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Samtheeagle's Nest

samtheeagle

By samtheeagle
in DIY Observatories

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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I had a roof leak after a couple of years and found it was due to the panels fitting so well together that the water was able to get through the gaps by capilliary action. A generous dollop of silicone sealant soon taught it some manners!

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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Sealing roof leaks depending on the material this stuff works, i made a bird table, slat roof and sealed the join with this stuff, it just required a roller to get it to stick i think as the bird table has been out there for 8-10 years and its still a good join.....brought the stuff in a local builders merchant but there's no name on the roll, all it has is a wax paper divider......

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samtheeagle

samtheeagle

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Well we've had some more serious rain storms here, and so far so good! There was one tiny little leak which was well out of the way, and was just a screw needing tightening up a bit.

Today I ordered a lump of aluminium from ebay, a 5" diameter round bar of ~20mm depth. My perhaps foolish plan is to make my own pier adaptor by hand. Retail ones are about 80 quid, this has cost me 8. All I need to do is bore a 60mm hole through the center of it without the aid of a lathe! Lots of small drill holes and a round file, plus lots of time and effort is the plan... Am I insane?

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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Your not insane - But use a half round file and a coarse as you can find for aluminium. An "Abrafile" blade will fit in a hacksaw frame and will join up the little holes for you - you can buy these in a DIY store, its like a thin, round wire-like blade with teeth on all sides. It will cut in any direction and is quite a useful tool to have in your toolbox. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vitrex-10-1905-Rodsaw-Blade/dp/B0001P15M6/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1346253060&sr=1-1 They seem to have become expensive since I last bought one!! - Look round for someone selling them cheaper - they seem to be called rod-saw blades these days.

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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It could well be that the modern carbide blades are sold as tile saws (It is most unlikely they would be sold as "pier adapter saws" :eek: !!!! ). After googling them I found that many are only 150mm long and seem to be designed to fit a coping saw frame. These would do but personally I would prefer to have either a 10" or 12" blade so as to get a good "stroke" with the saw rather than the "high speed scrubbing brush" method that you have to resort to with the shorter blade.

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samtheeagle

samtheeagle

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Rightyho, I shall see what sort of blades I can source locally, and revert to the intertubes if required.

I got my big lump of aluminium in the post today :) Not the most exciting of things take a picture of you might think... But the label on the packaging tickled me pink! :D

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It's a 19mm think plate of metal for gawds sake! But we'd best put a "do not bend" label on there just to be safe! I'd have been very impressed if postman Pat managed to put a dent in it.

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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It would work but would have to be run at a very low speed (no way in an electric drill). The problem would be swarf clearance - you would have to constantly withdraw the drill to clear the teeth - every few seconds I reckon. It will be quicker to chain drill and file.

By the way - if you chain drill with a small(ish) drill and place the holes close and evenly spaced then by going up to a slightly larger drill it should be possible to leave just the tiniest sliver of metal between the holes. Then 'it it with an 'ammer and the unwanted piece should fall out (theoretically).

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samtheeagle

samtheeagle

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By the way - if you chain drill with a small(ish) drill and place the holes close and evenly spaced then by going up to a slightly larger drill it should be possible to leave just the tiniest sliver of metal between the holes. Then 'it it with an 'ammer and the unwanted piece should fall out (theoretically).

That was kinda my plan :) Then the file to finish. Any suggestions as to what to use for the latitude pin? And how to affix it?

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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Do you mean the cast pin on the tripod head? If so find a bit of round rod (I used brass) and drill an appropriate sized hole in the block for it. You need to make sure of the positioning carefully as the azimuth bolts have to work against it. Mine is a light press fit i.e. I can push it in with finger pressure but need pliers to pull it out again. Or you could araldite it.

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Gina

Gina

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Yes. I tapped a suitable hole in my adapter plate and screwed it in, securing it with a lock nut. But later I used a pier extender which already had a tapped hole so transferred it.

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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A Cobalt drill (4mm) will do a series of holes, but you will really need a bench drill press to get the hole straight and the pressure to get through to the other side, once the circle is complete change to a 6mm Drill so the holes just overlap, a proper hole cutter would be better, again needs a drill press and the cost of the holes goes up....find a local engineering company .....

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samtheeagle

samtheeagle

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Oh my word, what a weekend! The trench is DONE! :D:D:D:D 9 meters dug on Saturday, and the last 4 or 5 done today. It's been a seriously hard slog. When I started out I thought that hiring a mini digger would be expensive, and a bit like cheating, but having nearly killed myself digging 25-30 meters down the garden I wouldn't hesitate in the future... Seriously, anyone out there that needs to dig a trench more than a few meters long, hire a mini digger.

But it is done, and I hurt, a lot! :S Tomorrow with the help of my lovely wife we shall attempt to get the mains cable down through it. Corr blimey I hope it goes through ok! No way on earth I'm digging that lot up again. And then I need my father-in-law to come and sparky me up so it's all nice and safe, not to mention legal. That just leaves the pier to fabricate, which is in the hands of my dad, and that's going to require some serious badgering to get him moving :D

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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On the using a "Mole" there needs to be a bit of care, i had the gas people put in a gas pipe, they used a mole it had a run of about 35 yards from the road to the corner of the property, it done the job with 3 small trenches, it also went through a 6" sewer pipe belonging to the people next door, but that's another story, just be careful when one is used....

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