home-made pier questions

[Ags]

I built a kitchen from scratch a few years ago, so I'm sure I can build a teeny little pier. I want a pier for stability (lots of ambient vibration near me) and quick set-up. It will also mean less stuff to store in the home. Can anyone answer my questions:

1. Any good online guides? I'm tending towards a wooden hardwood pier set in concrete. For minimum impact on the garden the concrete would be below grass level. I'm a bit hazy on how high the pier should be, how much concrete to use and so on.

2. Mounting plates for the top of the pier. I'm not planning on a very large OTA, so I might get away with an EQ5 head, but common sense says I should go for a HEQ5. Any idea where I can get suitable mounting plates from? And how do you attach the mounting plate to the pier?

3. Can the equatorial head be left on the pier permanently - protected from the elements with some sort of covering of course?

[Gina]

Look in the "DIY Observatories" sub-forum - there's lots on piers there. Wood is NOT suitable for a pier as it isn't stable.

[ollypenrice]

I have (badly) welded up a few piers. I would suggest that, instead of aiming to bolt the mount head to your pier, you buy a height extender and bolt that between pier and head. Very easy.

Olly

[Ags]

Thanks Gina and Olly.

Can the equatorial head stay permanently mounted?

[Gina]

Can the equatorial head stay permanently mounted?

That's what I intend to do

[Glen]

Not the best thing to use, but second hand telegraph poles come to mind.

As for cover.

365 Series Covers - Telescopes UK: Telescopes & Telescope Accessories in your only London shop

Possibly one place you could use, no idea of shipping though.

But a steel pier would be best - sturdier the better, maybe look around for surplus/cut off & then get a quote from a fabricator or rent and have a go yourself

2'x2' by 3' deep is usual anything more is overkill

Edit to many '.... 2" x 2" by 3":icon_eek:

would be a small base

[Ags]

Still not sure about the wooden pier. Quite a few favorable opinions regarding them on CN.

On the SaN website there is a simple recipe for a concrete pier, based on an underground waste pipe filed with concrete and with a steel lintel rammed into the subsoil. I might do something like that.

How to...build a back-garden telescope pier | Sky at Night Magazine

Where can I buy the mounting plate though? I thought FLO sold these, but can't see anything on their site.

[Glen]

That looks a decent way to mount the scope, was going to mention rebar for reinforcing it, but any metal length will do as long as it well vibrated to get all the air bubbles out.

As for top plates, I think most people make there own.. If i see any links I'll post em on here.

Glen

[Gina]

There are several pier threads in the DIY Observatory sub-forum.

[Phil Fargaze]

Are you after a flat steel plate with 4 holes for the studding and a centre hole to bolt on your adaptor? If so, I have a few bits of steel plate,( 10mm thick I think ) and I could cut and put holes in it to your specs.