DIY experts' opinions required..

[emadmoussa]

I'm basically trying to fit a wooden/aluminum panel onto my Skywatcher pillar mount. It'll be used as a holding place for USB hub, wires, plugs...etc

The idea in principle is to attach two regular telescope rings to the pillar and then bolt a wooden/aluminum panel into them. My pillar, I think, is 4.5 inch in diameter...Not quite sure what is the most suitable ring size is. 5 inch rings? Any idea?

Ideally, the panel should act as a big dovetail that carries the electrical mess, and all I need is just screw it onto the pillar and once done unscrew it...job done!!

I prepared a quick concept drawing and this should explain it. Opinions and ideas are more than welcome.

[Astrokev]

If your tube is 4.5", surely 4.5" internal diameter rings are what you need, not 5". I would've thought 5" rings will be too large and won't close sufficiently to grip your tube.

Tube rings will be quite expensive - a cheaper option could be to use large jubilee clips. 140mm internal diameter clips can be picked up for less than £5 each, and could be used to hold your panel securely.

Another option would be to drill and tap directly into the tube.

Good luck!

[JamesF]

I'd have thought there was a risk of the rings sliding down the pillar unless you also put a screw into the pillar to stop them. Tube rings seem a very expensive way to go about this though when you consider that appropriately-sized jubilee clips are probably only a couple of quid apiece.

James

[JamesF]

Blimey. Great minds think alike, as they say. Or, as a friend of mine used to respond, "Fools seldom differ"

James

[Astrokev]

Blimey. Great minds think alike, as they say. Or, as a friend of mine used to respond, "Fools seldom differ"

James

Indeed!

[SnakeyJ]

Hi Emad,

Perhaps not quite such an elegant solution - but I would have thought some decent cable ties would do a pretty good job and wouldn't mark the pillar or require drilling and tapping - might at least be worth it on a temp basis while you get everything sized up/optimally positioned.

[Macavity]

The 102mm Skywatcher rings almost fit the Skywatcher pillar... Once you've removed the felt linings.

They're still just a smidgen too small to be perfect, but Hey, I'm happy with them. I have re-boxed my

control electronics, sockets, feed-thru's into a pair of "eddystone" diecast boxes - Pannier style...

[Gweedo]

I'd go for a mixture of self adhesive cable clips and a heavy duty velcro to mount the usb hub. They won't mar the tube and it can all be packed away,.

I used some of the velcro the other week and I'm very impressed with how secure it is

[Moonshane]

could you not just buy some 2mm x 25/30mm ali flat bar then create brackets with a twist in them to connect to the top bolts which fix the head onto the pier? you could then fit your board to that or even create a hook with the bar.

alternatively create some split rings with plywood?

[emadmoussa]

If your tube is 4.5", surely 4.5" internal diameter rings are what you need, not 5". I would've thought 5" rings will be too large and won't close sufficiently to grip your tube.

Tube rings will be quite expensive - a cheaper option could be to use large jubilee clips. 140mm internal diameter clips can be picked up for less than £5 each, and could be used to hold your panel securely.

Another option would be to drill and tap directly into the tube.

Good luck!

I have considered something like pipe clamps, but due to the limitation of my DIY lingo, I'm yet to find the right size I'm not sure jubliee clips can do. Correct me if I'm wrong, where can I fit the board if these rings don't have a hooking point? The thing about rings - or something similar - is that they have readily made holes onto which I can bolt the board. Same as fitting a dovetail really.

[emadmoussa]

Hi Emad,

Perhaps not quite such an elegant solution - but I would have thought some decent cable ties would do a pretty good job and wouldn't mark the pillar or require drilling and tapping - might at least be worth it on a temp basis while you get everything sized up/optimally positioned.

I know, on the surface it doesn't look elegant. But I believe with a bit of paint and right sizing things will look just right. Having exhausted my resources, cable tidies will be the next option. I had these on my tripod and was thinking with the pillar it's easier to have a ''wire station''.

[emadmoussa]

The 102mm Skywatcher rings almost fit the Skywatcher pillar... Once you've removed the felt linings.

They're still just a smidgen too small to be perfect, but Hey, I'm happy with them. I have re-boxed my

control electronics, sockets, feed-thru's into a pair of "eddystone" diecast boxes - Pannier style...

MMm...this is awesome. As a matter of fact, eddystone diecast box is something I was looking for. I simply didn't know what to look for or what it was called. OK, ticked...one item found. Thanks!!

[Tinker1947]

These must be made in 4" ......

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/431920

[JamesF]

These must be made in 4" ......

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/431920

There are certainly clips for 110mm soil pipe.

James

[Macavity]

O.D. of a Skywatcher Pier is ~102.5mm. Never sure what standard astro manufacturers

work to... Sometimes imperial, sometimes metric, sometimes both (and / or their own)?

[Astrokev]

I have considered something like pipe clamps, but due to the limitation of my DIY lingo, I'm yet to find the right size I'm not sure jubliee clips can do. Correct me if I'm wrong, where can I fit the board if these rings don't have a hooking point? The thing about rings - or something similar - is that they have readily made holes onto which I can bolt the board. Same as fitting a dovetail really.

That's were you need to be a bit creative..... Perhaps using the jubilee clips to hold a flat bar against the tube, with fixings attached to the bar? Bar could be wood or aluminium. Fixings could be small countersunk bolts, velcro pads, small hook screwed to the bar. Google jubilee clips and you'll find loads of suppliers, but standard DIY outlets or RS Online all do them.

Cable ties could be used in exactly the same way...

Or sticky-back velcro pads as suggested by someone else above, stuck directly to the tube....

Possibilities are almost endless if you think about it, but standard tube rings (although they would clearly work) are an over-the-top and overly expensive solution to a simple problem in my view.

[fwm891]

Large jubilee clips. I have 8" ones holding my electrics to my pier. They come in all size ranges