Tweedledee Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I had a little problem attaching the Skytee to the pier top at Belper last Saturday night. Since my "Skytee Stability mod" detailed in this section last week, the M10 bolt needed to thread into the Skytee further than before due to the 8mm or so of material machined out of the pier top. I hadn't noticed that the M10 bolt was cross threaded further down than where it used to thread up to (since it wasn't a problem before the mod). This meant that the Skytee could not be tightened to the pier as the bolt would only go in as far as the cross threading. So, far from being stable, the Skytee could wobble about on top of the pier but could not actually fall off! Not wanting to pack up and abandon a nights observing before I'd even finished setting up, I scratched my head and came up with a temporary bodge. I needed a good 8mm thickness of washers or something to pack out the bolt so it did not need to go in as far as the cross threaded part. Not being in the habit of taking a box of washers up to Belper, I packed out the gap using the hanging hole in the handle of my adjustable spanner plus a small carabiner type keyring thing I had. It got me sorted fine for the evening, but looked a bit odd having an adjustable spanner poking out from the pier head . I explained to Martyn why it was there. He told me to bring it down to him this week and he would try to sort it. Well, I took it to Martyn this afternoon and all in less time than it would take him to mash tea, this is what he did... Made sure the thread was clear in the Skytee by running it through with a tap. Sawed off the head of a new stainless steel M10 bolt, and permanently fixed a stainless wing nut on the end for ease of finger tightening, and made sure it all fitted perfectly. He then finished off adjusting the tension on my slo mo to take out the backlash, ( Mike did one slo mo at Belper but could not finish the second with a tiny 2mm allen key in the dark due to frostbite in his fingers - another hero ). It is really great to have such skilled and helpful people in this forum. Thanks very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Martyn is an absolute legend! Glad to see you got sorted Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Martyn's a star with this stuff - he made the adjustable feet for my dob - wizard with a toolset he is. Nice one Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Pleased to be of service. Scopes ain't no good if they can't see the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 What would we do with Mr DIY, nice one Martyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MrsR Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Martyn is my hero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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