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Old 23-04-2016, 05:42 PM
PeterAnderson (Peter)
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PeterAnderson is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 29
A cheap wheeled telescope stand

Originally I was going to use my recently acquired C9.25” as a transportable, but in view of its weight, I decided to retain my veteran C8 ‘Classic' for this purpose. So I am now using the C9.25” in the observatory as an additional instrument. Trouble is, the observatory gets a bit cluttered and I really needed the telescope easily moveable for use and then move it aside out of the way when not needed. My C11 has a commercial triangular wheeled frame support (I won't name the brand), but to purchase and import another one would cost around $500 which I was not prepared to spend. So, I puzzled over it.

I had a second concern. The tripod of the telescope is tightened by screwing the eyepiece holder tray unit upward. This, and the weight of the telescope and mount, places a considerable pressure on the hinges at the apex of the tripod and this particular unit does not possess a cross bar support near the base of the legs (as my others do) to take some of this strain and make the structure more rigid.

Examining the image you will see that the legs are splayed at quite an immodest angle and this is particularly evident if you decide to lengthen them to bring the telescope to a greater height. In fact, I can attest that the legs are trip hazards. Such action would also place even more pressure on the hinges. So my aim was to make a wheeled stand that 'captured and held' the legs so they would not splay further (thus ensuring no greater pressure on the hinges) as well as raising the height of the telescope.

After going through many designs, I decided on the simplest since I am somewhat challenged when it comes to using tools to craft things. I can however saw a piece of wood at right angles, and can join two pieces in a 'T' shape after 'worrying out' the half thickness at the joint. I went to ‘Bunnings’ (a definite ‘plug’ here) and bought the necessary. Three simple 18mm holes 15mm deep took care of securing and capturing the bases of the legs. I glued the joint, attached various brackets and screws (probably some overkill) and finished the job with some clear paint. For scale each piece of pine is 70mm X 35mm X 90cm. The unit has 3 inch lockable wheels, and ultimately raises the height 120mm. The total cost including everything except a bit of glue and paint was only $62.62 It works very smoothly. The light timber is easily seen at night and the wheels are toe friendly if you accidentally bump into them.

I left the extra few inches on the piece under the polar axis leg to help me align the north-south placing of the mount. Easy - just place it parallel to the tile joints on my north-south observatory floor! (Is this cheating?)
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