Piero Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 I recently completed my adjustable chair. This will be used with Nunki - my 16" reflector, but also with the 4" refractor. The design was taken from the Catsperch PRO (stunning astro chair in my opinion) with simplifications taken from the Denver adjustable chair. I didn't have solid oak hardwood, so I used Baltic birch wood instead. I cut a large panel (1" thick) in sections. Four of them were used for making a bookcase - which is now hosting my astronomy books -, whereas two of them were cut in half, glued and used for making the main body of this chair. The seat and footrest were made from cutouts of the rocker bottom board and ground board of Nunki. Hardware is aluminium 6082T and 316 stainless steel. The feet rest on 5mm thick heavy duty rubber material glued to the wood. 2 coats of Smith's CPES (the latter used as primer for the varnish) and 3 coats of polyurethane varnish were applied. I already used a few times now and it works very well for my weight in my opinion. Here's the album containing all the photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fxsWy3e5BVfkKWM9A 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 And here some selected photos from the album: 22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimboman Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Sound job and very nicely made A+ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty38 Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Fantastic work, nice one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan White Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Very nice build and looks super, nice job Piero 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyS Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Looks excellent @Piero 👍🏻 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) Thanks guys! 🙂 Here's a photo of my "astro" bookcase mentioned in my first post. Same plywood. Dado joints for the shelves, doweling joints for connecting the outer structure. The 4 feet are the larger cutouts holes of my dob trunnions. Clear lacquer was used for finishing the bookcase. Need to study more.. Edited July 30, 2021 by Piero 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Fabulous work Porto, all looks amazing. I somehow missed the arrival of your 16” dob; beautiful! Did you build that too? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Stu said: Fabulous work Porto, all looks amazing. I somehow missed the arrival of your 16” dob; beautiful! Did you build that too? Thanks Stu 🙂 Yeah, I completed the 16" in April. It took 10 months of work. It was a great experience to design and make it I have to say. Now, it's a joy to use it. 🙂 I didn't write a thread about it because I wanted to avoid distractions. If you are interested, you can see the whole development on this Google photo album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DAZ8CqeRtJGe83jF8 It's an hybrid design really, with ideas from many telescope makers. The primary mirror is a 16" f4, figured by John Lightholder. He kindly sent me videos about his work on it. You can see them in the album above. The secondary is a 3.5" Antares, supported by an Astrosystems heavy duty spider and holder. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyS Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Now that the scope is completed @Piero, I hope we will have threads aplenty about your experiences with it 👍🏻 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discardedastro Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 That's a gorgeous scope and a wonderful looking chair. I'm a bit heavy for the Berlebach chairs and the Skywatcher one I got is definitely a bit rubbish, so I may have to steel myself and get some wood! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 1 hour ago, JeremyS said: Now that the scope is completed @Piero, I hope we will have threads aplenty about your experiences with it 👍🏻 Will do, but not regularly. For the time being I want to spend more time studying the objects visually at the eyepiece, rather than taking notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigT82 Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Very nice looking chair Piero. Your fabrication skills are really something, love the re-use of offcuts from the dob build too. Bit disappointed not to see dovetails on the bookcase though!😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollypenrice Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Lovely. How did you make the half-round cutouts on the reverse side of the seat back? Were they holes drilled in a plank which was originally twice as thick and then split? I'm most intrigued! Olly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhog Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Very nice indeed. Must be very satisfying observing with and on things you have built yourself. Always tip the hat to ATMs... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian2 Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 On 30/07/2021 at 22:14, Piero said: Thanks Stu 🙂 Yeah, I completed the 16" in April. It took 10 months of work. It was a great experience to design and make it I have to say. Now, it's a joy to use it. 🙂 I didn't write a thread about it because I wanted to avoid distractions. If you are interested, you can see the whole development on this Google photo album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DAZ8CqeRtJGe83jF8 It's an hybrid design really, with ideas from many telescope makers. The primary mirror is a 16" f4, figured by John Lightholder. He kindly sent me videos about his work on it. You can see them in the album above. The secondary is a 3.5" Antares, supported by an Astrosystems heavy duty spider and holder. Your scope looks superb. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spile Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) I have a similar chair but find it rather heavy (base 8.8Kg) and I am considering cutting holes especially in the seat (3kg) to reduce weight. How do you get on with yours in that respect.? Edited August 3, 2021 by Spile 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) Similar design as mine that I made in 2013 also from plywood but not birch just cheap stuff - I can't remember the original designer but think it was on a Dobsonian user group website. The main hinge is made from a broom handle as is the location pin for the seat. I didn't bother with a footrest as my Dob is an 8" x 1000mm focal length so not a tall as yours. Edited August 3, 2021 by TerryMcK 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helical Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Speaking as someone who was more or less chucked out of woodwork class at skool for being utterly useless, I am envious of the kind of skills on display here.👍👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 7 hours ago, ollypenrice said: Lovely. How did you make the half-round cutouts on the reverse side of the seat back? Were they holes drilled in a plank which was originally twice as thick and then split? I'm most intrigued! Olly After gluing the two panels together, I cut the horizontal slots with my router using a plunge base. It wasn't difficult, only a bit repetitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 7 hours ago, skyhog said: Very nice indeed. Must be very satisfying observing with and on things you have built yourself. Always tip the hat to ATMs... Thank you very much! 🙂 It has been a very nice experience. The telescope, bookcase, and observing chair are my first wood (and metal if we consider the dobson mirror cell) projects. The holes on the mirror cells were my first holes with a drill. Yeah, a steep learning curve as one has to study the physics of good designs, telescope making, but also how to use those tools. In my case those three projects were done with a drill, jigsaw, a router (both fix and plunge base), and a random orbital sander. I bought the latter half way through as I was getting bored at sanding, really. It helped me quite a lot though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 3 hours ago, ian2 said: Your scope looks superb. 👍 Thank you, sir! 🙂 I often think that all started from here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Spile said: I have a similar chair but find it rather heavy (base 8.8Kg) and I am considering cutting holes especially in the seat (3kg) to reduce weight. How do you get on with yours in that respect.? You built a very fine chair. Nice design! 🙂 Although I haven't measured mine after applying the finish, the total weight is about 9kg. I don't mind this weight as long as it is stable and comfortable. There are times when I also use it indoors for other reasons. The seats can be removed any way. Edited August 3, 2021 by Piero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollypenrice Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 15 minutes ago, Piero said: After gluing the two panels together, I cut the horizontal slots with my router using a plunge base. It wasn't difficult, only a bit repetitive. Ah, right, so you have a half-round router tool? I don't have one but that makes sense. Olly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 2 hours ago, TerryMcK said: Similar design as mine that I made in 2013 also from plywood but not birch just cheap stuff - I can't remember the original designer but think it was on a Dobsonian user group website. The main hinge is made from a broom handle as is the location pin for the seat. I didn't bother with a footrest as my Dob is an 8" x 1000mm focal length so not a tall as yours. That's lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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