Big Old German.

[mikeDnight]

Back in February I bought a 6" F10 achromat which has turned out to be a pretty nice scope. It's a heavy beast though, and none of my mounts could carry it without the tube assembly bouncing around at the slightest touch. Then last week I bought an industrial looking German equatorial who's origin I'm unsure of. All I can say about it is there's no bounce, and if your head makes contact with any part of it in the dark, the mount won't notice.

Its not a pretty mount and its cosmetics needed a little touch up, but its a perfect match for the 6". Sadly the RA and Dec motors didn't work, so I've removed them and may get them replaced at a later date. Until then I'll use manual.

I couldn't even attempt to lift this mount on my own as I've injured my right arm throwing a rope for my dog. As I swung the rope back over my shoulder so as to get momentum, I hadn't noticed my 75 lb English bull terrier had already attached himself to it, and caused my elbow a serious injury. So I enlisted the services of my two sons who effortlessly hauled it onto my observatory pier. Once on the pier, I stripped the mount down, repainted its components, and cleaned the shafts. It now moves with the gentlest touch and looks a tad prettier I think?

It would be nice to learn of its origin. Irving is stamped on the underside of the large setting circles, but i suspect they were a later addition. 

Here are some pic's.

The mount before I bought it:

 

Once on the pier and undergoing dismantling and stripping:

 

Reassembling:

 

And useable but without worms attached.

[CCD-Freak]

Beautiful beast !!!  (^8   I bet it hardly breaks a sweat with the 6" on it.

 

 

[JeremyS]

Looks the part, Mike 👍🏻

[Alan White]

Now that makes your pier look small Mike, which I know is not the case.
A very solid piece of traditional engineering.
Will the Tak ride here from time to time or is that now the GRab and Go scope?

I was looking forward to the images, as I knew you had purchased said mount.
Looks great, I presume you will drive in RA in the next step.

 

[mikeDnight]

43 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Will the Tak ride here from time to time or is that now the GRab and Go scope?

I presume you will drive in RA in the next step.

 

Hi Alan,

I have visions of both the Tak and the Genesis SDF riding side by side on this mount, with the SDF acting as the best finderscope imaginable. I'm guessing I'll have to remove the counterweight for that though!

I will eventually get round to adding RA and Dec drives. I have the old motors but will need to source new ones. It's a project, and so I'll likely add new images as work progresses.☺

Edited March 23, 2022 by mikeDnight

[banjaxed]

Great solid looking mount, I bet it is bomb proof 😀

[jock1958]

Looks like a very substantial and well engineered mount Mike. With the worm drives refitted is it possible to attach some slo mo's cables while you are sorting the drive motors or is it nudge along for just now?

[paulastro]

A great looking mount Mike, a proper mount not a go-faster stripe in sight.

I can see it all now......'sub - four inch Tak for sale, going cheap' 😊

Edited March 23, 2022 by paulastro

[mikeDnight]

5 hours ago, jock1958 said:

Looks like a very substantial and well engineered mount Mike. With the worm drives refitted is it possible to attach some slo mo's cables while you are sorting the drive motors or is it nudge along for just now?

I think so Jock. I may knock up some extended flexi drives that would put me on, or that could keep me completely contented. I quite like old school methods!

[R26 oldtimer]

That's a very nice find, congrats on the restoration too!

[F15Rules]

9 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Looks the part, Mike 👍🏻

..and not a handle in sight!

Mind you, that mount looks as if it could handle anything..🤭😂.

Lovely setup, Mike. At the Practical Astronomy Show, Alan mentioned you'd gone all mysterious about a beast of a mount you'd found, so this is it.

Wonderful solid base for pretty much any scope!👍

Dave

[dweller25]

Great setup Mike 👍