how to leve your dob

[tomlines]

so i set out to make a levelling base after finding it very hard to find instructions online on how to do it

i hope this can help any one looking to do the same

i had some old mdf in the shed so i bought some 2x2 to make a square frame and attached the mdf on the top

this will stand as the basic base to stand the dob mount on

i then cut some more 2x2 lengths and screwed them to the four corners of my stand

i drilled holed through the ends of the 'legs' about an inch from the end

i hammered in some long nuts that i got from wickeses, probly 3 times the length of the normal nut

i also got 4 bolts to match, about 4 inches long

by screwing upwards to the head of the bolt was facing downwards it meant untill i get some rubber feet these can stand as the load bearers

i cut inch lenths of a cylidrcal wooden pole i had, a brom handle would work. using the same drill piece i used to drill the holes for the nuts i drill half way through the round ood, again i hammer in some nuts and screw them on to the top of the bolts, by putting one layer of masking tape around the blt it means it locks in place

complete 4 times and you have a bas that can be altered from 4 corneres inorder to level your dob

i hope this help

heres some pics

ill post links to the parts i bought from wickses

[Tinker1947]

Your gonna be taking the skin of your ankles, can't you level you slabs and place the Dob base on the same spot ever time, even if it meant adding to the base of the Dob to get it level.....

[David Smith]

Nice one Tom. Might tackle something like this myself at some point.

[tomlines]

well i wa going to add to the base but it i didnt want to tamper with it as it is quite new

the only good viewing spot in m garden is from the centr where i would need to take up several slabs around it and it seemed alot more work

this seemed like the eaier alternative btu thats maybe why i couldnt find any instructions else where, because no one does it this way? lol

[Tinker1947]

Just a thought on the leveling if the Dob base has 3 legs, could you not either pack out one leg to bring it level or as i got away with for my tripod make a round indent to take one or 2 on the feet to level it, mine is more for polar alingment but does also act to keep it level.....

[brantuk]

The levelling platform is a great idea - might have been better to make it circular though - just slightly wider diameter than the base to accommodate the levelling bolts - of which you'd only need 3 - equally spaced around the circumference.

Be very careful around that one in the dark

[tomlines]

im trying it tonight, it will either be great, or ill be uplading pictures of my bruises

irculer would definately be alot better. thought id go simple n see if it works. getting clear so im off out

ill geep u updated

[tomlines]

tinker, eventually ill just reset the slabs i think and level. alot more practical

id love to se eyour set p if you have a pic

just visual or photographic to?

[littlebeagle]

I did something similar, but I used the feet you put on the bottom of kitchen units.

Mine has to go on grass normally so I needed to do something, it also raises the height of it making viewing things more comfortable.

[Pappy Nick]

Nice bit of DIY !

I'm just surprised that these large dob mounts don't come with self-levelling feet like you get on a fridge !!!

[littlebeagle]

Doesn't really matter with a dob unless it's a goto or auto tracking one.

[Tinker1947]

This is it Tom, sits in the indents only Polar Aligned it once last October, home made dew shield, will get the wife out there with the jet wash to clean the slabs now the winters over with...

[littlebeagle]

This is it Tom, sits in the indents only Polar Aligned it once last October, home made dew shield, will get the wife out there with the jet wash to clean the slabs now the winters over with...

Which winter

[markryan]

I'm thinking of doing the same sort of thing and have bought these to do the job with. Was going to use a triangular rig with the 200p base as the incircle but Brantuk's idea of a slightly wider circular base is great (16mm marine ply?) looks the very thing. I've read it's much easier to level a triangular setup than a square.

My best observing spot is the middle of the lawn, so some sort of base with an adjustable three footed circular plinth would be really good.

[tomlines]

MARKRYAN, those feet look great for the job

i think ill make a circular one soon, the square on works tho, worth the effort so ill invest some time in a circular one, I used 2x2 to build the base so not sure how ill manager that with a cirular one, may just have 2 use a few layers of mdf on top of each other

it is slightly annoying that they dont provide these as a standard part of the base

i used this last night with the go to controller and by having it level it all worked great! tracking and go to were perfect

[tomlines]

not guna lie, worked a treat guys!

admittidly, circular with three may be easier to level, but either way the go to was spot on

[swamp thing]

Hi

Just a word of warning don't use MDF it's totally useless outdoors.

The slightest bit of moisture and it swells up like crazy. Far better with plywood.

Even painting MDF is not a guarantee against this really annoying trait.

You can buy treated MDF but TBH I would stick with ply.

Regards Steve

[tomlines]

yeh cheap enough aswell

think ill try a circuler one over the next week with ply but the bolts n handles work absoloutly fine, maybe just some rubber feet

id love a remote control one so i could level it with a controller but its guna be a while till i get round to making one like that

thanks for the advice

[stevetynant]

I think that can be my next project now after the setting circle and lazy susan additions should make the push to even better thanks folks

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

[tomlines]

whats the lazy susan mod?

thats the bearings right?

[stevetynant]

Yes thats it tom makes nudging your dob so much smoother is cheap and easy mod

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

[tomlines]

mines the auto/go to tho

still worth upgrading or not?

is it even possible with the motors?

[stevetynant]

I would think probably not - its just a help for us manual dobbers lol

[knobby]

I would think probably not - its just a help for us manual dobbers lol

You need to get your M14 bolt sorted first, I'm well pleased with mine but would love someone elses opinion !

And i dont mean the 'Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus'

[tomlines]

M14 BOLT?