Dob base to convert a Newt

[Simon128D]

Hi all, 
I have an old but excellent Orion (Optics UK) Europa 250 Newt - my very first scope - and could never part ways with it. I every once an a while throw it on the EQ6 Pro for a nice time out but what I really want to do with this is convert it into a basic Dob.  I've been wanting a grab and go scope I can throw into the back of the when I go on my travels or decide on a random night out that I haven't planned and with this scope spending almost all of its time in the loft, converting it into a dob would see it get a lot more regular use. 

Could anyone recommend a dob base and as set of rings to match?

I looked into Orion Optics own dob mount but the prices are insane and they aren't anything to be excited about either, I used one of their  12" Dobs with the base and rings for almost a year and while nice and practical it's not worth more than £60 in my honest opinion. 

I have absolutely no handy skills, so making my own is not an option. If there was something out there that doesn't cost too much. 

[PeterStudz]

When I started making my Dob base for a 200p a year ago I did have a look to see if there was anything commercially made in the UK. I couldn’t find anything. And these things really need to be custom made for a particular telescope. It’s not easy to make one that would fit a variety of OTA’s. Even if someone did there would need to be annoying compromises.

Of course the whole point of a Dob base is that it could be simply constructed largely from bits and bobs people already have down their sheds. If you don’t have these parts sitting around at home, or can’t pinch them off someone that has, then even just purchasing the parts can add up.

I’m not surprised at the price of the Orion Optics examples. Eg - I did buy some quite cheap plywood for mine. I needed two sections of plywood at £18 each. I’ve noticed that these are now £19.90. If I’d added a reasonable lazy susan then this would have cost about £35. That’s about £75 before you’ve even started. Personally I prefer Teflon pads and some sort of Formica or equivalent (which I used) but that’s not much cheaper. Then you add paint, glue, screws, nuts and bolts, washers, rubber feet… You often need to buy bolts in, for example, packs of 10 when you only need one. Fortunately I have a big shed and already had a lot of stuff. If you aren’t careful it can soon add up. And of course time is money so there’s labour. 

I guess it might be possible to find someone (maybe on this forum) who could make one for you.