Pier head celestron cg5-gt

[FrenchyArnaud]

Hi guys!

I have decided to build a pier to set up my antique CG5-GT permanently. However I am struggling a bit with the design: the concrete column and cabling etc are not a problem but I cannot for the life of me find a part, an adapting head that could be screwed on top of the column and receive the mount itself. I have found old forum references to orion / sirius pier heads but I could not get much further than that.  Not a problem if you have a SW or even ioptron mount but it seems much more difficult to source for the celestron cg5.

Can anyone point me in the right direction or have relevant remarks? Thanks in advance.

[Carbon Brush]

When building my concrete pier, I didn't know what sort of mounts I would use over the years.

A soltuion presented itself when I replaced the brake discs on my car.
I embedded studs into the pier in a circle, a reasonable fit for the friction part of the disc.
The hole in the disc centre takes various mounts, sometimes adding washers as required.

My permanent setup has the alter D6 on there. A bit ugly looking and I meant to sort some nicer looking spacers.
That was in 2008 but it still works so nothing got done.

Some car parts suppliers even include dimensioned drawings on the web pages, allowing to you use a new shiny disc with predictable size.
If you shop around, discs are not that much money. Maybe treat your car to a new set?

HTH, David.

 

[StevieDvd]

A quick google shows the pier adapters are available see RVO adapters FLO also do one which is a multi-fit

You could contact them to make sure it will fit your mount. I could not find the dimensions for your exact mount so not sure if it's an EQ5 or EQ6 equivalent. If you go for a diy job or a local company to fabricate something you'll need the dimensions.

What's the diameter & depth of the hole the mount fits in, that'll be a great help to know when seeking the adapter.

 

[FrenchyArnaud]

3 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

When building my concrete pier, I didn't know what sort of mounts I would use over the years.

A soltuion presented itself when I replaced the brake discs on my car.
I embedded studs into the pier in a circle, a reasonable fit for the friction part of the disc.
The hole in the disc centre takes various mounts, sometimes adding washers as required.

My permanent setup has the alter D6 on there. A bit ugly looking and I meant to sort some nicer looking spacers.
That was in 2008 but it still works so nothing got done.

Some car parts suppliers even include dimensioned drawings on the web pages, allowing to you use a new shiny disc with predictable size.
If you shop around, discs are not that much money. Maybe treat your car to a new set?

HTH, David.

 

Yes I have seen this sort of thing on youtube. I am actually looking seriously into it, but my only concern is that I would need to drill through the disks (to place the studs and the north tit) and drilling this seems like an endeavour requiring some serious diy equipment. Besides, it would require some plate or stopper to prevent the mount to just pop out the central hub and the whole thing would need to be suspended up to be able to access the main central bolt. Do you have any pictures by any chance?

[FrenchyArnaud]

2 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

A quick google shows the pier adapters are available see RVO adapters FLO also do one which is a multi-fit

You could contact them to make sure it will fit your mount. I could not find the dimensions for your exact mount so not sure if it's an EQ5 or EQ6 equivalent. If you go for a diy job or a local company to fabricate something you'll need the dimensions.

What's the diameter & depth of the hole the mount fits in, that'll be a great help to know when seeking the adapter.

 

Hi, yes I have seen these ones. Not sure it fits the cg5, I will contact them. The central hub is 58mm (so need a 60mm hole) and 18.5mm deep (so need  20mm depth) and the north tit (sorry there is surely a correct name for that in english but i don't know it) is 40mm away from the central main bolt. 

I am looking for the possibility of having someone manufacturing it from a brake disk or from scratch, not as straight forward as i thought

[Carbon Brush]

From a few years back......

A side view of the pillar top & brake disc.

https://stargazerslounge.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=330158

A view of the D6, with a CG5 GT sitting on top for scaling.

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_2018_09/DSCF6883.JPG.d778fd337630458d41284eecd8a29d15.JPG

[FrenchyArnaud]

19 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

A quick google shows the pier adapters are available see RVO adapters FLO also do one which is a multi-fit

Actually this multi fit one looks like a nice option and lists the cg5 as compatible ! great find 😃👍

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, FrenchyArnaud said:

  Not a problem if you have a SW or even ioptron mount but it seems much more difficult to source for the celestron cg5.

CG5 has the same profile base as the SW EQ5.

[FrenchyArnaud]

3 minutes ago, Franklin said:

CG5 has the same profile base as the SW EQ5.

Good to know!

[StevieDvd]

This is an often asked question so plenty of options available.

In this older thread there is a diagram of the pier adapter types used showing the measurements of the eq5 & eq6. It would seem the eq5 size is what you'd need.

The north pin/peg/bolt or Azimuth pin is a better term for the locating lug.

Have you yet to start or have you a pier column ready for an adapter?

If you need help making something for your setup FLO recommended this company to me http://jtechdesign.co.uk/ to see if they can help.

Pier adapter plates usually go on to an existing top plate that is already levelled. There will be a space to let you add the central bolt to hold the mount down once located in the adapter.

Below is mine. I had the plates made up as the pier was already made but the top needed replacing.  If designing from scratch you could possibly have the pier adapter as the top and another plate on the pier itself making it cheaper and easier.

 

 

 

 

[Franklin]

MoreBlue do this one which could be fitted to a pillar via the 6 bolt holes. It is designed for the old 60mm GP base which is the same as CG5/EQ5, ordered direct from Japan it would set you back around £70 or maybe FLO could get one for you?

