Collimation tools

Well, I now have a full set of everything but a Cat's Eye. I spent some time with the Tectron Tools, Orion combination Cheshire and Sight-tube, Kendrick 2" Laser, Laser Max 1.25"-2" Laser and an Orion 1.25" laser and my Starmaster 14.4" Dob the last few overcast days, looking at the various methods and tools.
The good thing is that they all agree when you have a good collimation. The Kendrick 2" Laser is the fastest and most accurate of the Lasers and it is just as accurate as the Auto-Collimator. The Tectron Tools are very good at setting up a new optical train. The LaserMax is great at setting up a new Secondary and doing a quick optical setup. The Orion 1.25" Laser is quite accurate if it is in a good fitting 1.25" adapter.
The most accurate over all is the Auto Collimator and the Kendrick Laser. If one says it is good, the other agrees. The Auto-Collimator is very precise and easy to use.
I would have to say that either the Tectron or the Kendrick would be my vote for the best. The Kendrick gets my vote for the fastest with great accuracy.
Anyone else do a bit of research on these?

I came to some conclusions after owning a couple of 20" Starmasters, a 12.5" SM, and finally, a 14.5" SM.

1. If I did a careful and accurate job of aligning/shimming the focuser with the secondary, my collimation tools (Tectron and Catseye) would always agree with my 2" Kendrick laser. If I didn't do an accurate job, or the scope was new (or from a previous owner) the tools might not agree, but I'd still get decent views.

2. I liked using the 2" Catseye tools (Cheshire and autocollimator) WAY more than the 1 1/4" Tectron tools. Focuser slop was reduced, and I was able to achieve an accurate collimation faster and more easily. But, I think the 1 1/4" Tectron sight tube is very useful for initial setup of the secondary. The Tectrons work, but you have to be very careful not to skew them with the focuser setscrew.

3. Once the secondary and focuser are basically correct, I almost never use the Cheshire. I'd use the laser to align the secondary, then the primary, then verify/micro-adjust and with the autocollimator. (The key was putting the return laser beam precisely back into the center spot of the center spot on the grid of the angled laser face, so that it looked like an 8-point star.)

I wish I had known this 4 years ago.

Doug