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Old 02-06-2018, 01:28 PM
Hoges (John)
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All purpose Dobsonion mount

When I think of 'Dobsonion mounts' I usually picture a Newtonian reflector with said mount. But they actually work fantastically with SCT's/Mak's and refractors. I've just slightly modded one of mine to accommodate a 127 Mak and it works beautifully. My bearings are 6" with some alloy strip bought from Bunnings for the bearing surface and the usual teflon sliders for bearings. You can either bolt tube rings directly to the cradle, or in the case of the skymak, I've routed a slot in the cradle so I can poke a 1/4" thread through to attach to the dovetail with room to slide back and forth to balance the scope. The 6" bearings are attached with two screws and 40mm alloy brackets so I can move the cradle vertically to accommodate different height scopes for balance.

It's a very forgiving setup balance wise, you can go from a 1/4" eyepiece to a 2" without having to continually re-balance the scope. Sturdy, cheap and quick to move around. I have a laminated faced circle of particle board with some rubber feet underneath that I can take with me if I want to put the whole thing on a bench or table when I'm camping.

And with a movable 'pointer' sticking out the bottom and 360 degree increments marked out on the base plate, it's easy to use as a push-to. I've printed out a suitably sized 0 - 90 degree part of a protractor and stuck it to the side of the bearing so I can read off Altitude (or use a digital inclinometer).

It's a cheap way into a good little mount if you've got a jigsaw and cordless drill. Better still, router and bench drill. No precision craftsmanship required!
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Old 02-06-2018, 05:00 PM
Kunama
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I like it !!!
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Old 02-06-2018, 08:25 PM
astro_nutt
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That is one very neat setup there John. Brilliant!
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Old 02-06-2018, 08:56 PM
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Atmos (Colin)
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Nice and practical build
What do you sit it on when viewing?
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Old 03-06-2018, 02:36 PM
Hoges (John)
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Cheers guys.

Colin, I have a bunch of options all with laminated tops that it can go on. If I'm away I will usually have the bino's on the table that's in the picture and the mak can go on a diy wooden tripod which has a laminex top. The pier in my ROR Obs currently has a similar top which it can sit on too.
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Old 04-06-2018, 06:06 PM
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ZeroID (Brent)
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Your little design has given me a germ of an idea for my 6F6 travelling scope which has been through several inadequate iterations over the last year or so. Thanks Now I'm heading to the workshop again ...
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Old 04-06-2018, 06:20 PM
Hoges (John)
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Workshops are awesome!!
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