JamesF's observatory build

[Gina]

Take care James

[Astrokev]

Yes take care! 

I've developed what I think might be tennis elbow over my build. Ought to see the GP I suppose but he'd only say rest it. How can I do that - I've got an observatory to finish!

[JamesF]

I was supposed to be spending today with some of our swimmers attending a local meet which can be a bit mentally intense, but fun even so.  Two of us were planned to be coaching, but one of the officials approached us before the start, knowing that the other coach was a qualified official and that I am training as one, to ask if one of us would officiate because they were short of people.  The other coach said should couldn't do it as she didn't have her official's "whites", so being somewhat less hidebound by convention I offered to do it as long as they didn't mind me not being in whites and could provide the equipment I didn't have.  It turns out that spending seven hours standing at the end of a lane in a sweltering swimming pool operating a stopwatch, the electronic finish timing button and ensuring the legality of turns is exhausting

So, whilst I was hoping to get a reasonable amount of work done today once the meet was over, by the time I got home I just didn't have the energy.  I did manage to put all the noggings and bracing in the first (end) wall and finish the major part of the side wall that I'd already begun.  That is pretty much it though, despite working until it was too dark to take photos.  Very handily I found a sash clamp extension in the workshop (probably belongs to my father in law) which makes holding the timbers together to make the walls much easier and faster.  There's very little to do to finish the second wall and I'm hoping that I can get close to having all the framing for the external walls completed tomorrow, though I do also need to try to find time to give the tractor some love as one of the front tyres gave out during the week and needs replacing.

James

[JamesF]

Tough day at the coal face today, and I feel a bit "glow in the dark" as a result.  The forecast was predicting 28C and I'd not be surprised if it didn't go a bit higher than that.  However, the new sash clamp extension made life easier, as did using a hammer rather than my fist for "tapping" things into position and this is how far I managed to get:

Which was pretty much as far as I'd hoped to get this weekend.  Obviously I now need to go back and fill in the noggings and braces, but that's quite a trivial thing compared with getting the basic framework in place and can happen as and when I have the odd ten minutes rather than the few hours required to cut and fix all the major timber components of a wall.

Amusingly despite the yellowing grass there's quite a clear path forming between the observatory and the workshop

I do also need to find a bit of scrap wood to prop the extensions where the roof will roll off so they don't sag downwards.  I'll do that this week.

I'll soon have to start thinking about covering it so it doesn't get rained on, but at the moment there seems little chance of that.

James

[Gina]

Good progress James ??

I made all my walls on the ground first including noggins and bracing.  The walls were then erected and bolted together with coach bolts.  The bottom rails were fastened to the floor with large coach screws into the joists through the floorboards.  The whole structure was/is modular.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Gina

[Astrokev]

Looking really good James.

I like the fact that you're fixing the wall frames directly to the joists, and not through the floor boarding. This is similar to my build and means any future issues or changes you want to make to the floor can be dealt with without taking the walls down! A much more flexible approach.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Astrokev

[Gina]

I did wonder if I should have done that when I wanted a floorboard out of the way but I found that if I slackened the screws I could lever up the wall and move the floor board.  That was before cladding though.  The construction has never been a problem in the several years since the build.  The only upgrade was to replace inverted angle and home made wheels with FH Brundel rail and 120mm SS wheels which made an enormous difference.

[Astrokev]

Yes, the FH Brundle wheels and track are amazing!

[JamesF]

A little progress today.  I've put in all the noggings for the two walls I added at the weekend.  I still need to add some more diagonal bracing, but I ran out of time for that today.  It is starting to feel like a building now, which is quite nice.  Getting the bracing in and making the internal wall and warm room roof are probably the next steps.  I think I have enough timber left for that without ordering more though as I changed the plan slightly after ordering it will be tight.  I do only have about a bucket full of waste so far though, so I've been pretty efficient.

I've also noticed that part of one of my top rails has warped a little around a couple of knots in the wood.  I guess because I've had the timber stacked up until it was used and suddenly it has been exposed to a lot of sun and dried out very fast now it's in place.  I'm not entirely sure it's a major problem at the moment.  Quite possibly I can just pull it straight later -- when I build the internal wall, perhaps, or even when I fit the rails for the roof.  But if all else fails I'll just replace it.

James

[JamesF]

Nothing more done this week until today, when I made up the wall between the warm room and the main observatory.  I dug out an old double-glazed window panel from when we had the windows replaced and that will go in the wall to allow the scopes to be seen without having to go to the warm room door.  I've also put some more bracing timbers in and I'm thinking I may do a few more just to make the walls stiffer.  Quite possibly they'll feel much more rigid once the cladding is on anyhow.  I have been debating the idea of slightly increasing the height of the lower wall in the warm room to give a little more headroom.  Not come to a decision on that yet, though I'd like to get the rafters sorted tomorrow so I'll need to work it out before then.

