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DIY Dobsonian Mount

Mikyg

By Mikyg
in DIY Astronomer

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Mikyg

Mikyg

Posted
Posted

Hi all, i was just wondering if anyone can point me to any plans for a diy dobsonian mount for a 250mm reflector. It's a Skywatcher 250pds ota.  Thanks for your help guys

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John

John

Posted
Posted

Heres some plans for one for the same scope that you have. The author is Steve Richards who is "Steppenwolf" on this forum. I've seen the scope and it's really good :icon_biggrin::

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/feature/how-guide/how-build-dobsonian-mount

Here is another one for a 5" Skywatcher newtonian - you would need to scale this one up a bit:

https://10minuteastronomy.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/how-to-build-a-dobsonian-mount-for-a-5-inch-telescope/

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Mikyg

Mikyg

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2 minutes ago, John said:

Heres some plans for one for the same scope that you have. The author is Steve Richards who is "Steppenwolf" on this forum. I've seen the scope and it's really good :icon_biggrin::

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/feature/how-guide/how-build-dobsonian-mount

Here is another one for a 5" Skywatcher newtonian - you would need to scale this one up a bit:

https://10minuteastronomy.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/how-to-build-a-dobsonian-mount-for-a-5-inch-telescope/

Thanks john i'll take a look

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  • 3 weeks later...
Mikyg

Mikyg

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Hey thanks for all the advice guys. I found a design i quite liked and went with it while trying to improve it where I could. The design I found was from a member on here so I just made a few tweaks and hopefully the user doesn't mind me getting a few ideas.

one of the things I was worried about was the base on the dobsonian but I found something that works perfectly, it's called a lazy Susan bearing and can hold 450kgs. Some of the other tweaks were I used some heavy duty flight case handles, some metal plates where the bolt for the ota is mounted and a spring action door stop which I'm thinking of grinding down to a bit of a point.

i'll attach a picture of the lazy Susan bearing and the mount and scope before its been painted and the another next week when I've had time to paint it.

this was just a test run and we have proper plastic hand grip bolts coming.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

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barkis

barkis

Posted
Posted

Errm!, and just where is the Coffee Cup Holder :D.
Looks very good, but keep it out of the sunshine, that Black is heat absorbent, and your
cooling down time might be prolonged, although UK winter sunshine is rather weak. 
 

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Mikyg

Mikyg

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26 minutes ago, barkis said:

Errm!, and just where is the Coffee Cup Holder :D.
Looks very good, but keep it out of the sunshine, that Black is heat absorbent, and your
cooling down time might be prolonged, although UK winter sunshine is rather weak. 
 

Well if you look at the tray on the front theres a spare slot so I figured i could find a cup that will fit in there hahaha.  

Thank you for the tips on the paint, i really should have thought of that. 

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Mikyg

Mikyg

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1 hour ago, Astro Imp said:

Looks good, you seem to have a nice finish on the paint job.

Are you pleased with the result, that's really all that matters?

It looks ok, i made the dobsonian mount for my dad but he's retired so asked if he could paint it to give him something to do, he's done a better job than i would have lol

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Mikyg

Mikyg

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1 hour ago, Beulah said:

Nice work! Very stylish finish with the metal hardware...

What paint did you use? I have had some good results with ronseal diamond hard floor Paint on a test piece...

Thank you, i'll attach a picture of the paint now. 

IMG_4283.JPG

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  • 1 month later...
TSRobot

TSRobot

Posted
Posted
On 9/10/2017 at 00:17, Mikyg said:

Hey thanks for all the advice guys. I found a design i quite liked and went with it while trying to improve it where I could. The design I found was from a member on here so I just made a few tweaks and hopefully the user doesn't mind me getting a few ideas.

one of the things I was worried about was the base on the dobsonian but I found something that works perfectly, it's called a lazy Susan bearing and can hold 450kgs. Some of the other tweaks were I used some heavy duty flight case handles, some metal plates where the bolt for the ota is mounted and a spring action door stop which I'm thinking of grinding down to a bit of a point.

i'll attach a picture of the lazy Susan bearing and the mount and scope before its been painted and the another next week when I've had time to paint it.

this was just a test run and we have proper plastic hand grip bolts coming.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

Hi. I'm too thinking about building my own dob mount. I've used the Lazy Susan bearings before for other projects to make swivel bases for big old TVs and they really can hold a lot of weight with ease. Do you find the bearing up to the job? To be honest I was wondering why all dobs don't use these lazy Susan bearings as it just seems obvious to have a ball bearing base. I was wondering if the Lazy Susan was too free moving? Your build looks fantastic by the way!

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TSRobot

TSRobot

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8 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

Lazy Susan bearings are too free moving as supplied but it's not difficult to provide an adjustable friction brake.   :icon_biggrin:

Hmm. I've seen online an LP used with furniture felt pads too. I'm sure there are many ways. What would you use for a friction device?

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