Converting to a Dob

Or he could just build a dob mount for €50.....

Thats the approach I'm going to go with! Thanks for the plans Trevor, thats exactly what I was looking for as a starting point.

Thanks for the suggestions of buying a new Dob folks. I still use the mount for my Mak regularly enough so I don't want to sell that. Really I just need to find a way to get more use out of the 10".

Cheers,
~Albert

Just on a further note. I made mine taller and i used one piece of ply for the sides. When I was trimming mine back to loose weight, I placed the front board of the rocker between the side boards as opposed to in front of them as per plans to give better support. I also have a back board on mine, again screwed in between the side boards.

Just another piece of advice, When I put the tube into the tube box i screwed the box around the tube nice and tight, however, on one of the first cold nights out during the winter, the tube contracted more than the box and it slid back a bit when pointed at the zenith. Just a point to address when building. I have now the tube screwed to the tube box.

Al~

Theres no reason why you should go and make a dob. You can find the centre of gravity easily. Just lay the tube down on the carpet but a broom handle or similar underneath it move it along the broom handle until it balances (dont forget to include a heavy eyepiece to take that into account). You can mark the point and have your COG forever. Making the dob mount is a doddle. Use marine grade ply so it doesnt come apart on damp nights. Once you know the measurements of the scope (lenght, width, COG) it's a simple matter of making a rocker box and a ground board to match. You could do all of this in a day with a good quality jigsaw. Use 3/4" ply for strenght.

You can find the centre of gravity easily... You can mark the point and have your COG forever. Making the dob mount is a doddle. Use marine grade ply so it doesnt come apart on damp nights. Once you know the measurements of the scope (lenght, width, COG) it's a simple matter of making a rocker box and a ground board to match. You could do all of this in a day with a good quality jigsaw. Use 3/4" ply for strenght.

Finding the goc isnt a problem as you say, I was more curious if there were any implications of having the balance at a point different to most dobs. How high should the base frame be etc. I think I get the idea from the link Trevor sent.

Good point about the Marine grade. I hadnt thought of that.

Thanks

Well thought I'd better get on with this so went up to the local woodies yesterday to get the plywood. Unfortunatly they only had very thin indoor only wood that didnt look like it would do the job. Chadwicks looked busy so I headed up to B&Q in Liffy Valley. There I got an 8x4 of exterior plywood.

Spent most of today cutting out peices and screwing and gluing it together. And re-learning tricks about carpentry my Dad taught me that I'd long forgotten. And learning some new tricks, like for example, when building something that has moving peices, check that the non moving peices dont get in its way. The scope still cant point straight up...

At the moment it looks like this:


The Az bit isnt completed there as I havent been able to get my hands on any teflon or a big enough bolt.

Basically rather than worrying about how to get the box to fit sungly around the scope, I'm using the O rings from the LXD55 mount and attaching them to the box. The 'top' of the box can be attached to secure things more, but here it is 'topless':



And from underneath:


The attachment might look flimsy but that how its attached to the LXD55 mount also. With the other end of the O rings attached to the top of the box it can be more secure. You can also see the butchering that I've had to do too the front of the mount in order to get the scope to point upwards. The front board and 2x2 was too high and the scope's box was hitting off it. Doh.

Thats about a days work. Circular saw used instead of a jigsaw as those things never cut straight (for me anyway!).

Anyone know where I can get my hands on some teflon?

Nice one al.

I had the same problem with teflon, I managed to get some of one of the lads in club here. could not find it in any local hardware store.

Keep us up to date with your progress