DaveS's Obsy Build Thread

[Datalord]

4 hours ago, DaveS said:

What autofocuser are you using?

FocusLynx. It's a great piece of kit, extremely effective and reliable. I'm certain this isn't the root of my problems. 

[Gina]

I make my own as you probably know.

[DaveS]

Alas, I'm not in your league when it comes to engineering Gina, so will have to make do with what's commercially available.

[DaveS]

1 hour ago, Datalord said:

FocusLynx. It's a great piece of kit, extremely effective and reliable. I'm certain this isn't the root of my problems. 

I've heard of Focus Lynx, it's a good make so I'm sure it's not the root of the problem. Probably something cantankerous in the software.

[DaveS]

I've just posted a question about Sesto Senso on the ASA forum, but am not holding my breath, it may be the slowest forum I've come across.

[DaveS]

And so it begins.

The contractors turned up and started excavations plus delivered some ballast.

The area laid out.

First load of ballast

The excavation for the foundation begins.

[Helen]

Are you still on budget Dave?  It took an hour before we went over - the builders decided they needed a bigger skip!!

Well worth it though 🙂 

Helen

[DaveS]

They're still on their quote, but as for budget, it's case of "as much as it costs" But there has been a big increase in projected cost, as I've decided to automate the roof and other elements of the imaging, as I don't want to lose imaging time through being stuck indoors, as happened in December, when I lost three of the darkest, clearest nights i've seen since I moved here due to back problems.

[Alan White]

5 minutes ago, Helen said:

Are you still on budget Dave?  It took an hour before we went over - the builders decided they needed a bigger skip!!

Well worth it though 🙂 

Helen

Budgets are but an indication of a projects starting point which are written by the optimistic,
this allows projects to start without scaring too many folks.

Just look at H2S!

[Davey-T]

At least they didn't charge you for digger hire just so they could play with it 😂

Dave

[DaveS]

OK then, an update on the building work. Warning, lots of photos.

Concrete foundation laid and leveled.

Bock work lower tiers laid, no point in using expensive stone where it can't be seen, plus the ground isn't level so the blocks make up the difference.

The stone walls being built.

The walls at their finished height, ready for infill. There's a load of leftover stone and blocks that have been broken up, tamped down and cemented together with "sloppy mortar"

First layer of infill, Scalpings tamped and then whacked down. The foundation layer for the path around the obsy has also been laid.

And finally the finished concrete infill. the paving slabs are for the path that will go around the obsy. the contractors reckon there's 8 1/2 tonnes of material in there, so it's not going to go anywhere soon. I've been advised to wait about three weeks before drilling the fixing holes for the pier, though I'll start work on laying the sole plate, on a mortar bed for level and stability.

More updates to follow when I start the building work for the obsy propper.

Edited January 24, 2020 by DaveS
Typos

[Davey-T]

Progress at last Dave, looking good

Dave

[Z3roCool]

Would love to be doing this. My dream is to have an obsy I can setup in and just leave everything as is between sessions

Good luck

[DaveS]

Thanks. It a relief to at last have concrete (Groan) signs of progress. There are odd jobs I can do while waiting for the concrete to go off properly, I can lay out the north-south axis, and possibly mark the eight anchor points. plus construct the sole plate. Will also look for some suitable long screws for anchoring the plate down.

[Benjam]

1 hour ago, DaveS said:

Will also look for some suitable long screws for anchoring the plate down.

Hi Dave

I’ve been enjoying this thread, looks impressive... 

I’m a chippy by trade and I use these ”Easydrive countersunk screws” linked below, no plugs needed. 
 

https://www.screwfix.com/c/screws-nails-fixings/masonry-screws/cat840054?cm_sp=managedredirect-_-screwsfixings-_-masonryscrews

 

Ben 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Benjam

[DaveS]

Thanks Ben, those look like what I want.

The lead contractor has suggested I use long screws, so I can do the initial construction, then raise the sole plate slightly and pack in mortar, so I can level the whole frame before screwing down solid.

[Davey-T]

Depending how far out of level it is Dave you may be better off making packing pieces to level it and screwing down through them, trying to level stuff with mortar is a pain as soon as you try to squash it it expels water and goes solid.

This will also allow a bit of movement for the timber to grow / shrink as it tends to do.

Put some DPC under it as well.

Dave

[DaveS]

Thanks Dave, I hadn't thought of the DPC, dur....

I have a heap of door wedges that I will use for getting the initial level, then add packing as needed.

[DaveS]

A couple of photos of the finished platform.

It'll be the weekend before the path is stable enough to walk on. Then I'll do a trial assembly of the sole plate to find out how far off level it is without packing.

I've already given the end grain a couple of coats of sealing wax.

[Alan White]

Looking great Dave, now your hard graft starts with the wood bits.
Was it a special type of 'Bock' work that they installed 😂

[DaveS]

Dur... trying to type too fast, not caught by spell-check.

[Davey-T]

On 30/01/2020 at 20:01, Alan White said:

Looking great Dave, now your hard graft starts with the wood bits.
Was it a special type of 'Bock' work that they installed 😂

Bock, strong German lager, don't want the builders getting anywhere near that 

Dave

[DaveS]

Yep, the Bock comes after the work is done lol.

[Astrokev]

Looking good.

[Xsubmariner]

I noticed there was no pipes for services (power/extended USB) are you running them in later?