Gina

Designed and now printing a fountain. Six holes facing upwards and slightly outwards. Here's a cross-section of the top.

No, that's the problem as usual - the weather!!!

Ooooh!!! That's bad! Good job you checked before you hauled it up onto your roof! No doubt they'll be all apologetic but a replacement will still take time to deliver.

Profit??? What profit? Nothing I do now makes a profit! ?

I probably spent a couple of grand on my observatory but that's nothing compared with everything else astro and it was well worth it I didn't add everything up - there were so many odds and ends, there must have been thousands of items and all those little things add up to an enormous amount!!

I'll 3D print a small fountain head as the pump is just that - no fountain part.

I've done the same at Wickes ? But for my observatory I used a local timber merchant at about half the price (but still £600 worth).

Yes, that's why I went for a relatively low power one to produce just a small fountain. I'll turn it off when windy too.

Decided to get the lower power version of the same make I have as this one seems good.

The water pump I've bought will go in the big pond so I'm thinking of getting a smaller one for the wildlife pond - just a small fountain to oxygenate the water and provide a bit of extra interest. I've tested the pump I've got and it will sent a goodly amount of water 6ft into the air. It's bigger than wanted for the small pond. Looked at the self-contained solar panel and pump ones that just float on the water but they only work in full sunlight. Probably none too suitable for UK weather. Pity.

Sounds like a good idea

Finished removing the turf from where the bath/pond is going, put said item in place and filled it with water. Not perfectly level but good enough. Some photos - two of the second pond and one of the planting round the wildlife pond. I had a plant with orange flowers but the flowers have gone and I reckon I know the culprit. Four legs, head and a short tail - brown and white. And a voracious appetite for anything vegetable. Answers to the name of Belle! Sometimes. My fault though - should have protected it from the caprine appetite!

Have you indeed!! ?

Decided I can't be bothered to wait for the tarp to kill the grass where the second pond is going so I've started removing it by slicing underneath with a sharp spade. Fortunately, no nettles in that area. Found an iron bar that I'd long lost ? Tracked back to one end and was able to prise it out. About 4ft long and 1½" diameter. Now cleared about half the area of the bottom of the tub (bath, pond or whatever...). Not digging down any more as I want the pond raised anyway. Ornamental, not wildlife, so I don't want hedgehogs getting in it.

Soaked the turf and some of the soil round the pond so whether we get rain or not the plants and turf should take.

Now watering the area having filled up the pond - it had gone down a couple of inches. AND I now have wildlife in my pond ? Just one lone pondskater, but it's a start.

Started putting the new plants round the pond but then my brain got into gear and I thought "how do I mow the grass and not the flowers?". Oooops. Maybe I was a bit premature buying plants. I may build some raised beds for planting but that will be a fair bit of work and won't get done very quickly. Goodness me, I'm green at gardening and not in a good way!! ?

Been out to local farm shop for groceries and they had plants for sale - I got a dozen assorted for just £3 - now that is what I call value ? Now to plant them...

Done some more planting round the pond - some more of the plant with red leaves and stalks and tiny pink flowers transplanted from another place, plus some turf. It was too dark for photos when I'd finished. I'll be doing more tomorrow and take photos then. I may learn the names of plants but for now I'll just pick what I like and see how it goes.

That's a very good reason for going for steel piers that can be removed from the blocks. I was in a different situation as my observatory location was already the best I could have on the property. I could do with a larger telescope room and another pier but that isn't a practicality - I would need a larger roof and I can't see me doing that. The spirit might be willing but the flesh is weak. Have to realise I'm getting past building gert big sheds with funny roofs. I think a new pier would have to have it's own covering of some sort. Actually, what I'm talking about is a third pier as I already have a second specifically for widefield imaging as I said before. OK, so I'm greedy ?

And I thought I over-engineered mine ??

Went out this afternoon and had a good look at the area to determine where to put the new "pond" and fountain/water-feature. There's a wide view through the picture window in the living room so decided to put it away from the other pond and bird feeder between the new micro observatory and main one. Started a bit of planting round the naturalistic pond too. Some photos from indoors as it's raining.

I have used electric welding but don't like it. Consequently I made my pier out of concrete - it's solid as a rock ?

Bath arrived today and looks the business The internal dimensions are a bit less than quoted but the flange is around 3" greater. Internal depth is a good 12". It tapers towards the bottom where the dimensions are about 40" x 15" but that is fine for my purpose. I plan to box it in with timber sides and something like 4" wide pieces round the top.

To fit on the Titan printer, the disc would want to be 290mm instead of 318.3mm and the strengthening webs cutting back to this diameter as shown below on the RHS. The left shows the current webs. Resolution would be reduced by 290 / 318.3 which is 91% - not too significant but printing time would be considerably increased due to the smaller nozzle.