On the road again!

[ollypenrice]

First job was to move the Dob shed out of the astronomy zone and turn it into a motorcycle roll-off micro-garage. I took the panels off to make it easier to carry to its new home but it's working fine in its new guise.

The new project is to make a robotic roll-off for Tom, my regular collaborator. It's going to be just under 2 metres square in order to be able to house, perhaps, a dual TEC140 outfit one day. A robotic shed can be a bit smaller for most scopes but there is no pressure on the space so I've gone for a comfortable fit.

The pier will stand on the Dob's old central slab so there is no need to make a full slab. I'm just going to make a concrete foundation, not to the full depth of the shuttering but enough to stop the timber walls standing in water during wet spells. (I'll make a tamping tool which will set an even depth all round.) Cor, but this is not concreting weather! Too darned hot. I think I'll have to wait for reinforcements before firing up the mixer.

The shed will have low sides and rolling upper walls and roof with our patented self-activating drop-down flap (based on a medieval seige engine. ?‍♀️)

The pier will be low and made by filling precast concrete cylinders with concrete and rebar and then bolting a Mesu top plate to that.

My seventh observatory build and, dare I say it, my last!

To be continued...

Olly

 

 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Wonderful, but as you stated in an earlier thread, you were feeling your age, so I hope you make it to the end.....

[Alien 13]

I have to ask Olly, what happened to the Dob? 

Like the bike, proper job.

Alan

[ollypenrice]

1 hour ago, Alien 13 said:

I have to ask Olly, what happened to the Dob? 

Like the bike, proper job.

Alan

Sold to a very amiable Frenchman for use at his parents' second home in the Ardeche. He is, meanwhile, busy setting up a remote hosting observatory on a seriously large scale in the Atacama desert. This is a project with his friend, who also collected the Dob. I liked them both very much and admired their drive and energy. Our present visual big boy is a 14 inch Meade LX200 SCT. Honestly it really is very good.

Yes, the bike's fun. In bike hospital tomorrow, though, to cure some pinking. All done by plugging a PC into the fuel injection. Greek to me. What happened to carburettors???

1 hour ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Wonderful, but as you stated in an earlier thread, you were feeling your age, so I hope you make it to the end.....

I sure am, but it's just a matter of waiting for younger blood to help with the heavy lifting.  Or maybe just for cooler temperatures in September!

Olly

[Tom OD]

On 24/07/2018 at 17:33, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Wonderful, but as you stated in an earlier thread, you were feeling your age, so I hope you make it to the end.....

Yikes me too!

He'll have help shortly

Tom

[ollypenrice]

29 minutes ago, Tom OD said:

Yikes me too!

He'll have help shortly

Tom

Hey, I'm not dead yet! Just hot...

?lly

[Tom OD]

19 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Hey, I'm not dead yet! Just hot...

?lly

???

[ollypenrice]

So, progress: Tom and I did the concreting and built the lower shed and the roof during his visit. We just had the roof temporarily screwed to the shed awaiting wheels. Monique and I were then very busy with other bits and bobs, then a fortnight with guests and clear skies, but yesterday I managed to get the wheels in place. I was able to buy them off the shelf at our local Brico Depot and found a way of fitting them, and the rails, without lifting the roof by much. It rolls as sweetly as can be and has anti-lift in the form of batons on the roof which pass underneath the rail-carrying beam. Next job will be our usual house-designed self-actuating south flap. Anyway we're getting there and it hasn't (quite) killed me!

Olly

PS Really must sand and re-varnish the TEC140 shed in the background! Tut tut.

 

[Davey-T]

22 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Anyway we're getting there and it hasn't (quite) killed me!

Planning ahead, perhaps you should save the off cuts to make a coffin 

Dave

[wimvb]

On 20/09/2018 at 14:43, ollypenrice said:

PS Really must sand and re-varnish the TEC140 shed in the background! Tut tut.

But remove the TEC first, or no flats in the world will help you. ?