A Restoration

[Alan64]

Isn't it lovely? 

Success; the next thing to do is to line the inner rim of the cap with flocking, and perhaps with aluminum tape as a substrate, depending. There were ridges round the inner rim of the cap, and were obliterated.  I never did like plastic ridges taking up slack, in this instance, or as bearings in the case of draw-tube runs within focusser housings...

[SpookyKatt]

perfect fit.

[Alan64]

1 hour ago, SpookyKatt said:

perfect fit.

Yes, but only after rather extensive sanding and grinding.  

[Alan64]

My thinnest self-adhesive felt, even with the plastic ribs round the inner rim obliterated, would be far too thick for this.  I didn't even attempt it.  Instead, I got my older paper-backed flocking and installed a strip of that.  But it was a bit too thick as well, to my liking.  My newest flocking is not paper-backed, hence thinner, but not by much.  Still, I had no other choice...

It's quite snug, although I expect it to loosen up a little over time, but not too much I hope.

Thank goodness that's done.

[Alan64]

Since my last reply, one of the things I've been doing is anguishing over how to re-attach the plastic covers for the altitude/latitude axis...

I didn't want to simply glue them back on, but I can't think of any other way.  So, I've resigned myself to gluing them, but not with a hard-curing glue in case I need or want to pop them back off in future.  Fortunately, the cover with the markings re-seats exactly as it was positioned before. 

Otherwise, the head has all or most of its other accoutrements attached...

For two or three days I hunted, to no avail, but finally I found the 7-pounder of the two counter-weights that came with the old CG-4(EQ-3).  It also came with a 4-pounder...

Also shown is the 11-pounder that came with the new Meade head, just that one.  Then, at the top, the 8.2-pounder that came with my old Vixen GP-DX head.

I should be all set, and to mount most if not all of my telescopes onto the new EQ-5 head.  I do wish I could find a 2-pounder.  Perhaps I can get by without one lighter when mounting my smallest of telescopes.

When I had gotten the Vixen GP-DX long ago, it came with at least that 8.2-pounder, if not a smaller one in addition.  I can't remember.  It probably didn't.  But at the time, I did get these two 11-pounders in black, and now in rusty-black...

I had gotten those two 11-pounders for mounting my 8" f/5 Newtonian, but the telescope was too large for the Vixen GP-DX in the end.  I did use one of them with my 4" refractor however...

The refractor does weigh about 11 to 12 lbs., so the two were well matched.

The Vixen 8.2-pounder was re-discovered several years later, then cleaned and re-painted.  But I'm planning to strip it, and paint it another colour, which will be seen within a future posting.

[Franklin]

Just been re-reading all of this thread Alan and your mammoth efforts to re-build/re-create your LX70 mount. I think it is amazing what you have done and the whole documentation with all the pictures you have posted will be a welcome resource for others wanting to re-vamp their EQ5 style mounts in the future. Should be a sticky. 👍

[Alan64]

On 23/10/2021 at 17:31, Franklin said:

Just been re-reading all of this thread Alan and your mammoth efforts to re-build/re-create your LX70 mount. I think it is amazing what you have done and the whole documentation with all the pictures you have posted will be a welcome resource for others wanting to re-vamp their EQ5 style mounts in the future. Should be a sticky. 👍

Thank you Franklin.

[Alan64]

Glamour shots of the completed mount...

It's a whopper of a mount...



The cinder-block on the wee porch is for scale.

By the by, I now have a wonderful solution for attaching the plastic covers, besides glue, onto the latitude-axis. My smaller diameter, thinner neodymium-magnets...



Within the preceding images, the plastic covers for the latitude-axis are being held by the magnets, but it's only double-sided tape holding the magnets onto the covers' inner sides. The magnets are not touching the bolt, and will not need to in future. I will be attaching the magnets with other than tape, J-B Weld epoxy most likely, and spaced to where they will almost touch the head and tip of the bolt, but not quite.

The solution for the plastic covers pertains only to myself, as there is no real need to remove them in the first place. But I will tell you this: I noticed that the RA-axis was not quite set to my latitude, so I adjusted it, and O how smoothly it motioned; luxurious; again, like the thick door of bank-vault whilst closing.

Incidentally, when I had cut down and painted the pier-extension, several years ago, and painted it "safety blue", little did I know just how prophetic that choice of colour would be...

[Alan64]

I removed the taped magnets from the inner sides of the covers for the altitude/latitude-axis, and polished both...



Aren't they lovely? 

The cover printed with the degree-scale was fairly easy to pop off when I began this project, but not the blank one. As a result, the edge of the blank cover was damaged a little, with a scratch over onto the bevelled surface, indicated by the red arrow, and a rough edge in that same area. I first scraped the excess off of the scratch, "painted" it with acetone to smooth it, then polished the entire cover with Colgate® toothpaste, then Pond's® original cold-cream, and with my finger-tips only. The printed cover was polished with the cold-cream only. Both covers had some light and micro scratches in addition.

