Home Made Telescope Case

[PaddyC]

Has anyone made a carry case, soft or hard, for a Celestron CPC 11". And if yes, can they provide me with details if how they went about it and more particularly, any changes they think would improve the result.

Thanks
PaddyC

[gbeal]

Not specifically for the 11", but I seem to churn out cases for the current scope that I have.
Depending on the desired effect, and your skills, the style will vary.
Mine have been wooden, made from recycled NZ native Rimu. Most have had fittings within to place eyepieces, and have been lined where necessary with black felt.
This is a case I made for a recently sold Mewlon 180. I have one similar for the Tak FC100.
Doesn't have to be flash timber, even good ply will do. Give it a go.

[PaddyC]

Thanks Gbeal... suppose it is a matter of just jumping in.. after a few measures and sketches etc. After some thought, I might look at a foam lined soft duffle bag type setup with zippers... jusy got to get the seamstress onto the sewing machine... that may prove to be more difficult though...

Regards
PaddyC

[Dennis]

Hi Paddy

One of my scopes came in a double walled cardboard box and an internal, shaped polystyrene insert. I took out the shaped polystyrene insert and built a wooden box around it.

I built a wooden frame out of 42mm x 19mm pine and then screwed 6mm plywood sheets to the outside. Allow space for any accessories, or tube mounting rings, dovetail plates, finder scopes, etc.

Don't forget: "measure twice, cut once" to avoid any cutting mistakes.

Cheers

Dennis

[PaddyC]

Dennis
Yes I have the polystyrene from the cardboard boxes and I was thinking of using them but cutting the outer size down a bit so not so bulky and able to be put in the car boot. Thanks for lewtting me know you used this approach and that it worked.

Regards
PaddyC

[74tuc]

Hi Paddy,

If you buy the materials from Bunnings they will cut plywood and timber to your dimensions for a nominal charge.

Jerry

[Dennis]

Hi Paddy

Another option which I have used for lining the mount box that I made was to purchase some high density foam from a foam outlet. The mount weights 16kgs so I purchased the most uncompressible foam (black in colour), although there is a softer (blue) foam also available. Both have the advantage that they do not retain water. The shop owner is an industrial chemist and explained that some of these foams are used in body armour!

It was easier building a box around this sheet foam (20mm thick) than the original packaging material. I think it cost me around $30.00 for a square metre.

I’ll try to take some photos and post them, so you can get an idea of their construction.

Cheers

Dennis

[PaddyC]

Thank you to both 74tuc & Dennis.

We have a couple of hardware/timber stores that will cut to size at very minimal cost & as to the foam, I have checked out Clarke Rubber here and they also have several grades of foam including the almost black stuff that is used a lot in such things as camera cases. In fact... I am leaning towards using that foam - shaping it by cutting and gluing pieces together - it can be cut very easily with a bread knife or jig saw - then gluing a rubber backed very heavy curtain type material to the outside of the shaped foam. But, of course, this will be done so that I can open the whole thing up with a couple of zippers... well I am going to try and I will let you know if and when I get it done....

Regards PaddyC

[sheeny]

That's almost exactly what I did for my C8, except I cut the foam down to fit inside a plastic storage box I bought from Bunnings. ...but for a C11... hmm not sure if you'll find a plastic storage box big enough (mine was 65 litres) so you will probably have to do the Bob the Builder thing.

Best of luck and have fun with it!

Al.

[Dennis]

Hi Paddy

With the glue, I used a contact adhesive that was sold at the rubber shop. The shop owner said the glue had been formulated to minimise out gassing. If this is the case, any equipment placed in a closed container should be safe from having any gaseous emissions depositing themselves on your nice, clean, shiny optical surfaces.

However, for anything that I glue, I still leave the work open to the elements for 1 week before using it, just to make sure any unwanted stuff gets out.

I think the new recipe for the glue was to make it less attractive to glue sniffing. Always check out the glue on a piece of scrap material first, just in case it decides to eat through your foam! And as always, work in a well ventilated area away from naked flames.

Cheers

Dennis