DIY Pier

[Shiinsuh]

Firstly, I'm not sure if this should be posted here in DIY Astronomer or DIY Observatories so sorry if it's in the wrong place. This will be a little process log.

I've been after a pier for a while now but never had the materials to do so, until I came across a lovely fly-tipped 80 litre Argon gas bottle at the side of the road. It has the height, width, wight and solidness to it with an 8mm thick wall. 
Armed now with the main body for a pier mount, i went about digging a 1m/cu hole in the best location for viewing in my garden and filled it with concrete .


Next using a Stihl saw with a metal cutting blade, cut off the top 'bell' of the bottle. I got a 12mm x 330mm/sq Steel plate, drilled 14mm holes in each corner then welded this onto the top of the gas cylinder. The whole lot was turned upside down and centred in the middle of the concrete slab and pilot holes drilled through the 4 holes in each corner then drilled out the holes to fit 14mm rawlnuts. Rawlnuts inserted and the hole cylinder lined up then bolted down. Primer pint was sprayed over all the welds and the steel plate to protect them.


Next Using another plate of 10mm steel, this was turned on the lathe into an 285mm disk, a 10mm centre drilled out then 3x 8mm holes drilled equally around the centre at at 55mm distance. then another 3x 14mm holes equally space at the edge by 30mm in.


A puck was then turned on the lathe to fit and bolt onto the disk and hold a EQ5 mount. Both were bolted together.


200mm Long M14 stainless steel bolts were then inserted into the three outer holes of the disk, using nuts at halfway along to hold it in place with the bolt heads under the plate. The whole thing was placed on top of the 'pier and the 'front' bolt was placed facing north as best as I could then the Bolt heads were welded to the top of the pier cylinder. Cleaned up and a lick of primer paint over the welds to protect them.


Finally a 8mm hole was drilled and tapped in the top of the puck at the north point and an M8 bolt was inserted with locktite then the head cut off and sides ground down to flat to act as a azimuth post. A lick of metal paint was brush over the whole lot then the mount and scoped added.
Job Done! Any questions, feel free to ask!

[Dave Lloyd]

Super bit of recycling. Looks far better than any gas bottle. And you've saved the local tax payers a couple of quid.

[Shiinsuh]

7 minutes ago, Dave Lloyd said:

Super bit of recycling. Looks far better than any gas bottle. And you've saved the local tax payers a couple of quid.

Thanks, It's certainly one of the better finds from the side of the road and It's not only the local tax payers that have saved a couple of quid too. The whole lot including the concrete base came to £70

[Ouroboros]

That's fantastic. Are you planning to build an observatory round it? 

I'm always so impressed that people have the skill, strength and confidence to do this sort of DIY build. 

Down a track near my house is a 1 cubic metre peice of concrete, it blocks the track to cars.  Everytime I pass this concrete lump, which must weigh a tonne or so, I'm amazed that anyone can physically dig such a hole and mix up that amount of concrete on their tod to fill it.  Perhaps if I were 20 years younger .... 

[Shiinsuh]

21 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

That's fantastic. Are you planning to build an observatory round it? 

I'm always so impressed that people have the skill, strength and confidence to do this sort of DIY build. 

Down a track near my house is a 1 cubic metre peice of concrete, it blocks the track to cars.  Everytime I pass this concrete lump, which must weigh a tonne or so, I'm amazed that anyone can physically dig such a hole and mix up that amount of concrete on their tod to fill it.  Perhaps if I were 20 years younger .... 

Unfortunately I don't have any current plans to build an observatory around it. It's something I would like to do but its in a bad position in the garden and would be a bit of an eye sore (not that a grey breeze block workshop behind it that needs painting, isn't).

I had a little help from my father with the hole digging and my next door neighbour was redoing their garden and wanted soil so we had a way to get rid of what we dug out. I also had help with the concrete in the form of  the sand and limestone premixed at the quarry and being delivered on a tipper truck onto the drive way and all being mixed with an electric cement mixer. Having the right tools and materials makes a huge difference.

[triton1]

Excellent job I,m always amazed with the ideas people com up with.Who would have thought that while out and about you will say to yourself"wow look at that gas tank it will make a great pier"

ps that's not an old Churchill lathe is it.

[Shiinsuh]

24 minutes ago, triton1 said:

Excellent job I,m always amazed with the ideas people com up with.Who would have thought that while out and about you will say to yourself"wow look at that gas tank it will make a great pier"

ps that's not an old Churchill lathe is it.

It's just one of those things that was always at the back of my mind, to be on the look out for anything that would be useful for any projects I'm doing. So it often comes naturally to see something and think "oh that's perfect!"

No the lathe is an old Smart & Brown model A MkII 4.5" x 18" from the late 50s. My father was working on a roofing job on a house where the old couple used to live and their son was refurbishing the house to sell on. He spotted the lathe looking rather sorry for its self in the shed and asked what was happening with it. It was getting scraped so my dad gave them £50 for it. We stripped it down, gave it a nice new paint job, some new bearings and greasing up, plus a new modern motor, (the old one was a three phase botched to run on single phase, hardly had any power). 

I don't have a full picture of my lathe but here is one from the net.

[steppenwolf]

I love to see projects like this - I NEED a lathe!!!

[Shiinsuh]

7 minutes ago, steppenwolf said:

I love to see projects like this - I NEED a lathe!!!

That was my thought before I got mine. Now its - I NEED A MILLING MACHINE!!!

[steppenwolf]

You'd be amazed at how much use I get out of my old fixed speed Black and Decker drill and affixed to a a 1980's drill stand!! I really need a fully equipped machine shop and some good training in how to use it.  Actually, I could also do with a MIG welder and lessons for that too ....... So little time so much to learn and do!