(water butt) stand for 250 / 10" dob

[Eastridge]

Hi, several people on here have recommended a water butt stand to stand the dob base on to raise it esp for overhead /zenith viewing. I've checked dimensions and can find ones to fit but all of the stands I see have 'cut outs' at 3 or 4 points so if they come where the feet are I won't get a stable platform. Am I missing something ? Can anyone who has one that fits nicely tell me what make theirs is?

[Daniel-K]

you could always make a small round table out of some thick ply and put some sturdy feet on my friend done this with his 8inch dob and it cost £10

[brucen]

I use a water butt stand with my 8" and although you can line the feet up with the cut out parts you can easily avoid them. In actual fact I use mine with the stand upside down as the rim is an exact fit for the Dob base and the whole base sits on the stand rather than rely on the feet. It feels perfectly stable and avoids the risk of the feet slipping down one of the holes. I think the bases are similar sizes - ,mine is just under 21" diameter - but even if it is bigger it would make no difference used that way up.

[Eastridge]

Thanks guys, I'll investigate the 'upside down' option first as that never occurred to me and is a 'no work' option and if not consider making our own.

[brucen]

Just found this pic to prove it works!

[Eastridge]

Thanks brucen

[JamesM]

What a great idea brucen! The creativeness and resourcefulness of members on this site never ceases to amaze me.

James