 

[FrenchyArnaud]

8 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

In this older thread there is a diagram of the pier adapter types used showing the measurements of the eq5 & eq6. It would seem the eq5 size is what you'd need.

Not sure what older thread you nean but I will forage the forums

9 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

The north pin/peg/bolt or Azimuth pin is a better term for the locating lug.

Duly noted 😅 Sorry, I am french - been 10years in the uk but sometimes I come up short 😅

11 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

Have you yet to start or have you a pier column ready for an adapter?

Nothing is done, it's ground zero for now. I did not want to do anything before I have a completely defined plan for everything. I know how and where to do the foundation and the column, insert threaded studs etc, and make an electric box to set everything safe. I struggle purely on the assembly concrete column / mount. But at this point I already have a much better global vision of this part too, thanks to you guys 👍

Nice set up, by the way, very neat!

[StevieDvd]

Sorry about the see this thread link, it was a page with dimensions which I can't find now.

However, that's not needed now. This is the sort of 2 plate setup on a home-made pier that I was referring to. It's from the self built observatory of an SGL member @malc-c

 

 

[FrenchyArnaud]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

MoreBlue do this one which could be fitted to a pillar via the 6 bolt holes. It is designed for the old 60mm GP base which is the same as CG5/EQ5, ordered direct from Japan it would set you back around £70 or maybe FLO could get one for you?

 

Do you have a link? I can't seem to find it.

[Franklin]

http://www.moreblue.co.jp

SD017 product code

Edited January 27, 2023 by Franklin

[Budgie1]

I followed the disc brake method using the same parts listed in THIS THREAD.

My build thread is HERE and the only difference between my pier and the original is that I only used 3x 16mm threaded studs instead of 4. For drilling the holes, I used a neighbours pillar drill and it wasn't that difficult (as long as the drill is sharp!). 

[FrenchyArnaud]

15 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

I followed the disc brake method using the same parts listed in THIS THREAD.

My build thread is HERE and the only difference between my pier and the original is that I only used 3x 16mm threaded studs instead of 4. For drilling the holes, I used a neighbours pillar drill and it wasn't that difficult (as long as the drill is sharp!). 

Ok I am officially jaleous 😇 That is top notch!

[Graeme]

8 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

I followed the disc brake method using the same parts listed in THIS THREAD.

My build thread is HERE and the only difference between my pier and the original is that I only used 3x 16mm threaded studs instead of 4. For drilling the holes, I used a neighbours pillar drill and it wasn't that difficult (as long as the drill is sharp!). 

I followed your build Martin and will be using a lot of your ideas! I'll be using 3 x 16 stud in the concrete pier with just the one brake disk on top. (Here) So my spare brake disc (they come in pairs) is still available to a good home of a diy observatory builder for a fiver, if you think you might need it Arnaud.

[FrenchyArnaud]

2 hours ago, Graeme said:

So my spare brake disc (they come in pairs) is still available to a good home of a diy observatory builder for a fiver, if you think you might need it Arnaud.

Check DMs 👍

[malc-c]

21 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Sorry about the see this thread link, it was a page with dimensions which I can't find now.

However, that's not needed now. This is the sort of 2 plate setup on a home-made pier that I was referring to. It's from the self built observatory of an SGL member @malc-c

 

 

@StevieDvd I've dredged through my old images taken as part of the build, was this the image you are referring to Steve ?

It was the rough sketch I made for the local engineering shop (sadly no longer trading) and I think from memory cost me around £50  at the time

[FrenchyArnaud]

So after a lot of debate, I settled on a pillar made of 3 concrete hollow blocks, possibly 4. These tiles are on a concrete base so I am thinking, drilling-screwing-glueing the bottom one, glueing above that with one big bolt in between the blocks, one brake disc on to suspended by M10s to be able to set perfect level. 

Quick and dirty photoshop to show the GF what she agreed to (the telescope here is facing east but it's unimportant)

[StevieDvd]

@malc-c not the diagram I'd found but will do better as it's clearer.

Thanks Malcolm.

@FrenchyArnaud make sure you allow access for the central M10 bolt holding the mount in place. There are a few advocates of the block pier here on SGL so worth a search for tips and do's/don'ts.

[FrenchyArnaud]

14 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

make sure you allow access for the central M10 bolt holding the mount in place. There are a few advocates of the block pier here on SGL so worth a search for tips and do's/don'ts.

Yes. My reasoning is that I can drill bang central of the very top, use a long bolt with a washer from inside the last hollow, so by conception it's the most simple with the least parts and alignment errors possible. Also, rapid maths tell me that the whole assembly can be just under 100kg, so, considering it will be centered on the tile and, by definition, perfectly balanced, there will also be the least stress on the cement underneath. A poured pillar would weight several times that and potentially could fracture the cement underneath. So to me, this has the merit of a ridiculously low cost (in the region of £50 all inclusive), a light structure, easy to design / align / realise, and likely durable because the thing would not put more stress than me just standing there.

EDIT : and no need to break the tile, dig a hole, mix and pour concrete, cut rebars etc... because no reinforced foundation is needed.

Edited January 28, 2023 by FrenchyArnaud
spelling

[FrenchyArnaud]

Thread pursued here :