Homemade telescope mount back in the observatory
Category: Homemade Telescope Mount
Posted by: Tom How
After a long weekend out with friends (visiting Arundel Castle of all places) I've done some more work on the homemade telescope mount project.
After testing the entire system over the long Easter weekend, I dismantled the mount and did some painting and final adjustments. Today I've rebuilt the mount in the shed. Although it is easier to construct these things in the workshop, it is beyond me to move the entire mount in one go. It weights in around 35kg.
Although it is raining a bit today, I've got on quite well and got the whole mount put together and the telescope attached.
Next step is re-wiring. Lots of options here - I must keep it tidy!
First picture here is the scope in the shed. Second picture is the parts of the scope prior to putting it all back together.
You can now see the various covers I have fabricated from 1mm aluminium sheet. I do not sheet metalwork at the best of times, but it is important to cover the shafts with something. The shafts of the telescope mount are made from specially hardened steel, but it is not stainless steel, so it will corrode over time. To prevent corrosion, I've covered the shafts in thick protective grease. The shaft covers are required to prevent dirt and dust sticking to this grease, and to prevent the grease getting on the astronomer!
The covers have been painted a simple matt black and fixed with stainless steel screws so they can be easily removed for telescope mount inspection and maintanence.
You can also see the circular covers on the worm wheels. The greasy worm wheels are made from aluminium which corrodes less than steel, but still needs protecting to prevent dirt. The covers also give a level of physical protection to prevent accidently knocking the delicate edges of the worm wheels. These round covers may appear a little odd. The reason for this is that I couldn't face the idea of making something like that, so I simply purchased a couple of cheap cake tins. These round baking tins from a kitchen shop were the perfect size to make worm wheel covers!
After testing the entire system over the long Easter weekend, I dismantled the mount and did some painting and final adjustments. Today I've rebuilt the mount in the shed. Although it is easier to construct these things in the workshop, it is beyond me to move the entire mount in one go. It weights in around 35kg.
Although it is raining a bit today, I've got on quite well and got the whole mount put together and the telescope attached.
Next step is re-wiring. Lots of options here - I must keep it tidy!
First picture here is the scope in the shed. Second picture is the parts of the scope prior to putting it all back together.
You can now see the various covers I have fabricated from 1mm aluminium sheet. I do not sheet metalwork at the best of times, but it is important to cover the shafts with something. The shafts of the telescope mount are made from specially hardened steel, but it is not stainless steel, so it will corrode over time. To prevent corrosion, I've covered the shafts in thick protective grease. The shaft covers are required to prevent dirt and dust sticking to this grease, and to prevent the grease getting on the astronomer!
The covers have been painted a simple matt black and fixed with stainless steel screws so they can be easily removed for telescope mount inspection and maintanence.
You can also see the circular covers on the worm wheels. The greasy worm wheels are made from aluminium which corrodes less than steel, but still needs protecting to prevent dirt. The covers also give a level of physical protection to prevent accidently knocking the delicate edges of the worm wheels. These round covers may appear a little odd. The reason for this is that I couldn't face the idea of making something like that, so I simply purchased a couple of cheap cake tins. These round baking tins from a kitchen shop were the perfect size to make worm wheel covers!
