My zero cost Dob base

[jason.p]

Having been laid off for the last six weeks with a broken bone in my foot I thought I'd have a go at making a Dob mount out what I could find around the place.

My first problem was that I didn't have any spare tube rings, so I made some from scrap wood.

I then attached the rollers which are ply.

The frame is some old Dexion style angle, welded and bolted.

For the turntable I used an old lathe pulley for the bearing, and made a stub axle for it to spin on

I used thin polythene washers to adjust the friction. This was a bit tricky but seems ok.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the result, although it has yet to be tested for real.

There are some improvements I could make. Where I used softwood in places, I would replace with hard wood.

The frame could be a bit smaller, it is heavier than I expected.

Hopefully I'll be back in action in a week. Just time for another project. Now let me think............!

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[Andy_E]

Top stuff, in the true spirit of the dobsonian mount too!

[jambouk]

Looks great.

As a medical professional, it's good to see that you stayed off your bad foot and weren't lugging massive lumps of metal around....

Hope the dob base and foot do well.

James

[JamesF]

I'm sure John Dobson would be proud

James

[knobby]

I like it ... But I'd be paranoid about the wooden tube rings breaking

[jason.p]

I like it ... But I'd be paranoid about the wooden tube rings breaking

Yes. I see the softwood parts are a weak point. If it works ok, and I like using it, I'll replace with a good quality ply. I only had enough to make the wheels and wheel supports with the ply I had.

Thanks for comment.

Jason

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[laowho]

Brilliant! And so solid/sturdy. Nothing like maximizing and tweaking a Dob. As for what to do next, how bout a dew shield and fan?