Wooden Tripod Legs

[Stu]

You are teasing us now Alan

Looking forward to seeing the finished article, the end must be in sight now?

Fantastic job! I’ve enjoyed following it.

[Alan64]

Thanks, Stu.  Yes, it's getting there.  At present, I'm in the process of attaching those parts to the arms.  But I still have this with which to tussle, and the final touch...

For what might it be?  

[Alan64]

The tray-spreader is completed.  I still need to cut down the shaft of the tray's clamping-knob, and that's not going to be any fun as it's of stainless-steel...

[Alan64]

[Alan64]

One's done...

Once the other two nylon tips are cut, drilled and shaped, all three will be epoxied on to the bog-and-dead-common steel tips.

[Alan64]

All three nylon sleeves for the three metal tips of the legs are now completed.  In the end, the fashioned tips received a final sanding with 220-grit paper, then a coating of liquid plastic solvent to seal the surfaces.  The surfaces are not nearly as smooth as the polished sides, and hopefully for some measure of traction when placed upon the vibration-suppression pads, or any relatively smooth surface...

All that's left to do now is to epoxy the sleeves on to the metal tips, and shorten the clamping-knob for the eyepiece-and-accessory tray...

...then the tripod will be fully assembled, and completed.

[Alan White]

Aha, so that was what the black tube was for!

obvious now of course.

Looking great Alan

 

[Alan64]

The steel tips of the legs were sanded with 80-grit sandpaper, along with the previously-epoxied surfaces of the wood surrounding the tips...

  

The inner surfaces of the drilled-out holes of the nylon sleeves were also sanded with same.  The sleeves are now glued to the steel tips with J-B Weld epoxy, and the legs set aside for same to cure.  It remains to be seen if the nylon will bond to the steel.  I have a test-assembly prepared, and to check before I try to twist the sleeves.  It will be at least twelve hours, or sixteen, as of this posting, before I can check them.

This, the very last thing I had to do: shorten and blunt the clamping-knob for the tray...

Sawing stainless-steel is gruelling, but the rest was kind of fun...

I didn't want to shorten it too much, for the tray will come to rest upon the arms before reaching the hub. 

[Alan64]

I made a test-assembly, as I could not find a definitive answer online as to whether or not this nylon(6/6 extruded) would bond to common-steel with this original JB-Weld epoxy.

I tried to pry that small piece of aluminum off of the end of the nylon rod, and in vain.  I succeeded only in scratching up the surface of the aluminum...

[Alan64]

Ladies and gentlemen, it is said that if you want to know how a thing, or even a person, truly appears, you take them out beneath the Sun...

The legs fully extended...

The legs fold up nigh perfectly; the hub can rest either high or low, depending on whether the arms are folded up or down.  I have a choice in that, albeit not one worth mentioning...

...though I made mention nonetheless.

[Alan64]

For the time being, the tripod will host my hyper-tuned EQ-2 mount-head...

  

Hmm, what telescopes shall I mount upon it...

[Alan64]

I could mount the telescope that came with the mount-head, a 114mm f/8 Newtonian...

Or, how about my newly-acquired "Bird Jones"...

 

Or, my Takahashi FS-102 perhaps...

Oh no, not that one, as it's quite undermounted there.  It even dwarfs my CG-4(EQ-3). 

Thank you for looking. 

[Gina]

Lovely job.

[Alan White]

Alan, after all the suspense all has turned out looking wonderful.
A good job your Dad didn't use these legs for another project after all.
I love a smart wooden tripod and a refractor upon it, looks like an Astronomers Scope ?

[Alan64]

Thanks all.  I'll eventually need an EQ5-class mount-head for the tripod, for that refractor, and my 150mm f/5 Newtonian.  But it must be black in colour, or rather the absence of same, and this is likely the one I'll choose...

 

I'll then fit only the RA-axis with a motor-drive, and that will satisfy me.  I don't think that I could make use of a go-to mount, as I have far too many trees on my land.  The outer areas are open, to the east and south, but sloped for the most part.  Besides, I wouldn't want to be out there with cars driving by on occasion.

 

[Stu]

Fantastic job Alan! It's been fun following the thread, you've kept us on the edge of our seats for a while but it has been worth it in the end! Enjoy using it!

[SIDO]

Enjoyed seeing its progress and the sequence of mounted shots final'e was a nice touch indeed, as well the tripod does look very nice amongst its brethren too and a job well done ? 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

It's wonderful to see a craftsman @ work. Thank you for sharing....