Problem with Azimuth base

[pat]

The "teflon" pads on my Orion 10" scope have started to stick or jerk when pushed. They used to glide smoothly. The pads are not stappled down, as the new models are. What is the best remedy to cure this. I thought about turning them over. But I hesitate to do this because I had so much trouble getting the encoder to work correctly when assembled. Pat

[Moonshane]

personally, I'd buy a part sheet of formica (the 0.8mm thick stuff), one with a little texture and then glue this with contact adhesive to the underside of the rocker box. then use turtle wax and put it all together. it will then be as smooth as you like. if near Manchester I know where you can get it.

[pat]

I've tried tuttle wax by itself on the pads and it didn't work out. The formica is another idea. Sanding the pads might be another option. Pat

[Moonshane]

I have only used the hard (paste) wax rather than the spray and it needs to be polished off like you would the car. you could try waxing the underside of the rocker as an initial step?

[NGC 1502]

Hi Pat, good advice from Moonshane.

Another option is a centre bearing to take some of the weight from the 3 teflon pads. The centre bearing must be just thick enough to do this. Too thin, and it's doing nothing, too thick, and the scope will teeter on the centre bearing. If you get it just right, it helps the azimuth movement a lot. But I'm not sure how this may affect the encoder on your scope, so please use caution.

Here's a link - http://www.backyardvoyager.com/DS3DetailsIssues.html

HTH, Ed.

[knobby]

The usaul advice is to clean the pads, clean the underside of the top board, polish the u-side of top board ... buff it up nice ,,, have a cup of tea !

then ... cut up some plastic milk bottles to make washers and try them, adding one at a time until the base lifts off the teflon pads ever so slightly. Then remove a couple to suit your stiction taste.

This is usually for the manual dob base, See if its any good for you !

Or have a look at link in my sig.

Good luck

[stevetynant]

Is it possible to use the lazy susan mod for Pats Orion?