Wood wonders Eyepiece box

[OneCosmos]

Does anyone here have one of these?

https://www.wood-wonders.com/eyepiece

I’d be interested in your thoughts if you do.

[Merlin66]

Look very sexy, but at a price!
The boxes in Bali are similarly carved for $50.
My eyepiece box was hand made back in the 80's and still works for me.

[OneCosmos]

The weight is one thing that would concern me, but then again, I find he small aluminum ones from Bunnings, with their pre-cut foam don't allow you to put many eyepieces in them without making the walls so thin it all falls apart. You therefore end up with multiple cases which are equally onerous to carry. I thought, why not just put them all in one place and for still less money than a single Ethos!

[rrussell1962]

The local Bunnings is stocking some, rather costly, packs of dense foam for tool drawers (not pluck foam) that can be cut to shape. I bought some to experiment with. No idea if these is a potential issue with outgassing though.

[OneCosmos]

The problem I have with that -and I did buy some from Clarke Rubber but if it is deep enough to fit the box it is all big impossible to cut a heat shape as an indent only. If you cut right through it he eyepiece ends up resting on the bare metal beneath and it is still impossible to cut holes neatly enough. It requires laser cutting but then you may as well spend more money on a commercially built EP case.

[Merlin66]

I used a 1.25” wad punch to make the holes in the base foam. There’s a thinner layer at the bottom, and a buffer layer in the top.

[DarkArts]

You can still buy hardy plastic pluck-foam cases at Jaycar, and you can get generic replacement pluck foam on eBay.

[SkyWatch]

If you cut neatly right though with a sharp knife you can remove the piece, trim off (say) 1 or 2 cm from the bottom, and re-insert it in the hole. A bit of double-sided tape underneath will keep it in place or you can use some contact adhesive on the edges if you want (but probably not necessary): and nobody will ever know... ;)

BTW, I don't have one of the Wood Wonders boxes, but a friend does for his Ethos collection. They are nice, they are well thought out with nice touches like the built-in red LED's, and they do the job really well. The carvings are made with some sort of CNC router, and Ken's comment about Bali is true, but the woodworkers in Bali get paid very little for their amazing efforts... If I were buying one, I would save my $US100 and get it un-carved.

Speaking as a wood worker they are definitely built to a price. The joinery is functional and adequate for the job. I suspect they are as good as you will get commercially unless you pay big money for a time-consuming custom build.

In fact I have often thought about building something similar here in Oz, although I would probably mainly use marine ply for its ability to resist warping and cracking and cope with moisture etc. Any takers?

- Dean

[OneCosmos]

@Dean, do you reckon if you did find some takers and made a few that you would be able to make it for much less than the others making such things? I’d have thought it would be pretty labour intensive to do a high quality job and time, as they say, is money.

I could be interested depending on timeframes -I’m generally all for buying local.

Chris

Ps I think wrt wood wonders I actually prefer the version without the mouldings.

[sn1987a]

I have two Wood Wonders eyepiece cases. I love them. However the cost of shipping to Oz and the exchange rate conversion racketeering is eye watering.

[SkyWatch]

You are right Chris: this is why I said the WoodWonder boxes have functional but adequate joinery, and even so I don't think the guy who makes them will be making a fortune any time soon. Fancy stuff takes a lot of time.

I have made a lot of boxes/cases for Adelaide made amplifier-mixers for DJ's and audiophiles. These are mainly sold overseas and the clientele are very demanding, so I know the problems re labour-intensive work: and my hourly rate is pretty low to compete.

I think the first one in particular would have to be a "labour of love" to get everything right. I wouldn't be making them as a commercial proposition but more because I enjoy it: and the price would reflect that. I have had a couple of enquiries following my semi tongue-in-cheek comment, so I'll put it down as my next project and post details when I am finished. I am sure I could keep it below the WoodWonder price, but I don't know at this stage how much it would cost to post them around the country: this will obviously depend on size and weight. Another issue is the wood used for construction. The WoodWonder boxes are made from ~10mm "red oak", which is not easily available here: so I am thinking of marine ply with hard-wood edging (probably "Tassie oak").

If you could clarify your comment about time-frame I could work to a deadline as currently my Astronomy education business is on hold until they lift the 1.5m and 4sqm per person restrictions (I have a portable planetarium). I am working on a 14" binocular at present, but that can go on hold if necessary. :)

All the best,

Dean

[OneCosmos]

Hi Dean,

I’m all for supporting local businesses. It might be best to take this off line. I’ll pm you with my contact details.

[Max Vondel]

Good inspiration for a home build project

[GrahamL]

Do they seal tight Barry ?

[sn1987a]

I've had them about 6 years or so now and never had any concerns they seem to seal nice and tight wood lip on wood lip.

[GrahamL]

They do look nice, I made a small timber case for my grandaughters scope.