MY HOME BUILT OBSERVATORY

[patricmooriamnot]

Hi, I just thought I would show off my new observatory ( its called a summer house when my wife uses it). I designed and built it myself. The hardest part was getting the roof to be able to turn. but overcame this with 12 fixed 3" casters. Please take a look at some of my pics.

Just waiting for clear sky

Phil.

[laudropb]

Very nice bit of DIY. Thanks for posting.

[Mr Spock]

Impressive DIY skills. I expect it gets a bit warm with all that glass though.

[laser_jock99]

Great job! Cunningly disguised as a 'summer house' too. One way to get it past SWMBO I suppose.

[patricmooriamnot]

Impressive DIY skills. I expect it gets a bit warm with all that glass though.

Only way I could get the Mrs to let me build it?

[Tonynexevo925]

A cunningly collaborative method that has delivered an excellent result

[patricmooriamnot]

Great job! Cunningly disguised as a 'summer house' too. One way to get it past SWMBO I suppose.

I was always taught not to be afraid to show my ignorance, so what does SWMBO stand for?

[patricmooriamnot]

I was always taught not to be afraid to show my ignorance, so what does SWMBO stand for?

Just got it. Mr Rumphole.

[Bizibilder]

She Who Must Be Obeyed - it originated in the novels about "Rumpole if the Bailey" - as seen on TV in the 80's and 90's (and sometimes repeated) - as a reference to Hilda, his wife.  

[mcinek82]

Great job! Maybe you'll be able to invite your wife to share your passion

[Ouroboros]

She Who Must Be Obeyed - it originated in the novels about "Rumpole if the Bailey" - as seen on TV in the 80's and 90's (and sometimes repeated) - as a reference to Hilda, his wife.

You're right, dear old Rumpole did use the expression. But it derives from the 19th century adventure novel 'She' by Rider Haggard.

[Ouroboros]

P.S. Brilliant observatory by the way! Nice one!

[PapaEmeritusIII]

Looks awesome Phil! Well Done! Would love to build one of my own one day, if "SWMBO" allows it

[wk4bg8s]

Wow! I like that, a lot !!!

Kim

[patricmooriamnot]

Looks awesome Phil! Well Done! Would love to build one of my own one day, if "SWMBO" allows it

I have drawn up plans for mine and have since modified them to correct little mistakes I made during the build. Mine cost me approx. £900 with the concrete footings and all the timber glazing and felt shingles. It would have cost more if I had bought ready made doors and windows instead of making them myself from the studding timber I used for everything else. The cost could be reduced by not having a window and just having a solid door and by making it smaller, but I find I am glad of the space in my 3200mm point to point hexagonal. I pull the roof around with a cheap boat trailer winch at he moment but I am working on plans to fit an electric winch, or some kind of chain drive so I can turn in both directions. I am happy to share my drawings with anyone who might want to build one for themselves.

clear skies

Phil.

[Physopto]

Very nice and a great idea,  but you actually let SWMBO in there at times!!!

Brave man is all I can say.

Derek

[nytecam]

Excellent work - well done !

For those interested I've a homepage with diagrams on building a gazebo-style obsy @ http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/gazebo-ob.htm  including versions to observe beyond the zenith and down to the horizon too ;-)

Nytecam

[Tim99]

Really cool.  I am planning to build and obsy next spring.   In the planning/design phase.  I really like your concept.

[saac]

Well done Phil, you made an excellent job of that, hope you get the weather now to enjoy it.  It's great to see another octagonal observatory, it was getting lonely here

I was a bit lazy and went for a converted option rather than build from scratch, but that required a fair bit of modification to the roof.   I think they are a really good solution if you want something that fits in the garden well.  Are you looking to motorise your roof to sync rotation with the scope?

Jim

[patricmooriamnot]

Well done Phil, you made an excellent job of that, hope you get the weather now to enjoy it.  It's great to see another octagonal observatory, it was getting lonely here

I was a bit lazy and went for a converted option rather than build from scratch, but that required a fair bit of modification to the roof.   I think they are a really good solution if you want something that fits in the garden well.  Are you looking to motorise your roof to sync rotation with the scope?

Jim

Hi Jim, I have not yet found a good way to turn the roof. At the moment I am using an electric winch to pull the roof around as it is only on casters. This means I have to detach the winch cable and wrap it around the inner ring beam, so can only turn it in one direction. The roof is far to heavy to move by hand. 

[Physopto]

Just an idea. You could try replacing one or even two inner wheels with a motor driven version. As long as they have enough friction it should work. They could be geared down to increase the torque.

Derek

[SteveNickolls]

Lovely idea Phil, thanks so much for posting. Would love to try something like this.

Cheers,

Steve

[saac]

Phil, I don't know if you saw John's (Jokehoba) thread on his build of his Hilltop Observatory.  John used a fibre glass dome so much lighter than the wooden roof but you may get some ideas for rotation from his thread - it was pretty detailed.  Other than a friction drive I guess what would be ideal would be a large diameter toothed ring gear, but where to get that at a reasonable cost, that's the thing.  I wonder if a blacksmith could make something along the lines  of a fat bar with holes that could be driven by tooth sprocket mechanism?  The flat bar should be able to be bent to the diameter of the dome over a couple of sections.  I must admit I'm really concious of the weight of my roof so much so that next summer I'm planning to strengthen the uprights supporting it when it rolls.  These things are definitely a work in progress - I'm one year on and have still to run power to mine, but what a difference it makes to the enjoyment of observing.

Jim

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/219445-hilltop-observatory/page-1

[hughgilhespie]

Hi,

I don't know if it's relevant but rather than 'a large diameter toothed ring gear' it is possible to glue on a circle of flexible timing belt. I have done this in my Pulsar 2.2 metre dome using a 10 mm pitch (T10) timing belt. This is then driven with a toothed gear. Both the belt and driving gear are fairly readily available. I bought mine from http://www.beltingonline.com/

Hope this helps,

Hugh

[patricmooriamnot]

Thanks for all the interest and advice guys. Because my roof just sits on casters it is hard to attach any kind of toothed belt or ring. I am working on a chain drive using my winch motor and control to turn a sprocket connected to a chain going round the inner beam. this would allow me to rotate the roof forward and backwards. Still very much a work in progress.