James

[JamesF]

Well, surprise, surprise, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to today.  Even before I'd managed to drag myself out of bed a neighbour phoned to ask if I wouldn't mind helping him dig up the pipe from his septic tank as it appeared to be blocked and he was in a hurry to fix it as he and his wife are hosting a party for their 25th wedding anniversary next weekend, so I spent some of the day there.  I also had to fix a couple of holes I found in the fencing for the chicken runs.

All of which meant that whilst I got some more bracing in the walls and added 150mm to the warm room wall height, that was all the progress possible.  It would be excellent if I could get the rafters sorted tomorrow, but I'm really not going to bet on it at the moment.

James

[Ags]

I applaud your energy!

[Astrokev]

Well James, you've made more progress than me in the last few days. All I managed to do was show the obsy to friends at a BBQ yesterday. Very nice to get positive feedback, but that doesn't get the thing finished!

Still, I'm back on it this week between other important stuff I need to do, so hopefully a little more progress will be made. Still trying to decide what size and supplier of cladding to get. There's a place down your way in Devon that offers free delivery and comes highly recommended, so I'm tempted to use them. Recommendation is far better than going solely on supplier sales pitches!

[JamesF]

After about three weeks off thanks to not being here, family stuff and so on, today I've managed to do a little more.  I've cut one rafter, checked it fits along the length of the warm room roof and then used it as a template to mark up all the others.  Those are also now cut to length, but I still need to take out the "bird's mouth" before I can fit them.

Machine Mart have sent me a "we pay the VAT" type offer that runs for another week, so I'm quite tempted to take advantage of the opportunity to buy a cut-off saw and a few other bits I need.  I've also borrowed my dad's MIG welder, bought myself an auto-darkening welding mask and some magnetic welding clamps.  Only in the last couple of days I discovered that it's possible to get magnifying lenses to fit in welding masks which are apparently often recommended for welders who, err, let's say are gifted with somewhat greater life-experience than the average person   Wearing glasses makes close-up work much more comfortable these days, so I might investigate that further.  Short of making up some jigs and purchasing the steel, I think that should leave me pretty much ready to, umm, roll, with the roof.

James

[JamesF]

Well, rain stopped play this week, but this evening I've managed to get out and fix all the rafters for the warm room.

At this point I think I have to start looking at sorting the rest of the roof.  I found some OSB that I'd forgotten I had so I could put that over the warm room and protect it with a tarp for now, but everything else probably has to wait until I have a complete roof so I need to get all the bits ordered and get on with it.  The forecast for the weekend is poor to say the least, so it's unlikely I'd be able to make much progress anyhow.  I think it might be indoor jobs and brownie-point earning happening this weekend.

James

[JamesF]

It's a miserable day today, but I've finally sat down and ordered most of the tools and consumable stuff I'll need for welding up the rolling roof.  Also bagged a few bits of scrap steel so I can spend a bit of time getting my welding head on again.

Next I need to think about the steel section, wheels and rails.

James

[Gina]

F.H. Brundle for wheels and rails.  I used 120mm wheels and matching rail.  Semi-circular section - though others seem to prefer V section.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Gina

[Astrokev]

9 minutes ago, Gina said:

F.H. Brundle for wheels and rails.  I used 120mm wheels and matching rail.  Semi-circular section - though others seem to prefer V section.

Yep definitely second FH Brundle. I went for 80mm V groove and they're brilliant.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Astrokev

[JamesF]

Yup.  I've had their web page open in a tab for at least the last couple of months, waiting for me to be ready to order :D

James

[Astrokev]

1 minute ago, JamesF said:

Yup.  I've had their web page open in a tab for at least the last couple of months, waiting for me to be ready to order

James

You know it makes sense...

[JamesF]

Tools now arrived.  Next job is probably to make room for everything in the workshop

I've had little time for more work on the observatory in the last couple of weeks.  Been doing more "brownie points" jobs and other things that needed to be done around the place.  I hope to order the track and wheels this week though, at least.  I might also order the steel for the roof just to get everything here.  Meanwhile here's how it looks so far.

James

[emadmoussa]

Very clever! 

[Yawning Angel]

Looking good James!

[JamesF]

Just ordered the V-groove track and wheels.  Not entirely sure how I'm going to make the wheels fit the metal frame for the roof yet, but once I actually have them in my hands I'm sure something will suggest itself.

James

[JamesF]

Apparently next Monday is a bank holiday!  Who knew?!  Since I've just discovered this handy bit of information I've also ordered the steel for the sliding roof frame.  It'd be a shame to have time to do stuff over the weekend and not have the necessary materials here.

James