catman161 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hey Guys, So on the last day of my week off after having set time aside to see friends and indulge one of my other hobbies (fishing) I managed to get some weather that allowed me to ale the alterations to my roll off astro shed so that I could install the Piertech hydraulic pier. Firstly I had to lay the base that Graham so kindly made for me in the trapdoor cutout and level it using the levelling feet and a 360 degree bubble level. Once that was done I did a lot of rolling the shed back and forth and marking with pencil around the existing circular hole that was accommodating my skywatcher pillar mount and calculating the measurements of the new square pier. Once I was happy I removed the convex rails and cut the new square hole in the decking trapdoor. Then it was time to cut a new hole on the floor of the obsy. This wasn't hat easy as I had built the timber frame around the dimensions of the SW pillar mount. So I actually had to remove the entire floor ( over 100 screws ) in order to access the timber framework underneath! I also had to remove a lot of bitumen back aluminium tape that I had used to seal all the joints internally-that was a sticky, messy job! Once I had lifted the floor I cut a new square hole to accommodate the new pier and laid it to one side. Then I set to cutting away the required amount of the 3x2 timbers to allow the wheels to be moved wider apart so that the shed could be rolled back and forth without touching the new pier. Once that was done I took the timbers with the concave wheels for the centre part of the shed and re-attached them to the newly cut to length floor framework. I also placed and secured the convex rails on the decking. Then it was time to get the OSB floor back in and screwed down. After that it was time to get the actual pier and bolt it to the base made by Graham of Astrotec fame Then I put the mount and scope on in order to test for clearance of the roof and doors. I forgot to actually take a pic with the OTA mounted so you'll have to take my word for it that it fits perfectly (very snuggly in fact!). The last job once it was all in place was to make a small hinged piece of OSB that would fit between the doors and the side of the pier nearest the doors. This technically is not really necessary but it does help keep the creepy crawlers out and also is of benefit for keeping it as sealed as possible for when the dehumidifier is working to maintain control of any damp. Here's the last pic: All in all it was a bit more of a job than I expected and I did at one point had to remove some of the shiplapping at the rear of the shed as I realised I had secured some of the floor timber work from behind and then covered it with 18mm marine grade ply and then the shiplap! That was an annoying little problem! However it will now mean that I do not have to lay down on the decking to look at zenith objects anymore. Just the click of a button and the whole setup raises up to my eye level. A big thanks goes to James (Dawson) for selling me the Piertech pier on the first place-you're a top bloke James and of course I could not have done this without the help of Graham who made both the base and the levelling plate for the top of the pier and the pier adapter too! Graham you're a legend Here's a small demo of it in action: Tweedledee, +Graham and Brantuk 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 That is awesome Felix catman161 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Cheers Graham-as mentioned, not possible without you [emoji4] The one negative is that I've hurt my back and am currently having intermittent spasms Shame as the sky is clear at present and would have liked to have got the OTA mounted and finder scope attached and aligned on the moon. Oh well there'll be other nights. Plus it gives a chance for the dust to settle too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Glad to be of service Felix. How did you manage to do your back in Dont count on there being other clear nights any time soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Looks smashing Felix - well done mate. catman161 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Awesome stuff, cracking bit of DIY. Edited December 20, 2015 by Daz Type-R catman161 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Great work there Felix. You've made a really nice job of it. Very impressive, and i love the way the mount rises up. Hopefully some nice planerary images to come soon........ catman161 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Glad to be of service Felix. How did you manage to do your back in Dont count on there being other clear nights any time soon It was the weirdest thing Graham, I bent down to pick up the circular saw and it just went-I carried on and finished the job but in a lot of discomfort with the odd verbal exclamation! Is still twinging me intermittently now and I am just sitting on the sofa with the iPad. I hope it feels better tomorrow as an at work and I have to do things like CPR and sewing kids back together again which generally involves me stooping down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 30 minutes ago, Brantuk said: Looks smashing Felix - well done mate. Cheers Kim [emoji4] 24 minutes ago, Daz Type-R said: Awesome stuff, cracking bit of DIY. Thanks Daz [emoji4] 16 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said: Great work there Felix. You've made a really nice job of it. Very impressive, and i love the way the mount rises up. Hopefully some nice planerary images to come soon........ Thanks Rob. That's the plan I have missed planetary imaging. Still got to get scope installed and all cables sorted etc. I'll get there. +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Really good Felix, reminds me of one I built a couple of years ago!! Cheers Ron A very Happy Christmas to you and yours Felix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Really good Felix, reminds me of one I built a couple of years ago!![emoji3] Cheers Ron A very Happy Christmas to you and yours Felix! Cheers Ron and to you too [emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 That pier video is really impressive Felix What a smart and ergonomic job you've made of it catman161 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 That's just superb, here's to some good clear skies for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 Thanks Pete and thanks Martyn-have a great Christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now