Dobsonian Base

[rhw1967]

Calling all you Dob users out there, little advice please.

So, I have a Dobsonian 250PX FlexTube GOTO, and totally love it.

I am wondering what advise people have for bases.

Currently am using a table outside, but the Mrs not happy about her "lovely" garden furniture being used in this way

So, what do you guys use ? I think right away will be looking for a water butt base, can anyone link me which ones they use and where to get them ? Of course size and weight capacity is important.

Was also thinking about using a wheeled dolly (or something similar). Again if people use them can you please give some advice and a link where to get them ?

Many thanks in advance.

Richard

[swamp thing]

Instead of lifting the Dob why not just sit down to observe? 

I always sit down when using my 10" Dob. 

[rhw1967]

1 minute ago, swamp thing said:

Instead of lifting the Dob why not just sit down to observe? 

I always sit down when using my 10" Dob. 

I sit down all day every day for hours and hours working at a computer, so honestly it's quite nice to be able to stand up and stretch.. haha.

I guess it doesn't have to be a huge, deep water butt base, just wide and strong enough to take the Dob and thus avoid any potential damp ground (I appreciate that tarp would also avoid this).

Also, a dolly/trolley would be for mobility rather than raising it up.

[Alan White]

1 hour ago, swamp thing said:

Instead of lifting the Dob why not just sit down to observe? 

I always sit down when using my 10" Dob. 

As he says, its what I do as well, very comfortable.
I use an ancient adjustable height stool bought from MFI in 1979.

Sitting is not about resting, it is about stability of your eye and observing well.

[rhw1967]

Will have a look at adjustable stools/chairs for observing  

[PaulM]

I put my 200p on a water butt when necessary and use an folding\adjustable ironing stool to sit at the EP

[JOC]

FWIW I built a lovely top for a Water butt stand base for my 8" Dob and it brought the height up wonderfully.  The only issue was that there turned out to be sufficient flex in the Water butt stand (which did feel solid) for the movement to be noticeable, and I reluctantly stopped using it.  I think would have been OK if I had filled it with concrete and let it set before turning it over to use.  In the finish I got a couple cheap adjustable height bar stools from ebay and keep one set high and one set low.

[rhw1967]

1 hour ago, JOC said:

FWIW I built a lovely top for a Water butt stand base for my 8" Dob and it brought the height up wonderfully.  The only issue was that there turned out to be sufficient flex in the Water butt stand (which did feel solid) for the movement to be noticeable, and I reluctantly stopped using it.  I think would have been OK if I had filled it with concrete and let it set before turning it over to use.  In the finish I got a couple cheap adjustable height bar stools from ebay and keep one set high and one set low.

Like the bar stools idea. 

Yep, that was a concern hence me starting the thread. If my DOB is going to be sitting on a water butt base then need to know the base can take the weight.. concrete idea is a good one though  

[JOC]

16 minutes ago, rhw1967 said:

Yep, that was a concern hence me starting the thread. If my DOB is going to be sitting on a water butt base then need to know the base can take the weight.. concrete idea is a good one though  

I had taken some care to buy some suitable bolts and had added a really good strong wooden top to my one to make the mounting face a little bit larger for the Dob base width, but even that didn't help with the flexing issue.  Filling it with cement would probably work, but then it becomes fairly unshiftable so you would want to know where you wanted to stand it and concrete it almost in situ I think.  I guess then it might even be possible to drop out the concrete like a sand castle and dispense with the plastic stand altogether.

[Geoff Barnes]

Hi Richard

Here's a thread i started back in July on how to move and mount your big Dobsonian.

I'm still using mine like this and is really successful.

 

[JOC]

34 minutes ago, Geoff Barnes said:

Here's a thread i started back in July on how to move and mount your big Dobsonian.

Do you find that you need to put a foot or both on the castor stand to use the scope and does doing so cause any vibrations? 

I love the big Dobs with handles and wheels in that thread though!

[Geoff Barnes]

No I never stand on the dolly board.

I just stand next to it, it only raises the scope by about 4 inches and I'm quite tall so can reach the eyepiece quite comfortably. My wife needs a small stepladder for viewing high objects but that' works okay as well.

[PaulM]

My 300p goto dob came with a dolly but tbh I tend to take the scope\tube off the base and relocate the base then reattach the scope tube as moving it around across the garden for me as a complete setup on the dolly is unstable and I find once it is off the dolly the EP is at the perfect height 

[rhw1967]

1 hour ago, Geoff Barnes said:

Hi Richard

Here's a thread i started back in July on how to move and mount your big Dobsonian.

I'm still using mine like this and is really successful.

 

Just taken a look at this, VERY cool.. am pretty rubbish when it comes to DIY but I think I can manage this..

 

Going to have a little surf pn the internet to see what dollys/trolleys I can find.

 

[rhw1967]

For me it isn't really about raising the height, so maybe the waterbutt base idea is off, it was about getting a base for my Dob that protects it from damp ground, etc, or a trolley/dolly for making it a little more mobile when moving it around.#

Seeing that some of the dollys are quite low, this could be a good solution.

[Ricochet]

I just bought three shedmate feet off eBay to replace the standard feet. They're only a couple of inches high but it's enough to lift the baseboard off wet ground. Initially, I thought they could be used for levelling, but at any extension they are not stable enough. Generally, I've found any raising of the dob increases vibration and so it is better to leave it as close to the ground as possible and sit at the correct height. 

[rhw1967]

1 minute ago, Ricochet said:

I just bought three shedmate feet off eBay to replace the standard feet. They're only a couple of inches high but it's enough to lift the baseboard off wet ground. Initially, I thought they could be used for levelling, but at any extension they are not stable enough. Generally, I've found any raising of the dob increases vibration and so it is better to leave it as close to the ground as possible and sit at the correct height. 

Didn't even consider vibration (am a newbie) so that's a very good point.

[PaulM]

Where I mostly locate my dob at the dark end of the garden I bought three circular stepping stones from homebase which are on the grass and level and thats where I position the base so its off the wet grass and one a level dry surface

https://www.homebase.co.uk/stylish-stone-granite-stepping-stone-300mm-light-grey_p488968