Brantuk Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Just a thought Stephen - the three leveling feet need to be spaced at 120 degs to each other or you'll get some sideways rocking in use which can prove frustrating. Not sure how the spacing works out from your diagram but just thought it was worth mentioning. Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 2 hours ago, Brantuk said: Just a thought Stephen - the three leveling feet need to be spaced at 120 degs to each other or you'll get some sideways rocking in use which can prove frustrating. Not sure how the spacing works out from your diagram but just thought it was worth mentioning. Thanks Kim I will try and work that in ? Brantuk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Kim's right, I designed something very similar to yours when I had my 12" dob and it had 4 feet and it didn't work that great, it was much more stable with three. But then I had to manually wind the legs down and you needed to get them correct, if yours is a fast deployment type system it might work better. Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 1 hour ago, Doc said: Kim's right, I designed something very similar to yours when I had my 12" dob and it had 4 feet and it didn't work that great, it was much more stable with three. But then I had to manually wind the legs down and you needed to get them correct, if yours is a fast deployment type system it might work better. Thanks Mick (and Kim), point taken, I am back on the drawing board looking at this, my problem is keeping the total width to less than 75cm in order to get down my ‘jennel’! But I can swap the feet around and re-position them as close to 120 degree as possible... cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 Change to trolley design... levelling feet modded... fetched the steel section today, Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Just a thought, do you want the swivel castors to fully rotate? It looks like they might foul the frame as there doesn't look like there is enough clearance, if they are always trailing then it will be fine, but if you want to reverse it, it might cause you issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 1 hour ago, BAZ said: Just a thought, do you want the swivel castors to fully rotate? It looks like they might foul the frame as there doesn't look like there is enough clearance, if they are always trailing then it will be fine, but if you want to reverse it, it might cause you issues. Thanks Martyn, there will be clearance for full spin of the swivel castors... cheers for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Oh fair enough, it just didn't look like it would. Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 37 minutes ago, BAZ said: Oh fair enough, it just didn't look like it would. Looks good! Cheers Martyn, it’s my drawing... the wheels arrived yesterday, there were no measurements in the spec where I bought them from, having checked them, the 200mm arm over the swivel castors is now around 275mm ? BAZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Not posted on this thread for a while, sorry about that - but the work has continued... The trolley has been built, trialled, modified and now painted. I have chosen to hand paint the trolley with Hammerite, black hammered enamel, 8 yr guarantee - 2 coats have been applied. If I had powder coated the trolley, it would be difficult to make further mods to same. E.g. I may alter the handle into a double, pram type handle at some stage and I may alter the feet, but these areas can be removed easily from the system. The trolley handle can go on either end... The Rocker Box and Base. This has now come to fruition too. Once all the holes and shapes had been cut, all the bits got three coats of Ronseal, ultra clear, outside varnish and were then assembled. The original brakes, altitude and azimuth bearings were then all cleaned up and attached to the rocker box. The ground board was drilled for a centre bolt and bolt sleeve and three plastic feet were added at 120 deg’s each. I then made a flat plate that fitted under the centre part of the ground board. It’s job was to captivate the bolt head on the centre bolt fastening all the ground board, rocker box and setting circles together, to stop the bolt rotating (relative to the ground board and setting circle), but to easily allow the removal of same if required. The base, azimuth bearings, rocker box with thrust bearing were bolted up and then the setting circle was added to the top of encapsulated through bolt, with thrust bearings sandwiching the setting circle, making it firm but easy to move absolutely independent of the rocker box. This was all looking good! All parts were then assembled together, trolley, rocker box and optical tubes... I have made a rack for transporting and storing the extension tubes on the rocker box... Also, three plates for fastening the top optical tube to the bottom optical tube for storing and travel... And finally, I have added a switched battery pack for the cooling fan, extra weights fitted in a tube attached under the primary mirror area, a red rechargeable led light for the setting circle and a scope coat from Rother Valley Optics. So now it is a working scope, with a few more tweaks to go but I am delighted to be able to try it out at long last. Thanks for looking! ?? Tweedledee and tuckstar 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 That is well thought out and well made, you should be well chuffed with it. I look forward to having a squint through it one night. Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Absolutely top class work Steve. It all looks superb. Can I place an order for a trolley please? Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 It's brilliant Stephen, top marks for metalwork, woodwork and above all ingenuity. Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Fabulous job Stephen - I particularly like the rack for the truss tubes - ingenious! Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Nice job Steve. Clever idea with the red light 'down below' and an ingenious way of storing the truss poles too. It all looks excellent. Hope it gives you some great views Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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