Inspection of hexagons over weekend (they were stored for couple of years at friend's place, they are now in Ballarat, in the room next to future observatory).
The glue I used for joining struts ("liquid nails") is rubbish.. couple of struts felled off, so yesterday I applied screws to hold them back together on all 14 hexagons.
At the end this will not be a serious problem, as my intention was always to final assemble the whole structure together by means of screws and perforated steel tape (still searching for 20mm wide, 0.5~0.75mm variety... ).
And still waiting for ring to be welded together...
I'm building a truncated trapezium, using ply panels and perforated strap joints/screwed, as well as epoxy infill. I intend to use Pryda Speed Brace which is 25mm x 0.8mm in either 6 or 15 metre rolls. (SB082/6, Also known as hoop iron in this size). Pryda has a good catalogue available online.
Hi Rod, ,
Thank you for the tip.
I know about Pryda, 25mm is a bit too wide (my struts are 20x40mm), but then again it is possible to cut a wider tape into two narrow ones..
Some time ago I found this in Bunnings, but I think one strip was 88c ($13 or so on ebay !!! ).. too expensive since I need quite a number of them (~70 pcs for one side only... )
Last weekend I had a discussion about my future dome with my south-east neighbour... she mentioned building permit (I believed this may not be necessary because the whole object will have footprint a bit smaller than 10m2.. then I went to Ballarat Council website and found out that for any size deck (and the platform on which the dome will be mounted is just that - deck) the building permit is required, not only in Ballarat but all over VIC.
I think I will have to go to council and talk to somebody before I start any serious planning.
As for the location itself (corner of our property, extension to the existing room above the garage/workshop) they were not very enthusiastic because the dome will dominate their north-west view even when the higher fence is in place (see attachment), also their privacy may be potentially violated by my presence in the dome... but there was no open resistance to the idea as yet... They said if in the future they felt their privacy is affected they will plant a tree (I am not sure I really want such outcome, the tree will block my view to the South_East) or I have to rise additional 0.5 metre applied to the full length of the fence (on my expense.. which is also not desirable outcome).
I tried to assure them the whole thing will be remotely controlled from the house, not sure if I was successful.
Semi-rings are at the location finally.., waiting for assembly into one ring.
They will be assembled (welded) together once the 8 steel pipes (stomps that will support the dome and floor of the obs) are in place and levelled so the ring can rest on flat plane.
I was thinking about the rollers, attached picture illustrates one possible alternative.
Rollers could be made of metal or some hard plastic, shafts will be M10 ~ M12 screws (high tensile). I think there will be no need for ball bearings as the dome rotation is very slow and occasional.
Hi Bojan
I know you have been planing to have a dome but I suggest you consider something like I am working on particularly as you say operatuon will be remote.
I can fit my 8 inch on a eq6 in a four foot cube box.
Iy costs little and your neighbours would not see it.
You could have something like I have in mind up and working in a week or two.
You are rather competent why not think how what I suggest could work to your advantage.
I will try and get mine finished when zi get back to Sydney and let you see how everything fits.
Like if you are not standing by the gear all the time you simply dont need the room we tend to think we need.
Alex
I doubt if you need coucil approval for a four foot cube box.
Mine will be a little taller but only because I made the pier too tall. But its easier to extend than build another pier.
Alex
Alex,
Thank for suggestions, give us some photos when convenient.
As for council approval, anything called shed, below 3m in height (measured from top to ground level) and 1.5m away from fence is OK.. and my dome is 3m in diameter, so it fits the requirements.
I was thinking about the rollers, attached picture illustrates one possible alternative.
Rollers could be made of metal /
Bojan,
I have alloy "vee"rollers on my boat trailer. After battling with urethane ones for some time, I swear by them.
They work very well, but are hard to come by, and were app $8.00 each. I think the urethane ones will eventually get a flat spot from static loading as do so many roll off's using urethane castors.
Summer is still present in Ballarat... still not a good time to start excavation work for pier.
Due to draught, (and type of the soil) ground is deeply cracked, see attachment.
It seems I will have to dig quite deep to ensure the concrete fundament for pier is solid enough not to move on it's own (in my Mt Waverley backyard, 70cm was enough, the pier didn't move a bit for the last 4 years).
BTW.. anyone knows where I can buy the protection for gutters as on attached picture?
This weekend we replaced the gutters on our house, and I would like to prevent clogging with leaves and other objects (we found 8 (!!) tennis balls in the old gutters, contributing to water flow problems)