I have a 6" Newtonian reflector which I built about 30 years ago. The garden where I live is not very suitable for astronomy (Lots of tall trees around it) but...
... <snip> ... Ah you too? A bit later than you I made my first 10". It was so heavy that two persons were needed to move it around. Since then, it has been...
David, You did not mention what kind of mount you have. Dobson or else. If you will consider truss design there will be considerable weight saving and 6" truss...
Vladimir, It has an altazimuth mount (all built in wood). If I can rebuild the (square) tube in another, lighter, material and can still connect it to the...
... Hi Adam, Place your C on top of a triangular (or round) rod of material and nudge it back and forth until the balance point is found, then mark it with a...
... Hello David, Use "Sonotube". It is one brand name of a thick-walled cardboard material usually used as a form to pour concrete pillars. In the US it is...
Hi Jim, How does "Sonotube" cope with moisture? I am not intending to leave it out in the rain but it is often left outside under a roof. Presumably I would...
... I have not this experience, but I would fear that in this environment the sonotube will give problems. A waterproof recipee is to build a fiberglass+epoxy...
... Wood. An 8" square tube made of 1/8" plywood with inside corner molding at the corners, and a few 1/4" plywood baffles to stiffen it shouldn't weigh in...
No! I live in a northerly climate which means that snow is on the ground a large part of the winter (which is the time when I can observe objects other than...
Michael, Thin plywood was one of my first thoughts but I was worried about the risk of it warping. Perhaps I could make one of the four side out of plywood?...
... From: "Vladimir Galogaza" <vladimir.galogaza@...> ... Vladimir, YES :) I know the distance is Lambda (633nm in this case), but the fringes are not...
James, ... center, ... Sure. This is similar to geographical map with lines of equal height (isohipse). The closer the lines the steeper is slope between them....
... I believe plywood is no more likely to warp than solid wood. You are more likely have problems using both products together, as they will have different...
Richard, ... That is correct ( of course). I differ only in defining t. "t" is angle from +X axis to the upper end of C, counter clockwise as usual ( for 270...
... Hello David, If sealed well with some good paint it will give many years of service. I have uploaded three photos of the most recent scope I made with...
Is this the end of ATM Free? http://help.yahoo.com/groups/groups-56.html According to Yahoo, on Aug 7, all attachments in the message area will be permanently...
it seems to be just a space saving idea someone came up with, attachments do take up alot of space after all,no big deal, just makes things a little tougher...
All it really does is prevent you from searching the archives for attachments, ie they will not archive attachments. They will still be received with the...
Concrete sewage pipe is commonly available and is immune to moisture. In fact, it is FREE if you don't mind doing messy work. (You have to dig up the street...
There is a thinner version of plywood here called "door skin" that would make an excellent light weight tube. It is imported to California from our former...
In sealing wood or sonotube with white glue, dilute the glue with water about 1 part glue to 2 parts water, so that it will penetrate better. Do let it dry...
I would think that that would weaken it. I use glue full strength. the trick is to roughen the surface a bit and clamp. Of course if you cant clamp that may be...
Thanks to everybody who rplied to my question about lightweight materials for a telescope tube. The consensus seems to be that the "Sonotube" is the easiest...
Hello David, ... I was expecting to hear about some sort of lightweight rigid plastic or carbon fibre type of material but it appears that either such stuff is...
have you considered a truss setup? just leave it together all the time though. and if you ever move or take a long trip it has the advantage of being...
I just wanted to pass on a testimontial of what an open truss (no shroud), but reasonalby well baffled scope with decent goto pointing (courtesy of Mel...
Hello Tom, ... <snip> ... <snip> ... Yes I have observed in the daylight, but not with my dob, if it was the goal of the question. It as a C14 (not mine). ...
