Pier project

[bottletopburly]

Pier coming on ,tube arrived today from metals4u though they never cut square so now another job of squaring up ,just need pier base supports  i have a friend who is drawing them on cad so i can get lasercut then a matter of getting welded together. 

[darknight]

is that a brake disc on the bottom, or just steel plate, looking good though, I really need to do mine this year

[bottletopburly]

6 hours ago, darknight said:

is that a brake disc on the bottom, or just steel plate, looking good though, I really need to do mine this year

It's a 300mmx10mm  disc  laser cut with a 55mm hole in centre 

[laser_jock99]

Best DIY pier I've seen for a while- no cardboard tube full of concrete or 'wobbly bolts' for leveling in sight!

[bottletopburly]

1 minute ago, laser_jock99 said:

Best DIY pier I've seen for a while- no cardboard tube full of concrete or 'wobbly bolts' for leveling in sight!

  Thanks ,I have a friend do me a drawing on cad  for base support plates so i can have laser cut  ,see attatchment i have it in dwg and DXF formats too if anyone wants a copy PM me 

BRACKET.pdf

[bottletopburly]

Last piece of the jigsaw has arrived hopefully have it welded in the next few weeks 

[bottletopburly]

Just had a quote to have pier powder coated white  by a local company came in at £30  not bad at all.

[Jkulin]

My mate is designing something similar but with full length supports at the side.

Just a quick question, how are you planning on rotating the pier adapter so that you can align north or are you just going to drill holes after rough alignment and then just use the AZ bolts for perfect alignment?

[Alan White]

That is looking a fine pier, look forward to the completed pictures soon.
Powder coat sounds good, but why not Hammerite it,no one will see it will they?

[bottletopburly]

3 hours ago, Jkulin said:

My mate is designing something similar but with full length supports at the side.

Just a quick question, how are you planning on rotating the pier adapter so that you can align north or are you just going to drill holes after rough alignment and then just use the AZ bolts for perfect alignment?

Before having powder coated , I will set up and Pa  I haven't tapped pier head down yet so once I PA  I will gaffa tape pier adapter to top plate and drill and tap .

[bottletopburly]

4 hours ago, Alan White said:

That is looking a fine pier, look forward to the completed pictures soon.
Powder coat sounds good, but why not Hammerite it,no one will see it will they?

I could paint it  but powder coat will give me a better finish and I will ? at It  lols 

Edited July 28, 2017 by bottletopburly

[Jkulin]

4 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

Before having powder coated , I will set up and Pa  I haven't tapped pier head down yet so once I PA  I will gaffa tape pier adapter to top plate and drill and tap .

Thanks, so will you temporarily bolt the pier down to the concrete before marking up the pier adapter?

Maybe it's me being paranoid, my mate who is sorting out the design doesn't want to machine elongated holes into the top of the pier so that the top plate can be adjusted perfectly, but I think he's being a little too cautious on the stability front.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Jkulin

[bottletopburly]

4 hours ago, Jkulin said:

Thanks, so will you temporarily bolt the pier down to the concrete before marking up the pier adapter?

Maybe it's me being paranoid, my mate who is sorting out the design doesn't want to machine elongated holes into the top of the pier so that the top plate can be adjusted perfectly, but I think he's being a little too cautious on the stability front.

Yes temp bolt , set azimuth adjusters  equal and adjust pier head to suit then hold with gaffa tape , once it's tapped into position  you will have plenty of adjustment on the azimuth bolts , I didn't want elongated holes either .

[nightfisher]

Looking very good, i have been toying with getting a pier made for my star discovery i contacted a local firm a few years back and he quoted a very reasonable price, think i might have to speak to him again

[bottletopburly]

21 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

Looking very good, i have been toying with getting a pier made for my star discovery i contacted a local firm a few years back and he quoted a very reasonable price, think i might have to speak to him again

Do it ?

[bottletopburly]

Pier base filled ,

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by bottletopburly
picture update

[laser_jock99]

On 28/07/2017 at 16:12, Alan White said:

Powder coat sounds good, but why not Hammerite it,no one will see it will they?

Have you seen the price of a tin of Hammerite- powder coat for £30 is probably cheaper!!

[bottletopburly]

 Finally got the chance to have pier welded up by a friend , so probably won`t be for a few weeks yet just need to setup and PA then drill and tap pier adapter onto top plate then send off for Powdercoating 

[Alan White]

Now that is looking very nice indeed, once powder coated it will be spot on.

Does not look a DIY job in anyway.

Are you willing and able to share your drawings so others can copy at all?

[bottletopburly]

4 hours ago, Alan White said:

Now that is looking very nice indeed, once powder coated it will be spot on.

Does not look a DIY job in anyway.

Are you willing and able to share your drawings so others can copy at all?

Certainly the tube is 750mm long making it the same as a standard eq6 pro tripod at lowest setting , ordered from https://www.metals4u.co.uk/mild-steel/c6/tube/c2239/tube/c56/139mm-od-x-5mm/p8864 now phone up to order as you will need cut to length, you pay for a meter but they will email you the order then pay through link on email PLEASE state though that ends must be square cut as first order wasn`t very good but they sorted it pronto ,very good service ,

Base plate , top plate , and fins were ordered through https://www.lasermaster.co.uk/easy-order very easy to order, base plate choose washer type,material thickness 10mm mild steel 300mm dia  then specify how big centre hole i did 55mm then in comments box i asked for six holes equally spaced 15mm dia, 35mm in from edge to centre of hole , 

Top plate as above washer type 10mm mild steel ,12mm centre hole  175 mm in diameter though i matched this to my pier plate (holes for pier plate to be drilled by me at a later date )

Fins  x3 (i had a friend do me a drawing)   chose rectangular 8mm mild steel 140mm x75mm i then sent a drawing in DWG format see attachments (there is three formats lasermaster use the DWG format ) 

Owl hole is 85mm in dia and 90 mm down from top of tube to centre of hole , and was cut using an 85 mm hole saw , i drilled a 6mm hole first through tube ,i already had holesaw but similar to this https://www.bltdirect.com/85mm-holesaw-drill-bit-accessory?adcid=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2diG0ZCa1gIVpr_tCh1cPQwlEAQYASABEgLYPPD_BwE you will also need the arbor aswell https://www.bltdirect.com/arbour-for-32-125mm-holesaw-accessory  DRILL SLOWLY 

 i had a local company quote £30 for powder coating, any questions just ask, feel free to use  drawings and use i had them drawn so no copyright, this pier was made to be used with my skywatcher 200p newtonian so bear this in mind and adjust tube length to suit your needs .  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRACKET.dwg

BRACKET.dxf

BRACKET.pdf

Edited September 10, 2017 by bottletopburly

[bottletopburly]

Pier back from powder coaters

 

[laser_jock99]

Very professional looking pier. Nice!

[bottletopburly]

2 hours ago, laser_jock99 said:

Very professional looking pier. Nice!

thanks

[bottletopburly]

Bolted down 

[N3ptune]

Wow very nice pier, the powder coat was a good idea for the looks and against corrosion.