JamesF's observatory build

[Astrokev]

Looking good James.  About time I resurrected my build I think. Been idle for too long now. It's surprising how quickly you get drawn into other needy things.

[JamesF]

23 minutes ago, Astrokev said:

Looking good James.  About time I resurrected my build I think. Been idle for too long now. It's surprising how quickly you get drawn into other needy things.

Indeed.  There's never a shortage of stuff that needs sorting

James

[Gina]

Very true!!

[JamesF]

Track and wheels have arrived.  The delivery driver almost broke the drive in the process of doing so, though I wasn't there to see it.

James

[JamesF]

No sign of the steel arriving sadly, despite having an estimated delivery date of Thursday or Friday, so I've tried the track out for size and spent today sorting out the workshop to make room for my new cut off saw which is now sitting on a surprisingly decent stand that I got from Lidl for £40, and a belt sander that my Dad gave me which is on a rather more scabby stand scavenged from a couple of cheap table saws that gave up the ghost some years back.

James

[Astrokev]

4 hours ago, JamesF said:

No sign of the steel arriving sadly, despite having an estimated delivery date of Thursday or Friday, so I've tried the track out for size and spent today sorting out the workshop to make room for my new cut off saw which is now sitting on a surprisingly decent stand that I got from Lidl for £40, and a belt sander that my Dad gave me which is on a rather more scabby stand scavenged from a couple of cheap table saws that gave up the ghost some years back.

James

They do that sort of kit in Lidl?  Never been in this store - perhaps I'm missing out!

[Gina]

I've bough quite a lot of tools in Lidl - good quality too

[JamesF]

1 hour ago, Astrokev said:

They do that sort of kit in Lidl?  Never been in this store - perhaps I'm missing out!

I didn't know about it until my father-in-law mentioned that they had them.  For that price I thought it was worth a try and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of it given the price.  I'll try to remember to take a photo tomorrow.

James

[Alan White]

A big vote for Lidl and Aldi power tools from me, usual China made, but normally fir for purpose at a throw away price.

Your build is still looking good James, far beter than my and many others pipe dreams are progressing to any reality.
Keep on rolling (pun intended) with the roof.

[Gina]

I think the tools I've bought from Lidl have be German made or at least most of them.

[JamesF]

53 minutes ago, Alan White said:

A big vote for Lidl and Aldi power tools from me, usual China made, but normally fir for purpose at a throw away price.

Your build is still looking good James, far beter than my and many others pipe dreams are progressing to any reality.
Keep on rolling (pun intended) with the roof.

Thank you, Alan.  I'd have to admit that the observatory was a pipe dream for an awful long time for me too

Here's the stand.  My only criticism of it is that I'd prefer it to be just a could of inches taller, but that's just me.

James

[Alan White]

James that looks grewt

Height is a personal thing of course

[Gina]

You'll be able to print extensions for the legs to make it a bit higher on your 3D printer.  You'll find all sorts of uses for 3D printed parts.

[JamesF]

10 minutes ago, Gina said:

You'll be able to print extensions for the legs to make it a bit higher on your 3D printer.  You'll find all sorts of uses for 3D printed parts.

Now there's an idea   I had already thought about printing replacement feet for the ones missing from the ironing board (which wobbles now, as a result).

James

[Gina]

I even printed a replacement toilet roll holder for the bathroom when the previous wooden one broke.

[Stargazer33]

What about scaffold poles cut slightly longer than the original legs bolted on instead?

[Astrokev]

Dig a hole to stand in (you're not thinking outside the box here!)

[JamesF]

Steel arrived today.  If I use it all, I'm going to have trouble getting the roof on   It's not light.  The delivery chap wasn't impressed.  Oddly enough it was the same one who delivered the track and wheels last week.

So, I need to get the roof design pretty much finalised and then hopefully this weekend I can start welding stuff together.

James

[Astrokev]

I made my roof frame in-situ to avoid having to lift it onto the walls. This also helped ensure the dimensions were correct!

Is it possible to weld it in-situ?

[Gina]

 I made my roof in-situ too but mine is all timber.

[JamesF]

9 hours ago, Astrokev said:

I made my roof frame in-situ to avoid having to lift it onto the walls. This also helped ensure the dimensions were correct!

Is it possible to weld it in-situ?

It might be possible.  Or I could do some of the initial work on the ground and then do the final assembly in situ.

James

[Davey-T]

May sound like a silly idea but you could make up a timber jig to weld the roof up on the ground then cut it in half and reassemble using smaller tube inside the joins to align it and do final welds in place.

Welding upside down isn't fun as I can vouch for having spent a lot of time lying under rusty cars welding.

Dave

[JamesF]

Indeed.  I'll see how it goes once I start putting it together.  My intention was to use a jig of some sort for the majority of it otherwise I'll never get it square.

James

[Gina]

I just wonder James, why you are using welded steel rather than timber like most of the rest of us seem to do?

[JamesF]

22 minutes ago, Gina said:

I just wonder James, why you are using welded steel rather than timber like most of the rest of us seem to do?

The size and design of the roof, really.  It has to cover an area of 2.4m x 3.6m and has vertical sides that are going to be at least 600mm high.  If I used wood I'd end up having to make it even bigger just to accommodate the size of timbers required.  I think using steel will cut down on that quite a bit and mean I don't need so much bracing.

James