dob mod

[davehunt]

Any suggestions as to where I might get 6mm thick pieces of alloy and nylon for the az.mode?

[ollypenrice]

In the UK there was a metal stockist in Matlock where I lived so I guess any decent sized town will have one.

You are not going to use ply covered with textured Formica? It works a treat on our big Dob.

Olly

[davehunt]

Decent sized towns are what you come to Cornwall to avoid..where do you use your formica stuff?The mod I have in mind has the central bolt threaded into alloy square,which is screwed to the top board of the az turntable to help prevent lateral movement.The bolt passes through a nylon block under the bottom part of turntable.

[scogyrd]

I had trouble finding somewhere local so I ended up buying the aluminium from here.

Buy Metal | Online Metal Supplies | Aluminium | Brass | Stainless Steel

I used teflon instead of nylon which I bought off ebay, but I have bought a nylon sheet from this place before.

Trent Plastics Fabrications Ltd - Acrylic, Polycarbonate, Mirror, Colour & Tinted Acrylic, Tube & Rod (Powered by CubeCart)

[Sgt.Pepper]

why is it necessary to get nylon and alloy? Is it for the mount? Sorry I'm not au fait with this..

[scogyrd]

It's to remove the play in azimuth. It's not necessary, but it does make the dob smoother to use.

Sky-Watcher SkyLiner 200 Dobsonian Telescope

[Moonshane]

this Sky-Watcher SkyLiner 200 Dobsonian Telescope may solve your problem?

many line the underside of the bottom board on the rocker (i.e. the one that the bolt comes up through) with 'knobbly' formica and this makes the whole thing ride on the teflon pads a lot better.

might be worth a go.

[Moonshane]

snap!

[glowjet]

If you want off cuts of alloy try : Mail Order Metals, Tel 0115 974 8211, Fax: 0115 974 5469. I have dealt with Steve many times before as he attends an Auto Fair near York once a month, the only problem is buying Mail Order, postage can be expensive.

John.

[davehunt]

Thanks one and all-great response.