THE FAULKS 20" F4 DOB BUILD

[swamp thing]

8 minutes ago, Scott said:

I'm just up the road mike. call in for a brew if ya fancy. 

That shouldn't take him more than a day or two then 

He gets lost going upstairs   

[mapstar]

20 minutes ago, estwing said:

don't call at mine mike....its miles further...you'll need to fill up again...

According to you he'll not find it anyway 

Edited June 3, 2016 by mapstar

[estwing]

Any updates?

[faulksy]

here we go, secondary is done so pick it up asap, primary could be another 10 days due to a few problems they had with there machine so a bit of a back log

ground board is finished complete with feet and ptfe friction pads

this coated plate will fit on the underside of the rocker box ,which has a recess of 6mm, the thickness of the aluminum plate

close up of pads and acetal feet

pic of the center bush which will go through the 15mm birch ply

 

[niallk]

Looking good! 

[faulksy]

21 minutes ago, niallk said:

Looking good! 

getting there now niallk, should have all the wood on saturday, so i can add the mirror cell ,tube clamps and complete the uta

[mapstar]

I see you went with the centre bush Mike. Good move will make it a lot smoother. When the rocker box coming into view 

[faulksy]

42 minutes ago, mapstar said:

I see you went with the centre bush Mike. Good move will make it a lot smoother. When the rocker box coming into view 

i can adjust the pre load then. rocker box soon

[mapstar]

1 hour ago, faulksy said:

i can adjust the pre load then. rocker box soon

With that much weight on the bearings I'm betting it won't need much. Good to build some adjustment in though and pre-engineering is better than re-engineering 

[faulksy]

• another small update. focuser board and finder board are finished, ready for anodising with the other parts now, extra holes are milled for weight saving
• also made the centre shaft for the encoder/ground board, with a custom made shaft to the correct length

trial fit of centre bearing, this will be drilled and tapped to the base to give a solid pivot point. bolt is m16

Edited June 11, 2016 by faulksy

[mapstar]

Nice efforts there Mike. Lovely bits of ali

Coming on well buddy and waiting patiently (not ) for the next update

[Gina]

Wonderful   I'm none to good with metal and don't do welding though I did try it once (electric) - could it be made in wood?   I wouldn't mind having a go later on

[mapstar]

3 hours ago, Gina said:

Wonderful   I'm none to good with metal and don't do welding though I did try it once (electric) - could it be made in wood?   I wouldn't mind having a go later on

Gina

Aluminium is easy to cut with a chop saw and the welding cost me £30 for the cell (£10 extra as they turned it round quick). 

There are plenty of little fabrication places which will lend a hand as well as SGL members who are willing to help. 

 

[Gina]

Thank you Damian   I've worked a bit with aluminium with regard to sawing and drilling.

[faulksy]

small update, spoke to 00 said around another 2 weeks.

done loads to the scope, fitted alt bearings and they run lovely, fitted cell all fine, uta pretty much finished, fitted truss clamps to mirror box. then it was stripped for hard laquer, cant show you photos of that because of showing the colour. but heres some with the cell fitted and 1 with a plywood mirror to same size

[faulksy]

forgot to mention, all inside panels are now painted with black non reflection paint

[faulksy]

Just one more 

[Stu]

Just caught up with this thread. Looking fantastic Mike, can't wait to see the final result!

[faulksy]

19 minutes ago, Stu said:

Just caught up with this thread. Looking fantastic Mike, can't wait to see the final result!

wont be to long now stu

[mapstar]

Nice update Mike. Was wondering how you were getting on and it's moving ever closer.

As for the mirror another 2 weeks don't they know it's gonna be dark by then!  

I've not managed to do any scope modding so as usual I'll be on the last push.

[alan potts]

Now that is looking nice Mike, it is only when I see in shot something I can relate to that I get an idea of size, you should have the SGL standard tin of beans in shot. I really wish I had got a 20 inch now myself as at the time John Nichol had a 20 inch F4.1 mirror at a very good price, just over 2100 quid, though I forget the exact figure. At the time Sumerian would have built me a 20 inch Canopus and I guess that would not be massively more than my 18 inch which all in was 2506 euros, that was with a Moonite focuser and 60mm finder, so in fact it could have been less.

However he no longer makes large scopes which is a shame. I do have the skills and tools to make one myself but getting quality woods and boards is another matter.

Good luck with the rest of the work and don't forget the beans.

alan

[faulksy]

12 minutes ago, alan potts said:

Now that is looking nice Mike, it is only when I see in shot something I can relate to that I get an idea of size, you should have the SGL standard tin of beans in shot. I really wish I had got a 20 inch now myself as at the time John Nichol had a 20 inch F4.1 mirror at a very good price, just over 2100 quid, though I forget the exact figure. At the time Sumerian would have built me a 20 inch Canopus and I guess that would not be massively more than my 18 inch which all in was 2506 euros, that was with a Moonite focuser and 60mm finder, so in fact it could have been less.

However he no longer makes large scopes which is a shame. I do have the skills and tools to make one myself but getting quality woods and boards is another matter.

Good luck with the rest of the work and don't forget the beans.

alan

thats a good price from mr nichol alan. the only reason i didnt use him was i wanted 1/10 primary and secondary. your dob is lovely though, ideal size

[jetstream]

[mapstar]

7 hours ago, faulksy said:

thats a good price from mr nichol alan. the only reason i didnt use him was i wanted 1/10 primary and secondary. your dob is lovely though, ideal size

Did you ask him Mike? 

[faulksy]

52 minutes ago, mapstar said:

Did you ask him Mike? 

hi damian, didnt know he did that high a figure. only seems to advertise 1/8 which is obviously good