material

[john guy]

can anyone tell me what material is use on DOB telescope mounts, it's the while material that the scope swings on
cheers

[mura_gadi]

Teflon

[-Ephemeral-]

I've heard that teflon and formica laminate is a really good combo

[mura_gadi]

You'll hear about ebony star etc, now long gone. Get the code for ebony star and talk to your local laminators, they can tell from the code the surface finish/textures etc and let you know what's closest match on the market now.

The size of the Telfon pads makes a huge difference to the static and fluid friction no matter the material used. The best matching material are those with the lowest difference between static and fluid friction.

I have read the guts from an old 8" floppy disk work very, depending on your base size. (yes you can still get non-working 8 inch floppy disks!).

[john guy]

thanks everyone much appreciated
cheers

[mura_gadi]

Sorry might add that the suggested laminates, LP vinyl records, floppy disks etc all have one thing in common. They all have raised surfaces to reduce the contact area against the Teflon pads. That raised contact area needs to be fairly regular so you have consistent movement.