What next after building 'scope

[cloudythoughts]

I have a Skywatcher Skyliner-200P Dobsonian on order. This will be my first 'scope. I've only owned binoculars up to now. After it's arrived, other then building it, what will I need to do before it can be used.

Collation seems to get get mentioned a lot. Should I have bought a collimator? or can it be done well enough (for now) by eye?

Anything I need to grease/oil or clean before I start?

I was thinking of keeping it in the study with a sheet over it to keep the dust off. Is that the best way or is there a better way to help keep collimation, for example.

[umadog]

It can be used well enough with the (likely) included "collimation cap" although a Cheshire/sight-tube combination tool will help. Don't oil or grease the bearings. If they're not smooth then look into upgrading the bearing material. Lubricants never work well. You will need to check the collimation before each usage so I wouldn't worry unduly about this as regards storage.

[cloudythoughts]

Thanks Umadog. I've not heard of a collimation cap - off to do some research now.

And thanks for the warning about not greasing. Would bees wax be good on the Dobsonian bearings? I was give a box of a dozen or so bars by my mother when she moved house. I'd love to find a use for it!

[umadog]

No, don't use anything at all. Often lubricants do awful things such as increasing static friction and decreasing dynamic friction.

The "collimation cap" usually has a silvered inner surface so it's technically a Cheshire, which is a tool used for adjusting the primary mirror. Nowdays, though, "Cheshire" has become synonymous with the combination tool that also contains a sight-tube for adjusting the secondary mirror. Pretty much everything you need to know is here: Rob Campbell's Home Page There's a lot of information in those links. You don't need to take it all in: the second link on the list is sufficient.

[ollypenrice]

Good advice above. My very large (20 inch) Dob moves nicely and does like a polish of the Teflon bearings from time to time. The universally agreed polish for textured Teflon is Turtle Wax. When I moved to France I ran out and used a different make of sillicone car polish: the static and dynamic friction diverged so far that the scope was literally unusable. Emergency Turtle Wax was sent out by courier from the UK!!

Leave it alone and resist with all your might the temptation to clean optics. Look through your optics, not at them. All my gear works hard in commercial use, it gets dew on it, it gets dusty, and it gets cleaned very, very infrequently. Dust is harmless but scratches aren't.

Olly