The relatively large scratch is still there on the blank cover, but noticed only via this macro-shot and a brilliant LED-light...



It was quite noticeable before, just looking at it from two feet, more or less, distant.  

The small, neodymium magnets are 1.5mm in thickness. The depth of the inner side of both caps, 5mm. The head of the bolt, in relation to the blank cover, protrudes about 1mm into same. The tip of the bolt, in relation to the printed cover, protrudes about 2mm into same.

Hence, the magnet for the blank cover will need a 2mm riser, and a 1mm riser for the magnet of the printed cover. Once the risers are integrated, there will be about 0.5mm of spacing between the magnets and the two ends of the bolt; again, not quite touching.

When I had gone out to remove the covers, with their magnets taped in still, the printed cover was harder to remove, as its magnet was closer to its end of the bolt, the tip.

At present, I'm thinking about making an aluminium spacer for the gap between the saddle and DEC-housing, to epoxy it onto the underside of the saddle's rim...



That would help to keep debris from entering the gap over time.

Alas, I wouldn't have to think of these things if Synta had been "on the ball".

[banjaxed]

Looking at the glamour shots of the completed mount I could not help notice they were taken in front of your new shed. As your shed thread has not had any new posts for a while are we to assume it is finished ?

[Alan64]

10 minutes ago, banjaxed said:

Looking at the glamour shots of the completed mount I could not help notice they were taken in front of your new shed. As your shed thread has not had any new posts for a while are we to assume it is finished ?

It is, I'd say, 97-98% finished. 

[Alan64]

Fortunately, as fortune does favour the foolish, the inner sides of the covers each had a small moulding mark in the centre, however vague.  I then took my mini drill-press with a carbide drill-bit and drilled them out slightly for a compass leg-tip to nestle within...

Incidentally, the magnet for the blank cover can be off-centre, if one is cross-eyed, but the magnet for the printed cover must be dead-centre, thus requiring a right good rap on the head.  

The risers for the magnets, and from a 1mm-thick aluminium scrap-sheet...

The risers were then cut out with "tin snips", and dressed...

The two at far right will be epoxied together, and for the blank cover.

Edited November 7, 2021 by Alan64

[Alan64]

The magnets, and their risers, have been epoxied in place...

The printed cover is on the left, and with only one riser...

After the epoxy sets a bit, I may add more round the magnets and risers.  I do have my mixing-palette with the unused epoxy, a "canary in the coal mine", and to test its setting over time.

Edited November 7, 2021 by Alan64

[Alan64]

Additional epoxy was just added round the magnets and risers...

...and for peace of mind.

I can still twirl the unused epoxy of the first application round the toothpick, and as I type, therefore this second application should bond well to the first.

[Alan64]

The covers for the latitude-axis gently snap into place...

The slight spacing between the magnets and the bolt ensure that the covers are able to fully seat.

The RA-axis is aimed at Polaris, more or less, and ready to go with the 70mm f/12.9 achromat attached...

The legs of the tripod are fully retracted, save the slight extensions required to level the mount, and per its built-in bubble-level.  I expect I'll be keeping the legs retracted mostly, if not always.  The lightest, four-pound counter-weight is attached, and the telescope balanced, more or less.

The revolutions amaze and astound.  I'll be wanting slow-motion knobs instead.

No, you're not seeing things.  I have a new observing-chair.  It's much nicer than the old one...

Although, I'll not be retiring it, just yet.

I'm going to need a two(to three?)-pound counter-weight.  I can get an iOptron 2.2-pound, and a 13/16"(20.7mm) drill-bit to open it up.  That would still be somewhat less than the Vixen two-pounder, but only somewhat.  The Vixen is nigh insanely priced; two pounds of silver, it seems.  

"Those interested in Vixen precision optical products can expect to see them available on Explore Scientific's website as soon as October of this year." - GlobeNewswire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjaonLGgSN0

Edited November 7, 2021 by Alan64

[Alan64]

Forget iOptron and Vixen.  I ordered this...

https://on-stage.com/products/view/11140/471270

...and from a Reverb.com seller, similar to eBay, but for that musical only, for $21.57, shipped.

We'll see how that flies.

Here are a couple of reviews I found online, at least one pertaining to that astronomical instead...

"I really had no need for the 11 lb Celestron weight and some one told me about these. They fit right on the weight bar and you do not have to remove the safety knob at the bottom to install and remove them. With the 3 lb and the 6 lb, I have all the weight I need right now, Plus they are smaller around, so you can move them all the way to the top and not worry about hitting anything on the mount. The lock knobs have a soft plastic or rubber tip, so it will not mark up the bar." - Michael

I assume that they have an "AVX", at least.

Then there was this one...

"Perfect size and weight for the Impact boom stands. No more hassles no matter how big the reflector used." - mediclimber

That had me confused, at first.  All of that has to do with lighting.  Of course, the rest of you probably knew that already.