Now I have finished the Gaunt it's time to get on with a new project.
This one is a 2" Pillow Block Mount. What is involved in building an EQ mount?
Just a bunch of bits bolted together....just has to be the right bits
Opticraft in the US have a number of designs. I chose to do a copy of the Gaunt for this project. The mount needs:
1. To hold 40+kgs of scope...just a random figure I picked.
2. Adjustable in Alt and Az as much as possible.
3. Have a RA slipclutch and motor drive.
4. Tangent arm on the Dec...cause I like this more than gear and worm.
Tools used....low tech again. Drill press, Hand held Jigsaw, Bench Vice and Files. Lastly...time and lots of it.
The build so far....
I started in March this year buy buying 4 Pillow Block bearings of ebay. These came from Boltons in the UK and cost $35 each.
A pair of SFQD bushes from Sprokets in Yarraville. The qd bushes are the essential joiner between 2" shafts and aluminium plates, expensive things that cost $200 for the pair.
A pair of 500mm long Stainless Steel Precision shafts. Precision shafts are need as I don't have a lathe and are perfectly round and straight, they also weigh a lot of kg's. $250 each...
A bunch of bolts and washers from Metro bolts in Richmond.
A visit to the Aluminium Trade Centre for various amounts of Aluminium flat bar and sheet, then to George White for some Brass rod and 1.6mm flat sheet.
Also have bought a 10" slipclutch and worm with 12V stepper motor from Ed Byers in the US. To drive the gear a simple driver and hand control box that can slew up to 20x from AWRtech in the UK. Lastly Gary from Wildcard Inovations has supplied the encoders, cables and gearing for Argo Navis.
All that has been involved so far is cutting the aluminium to the correct size, drilling holes for the bearings and attaching the QD bushes. The hard part is designing what I want...lots of fun though.
The sides are 18mm thick made up of 3x6mm sheet JB'welded together with machine screws for added strength. Cutting 6mm sheet is easy with a jigsaw. Lots of fileing to smooth the edges.
Design is Steampunk...what else
So the finishes will be Black and Brass.
Eventually it will sit on a pier in an Obs. The pier I'd like to make from a Victorian street light base, I see these things all round the place in Melbourne.
Some photos to start with. This is still in the building phase, here is what I have done so far.
L to R it starts with Aluminium and Brass Flat bar and Sheet. The counterweight section is still under construction.
Two views of the mount so far.
To be continued....couterweight section, that is a CW bar, next.