20inch Dobsonian Construction

[Gina]

Sure is   But I guess it should be for the amount of work that went into it   Not sure I would have the patience

[mapstar]

Sure is   But I guess it should be for the amount of work that went into it   Not sure I would have the patience

I'm almost sure you would Gina although you'd have to cut down on the flurry of project's that keep appearing from your way 

[astrolunartick]

Hi again Scopers

I managed to get some time over the last few evening to work on the mirror cell. Ive not managed to get the Tail gate welded up yet as im still waiting for a friend to contact me.

besides that i Got the back of the triangles on the mirror cell tapped for some m3 3mm socket screws to hold the flexible plastic parts that hold the cell all in shape.

Also i cut the slots in some m10 bolts for the split bolt sling supports and i purchased some 30mm round plastic Acetal rod for the Side pins that i cut 3 lengths and drilled a 10mm of center hole in them. 

All in all it starting to look like a mirror cell now. and i have a smile on my face. :-)

[mapstar]

Looking stunning Pete, great work 

Are the mirror post's made out of Acetal (nylon) as they dont look like wood?

Damian

[astrolunartick]

Looking stunning Pete, great work 

Are the mirror post's made out of Acetal (nylon) as they dont look like wood?

Damian

Evening Damian

Cheers. Indeed mate. Acetal (nylon) brought from Ebay. Easy to cut and drill. 

[Sporadic Dobstronomer]

Point of information: acetal is not Nylon although they have similar properties for this kind of thing.

[astrolunartick]

Here's a little up date. I got the holes drilled in the poles for the Secondary cage and also the threaded inserts (star nuts) pushed in to the end of the poles. I love using large heat shrink around poles to give a nice matt black finish and gives a durable cover. I have used this on other scopes and projects many times and found it very hard wearing and looks great. 

[mapstar]

Look's a top bit of work Pete, especially like the red anodised allen cappers.

Heat shrink does the trick nicely, Where did you get the heat shrink roll from as I've been looking round for my scope build when it eventually kicks off 

[astrolunartick]

Look's a top bit of work Pete, especially like the red anodised allen cappers.

Heat shrink does the trick nicely, Where did you get the heat shrink roll from as I've been looking round for my scope build when it eventually kicks off 

Hi Damian 

Yer mate i had to get some red aluminium bits in there to match the Red Moonlite focuser. Had to be done. love things to match. 

Shame i bought the quick release mechs in black before i got the Focuser. hehe

heres a link to the eBay  for the heat shrink. I think its a reasonable price. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261697073714

[Soupy]

Looks great, and the heat shrink tubing might come in handy!

[mapstar]

Cheers for that I'll keep an eye on it 32 metres required 

[astrolunartick]

i find heating the creased edges first helps to keep the heat shrink consistent with little to no creasing on the finished pole.

[mapstar]

Thanks for the tip Pete ;-)

[Soupy]

Cheers for that I'll keep an eye on it 32 metres required 

That's a bit greedy isn't it Damian!

[mapstar]

If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well

[Soupy]

But you are surely not going to need 32 meters!

There again just realised you are making 2 scopes so with eight poles each and just under 2m per pole you will need that much! :0

[astrolunartick]

i got 15 meter. should have 2 meter left if i dont screw it up.

[Soupy]

Think I'll only need about 10m per scope for mine so I'll prob need 20m total. That's small 8" mirrors for you

[astrolunartick]

Hi Scopers 

Another small up date. I managed to get some time to make the secondary mirror collimation thumb screw plate. Cut on my bandsaw from a 5mm piece of Aluminium. I drilled and tap M5 holes for the collimation thumb screws and drilled four 25mm holes out of it to keep the weight down and then sanded and polished it up. Rather happy with how it turned out. 

[faulksy]

Hi Scopers 

Another small up date. I managed to get some time to make the secondary mirror collimation thumb screw plate. Cut on my bandsaw from a 5mm piece of Aluminium. I drilled and tap M5 holes for the collimation thumb screws and drilled four 25mm holes out of it to keep the weight down and then sanded and polished it up. Rather happy with how it turned out. 

20150408_222723.jpg

lovely work fella

[faulksy]

were did you get the thumb screws from

[astrolunartick]

were did you get the thumb screws from

Hi Mate

Those thumb screws are Go Pro Knobs from Ebay  Light weight and cheap :-) 

[astrolunartick]

were did you get the thumb screws from

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-pcs-Long-Thumb-Knob-Bolt-Nut-Screws-for-Gopro-Hero-3-3-4-Case-Housing-OS192-/281407265048?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41852e1918

[faulksy]

just bought them lol. thanks for that. now shouldnt you keep building instead of being on here

[astrolunartick]

just bought them lol. thanks for that. now shouldnt you keep building instead of being on here

I would be building right know but sadly its not possible. I have all the materials now but finding the time is hard. hopefully in a couple of weeks i will get a solid week in my workshop with my scope. Fingers crossed.