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DIY Dome plans


Dave_D

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So finally after what seems a lifetime away, just had an offer accepted for me and the other half to get a place of our own, so I can now get the scope set up permanently :D

As i'll also finally have a workshop for my CNC and any other gear, i'm thinking of making some sort of dome, so wondering if anyone has seen plans for one that will house a 10" newt.

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10 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Just a thought, wouldn't a second hand dome be just as cheap as trying to build one. I picked up my 2.7m dome for £1500. I'd hazard a guess it'll cost similar building your own.

You do have a point there. My wooden dome was not particularly cheap, once you add in all the extras like fibreglass to cover the ply, and a commercial one would be lighter and probably turn easier

 

H

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On 08/09/2020 at 22:30, Horwig said:

Awesome, thanks for that :D Yeah it may well be just as expensive as a second hand dome but i've now found myself in the rather excellent position of getting a house with space for an obsy, but more importantly, an already converted garage with enough space to partition into an obsy control room and excessively large workshop for an even bigger CNC router :D  and even more importantly that that, a good woman who talks string theory, watches Cosmos with me and thinks Neil DeGrasse Tyson is top 🤣🤣🤣

 

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The cost of waterproofing a ply dome should always be kept firmly in mind.
I thought I'd got away with it by using a "top quality marine seam filler."
It has all cracked in only a few months. The "top quality paint" is lifting all over.
That's hundreds of pounds [equivalent] completely wasted.
I know of two ply domes which were fiber-glassed over and leaked enough to rot at the base.

The popular UK GRP domes increased in price by 50% with delivery from the sole German distributor.
They insist on using a large lorry with all the attendant costs.

Peter Drew's aluminium, half cylinder "domes" may be  worth a look.
There should be years of life in those compared to ply. Lots of headroom too!
 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have found that "marine ply", especially the stuff with a cedar facing, can be a b*****r to paint. I took advice in the shop and they sold me the wtong stuff, so I rang the paint company (Akzo) help line and they checked the facts with the store, then gave me the right stuff for free. Ten years on and it still looks great. If a paint job is really important, or (as in my case) needed scaff, it may be as well to check the substrate with a paint company first.

Rgds P

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