your scope with the film cannister pointing toward the front.
• If your telescope tube is small enough, you can use a couple more rubber bands to hold the finder on your scope.  This also makes the finder scope pretty much self aligning.
• When you point your scope toward the sun, a small image of the sun will be projected on the wax paper on the back end of the finder.
• You don't have to look "through" the finder.  You can see the image of the sun from anywhere behind the finder.
• Just move your telescope until the image of the sun ispretty much centered on the wax paper "projection screen".
• You might have to adjust the finder a bit to line it up, but alignment is not too critical.

YOUR DONE!  You've just made a solar safe pinhole rear projection screen finder scope.  Just don't poke any holes in the wax paper!

I added some black corrugated paper (bought at a teacher store) to the inside of the tube to darken darken it, but I'm not sure I really needed it.