i gave my new ED80 a new home today

[joshman]

hey, i had today off again, so i dropped by bunnings and grabbed this galv tool box for a cool $36.95

then i stopped by a clark rubber and picked up the foam inners, there are four layers in this badboy. two which you can see in the lid and for my cutouts the lid layer is 50mm thick, and the cut out layer is 100mm thick. underneath the cutout layer are 2 x 50mm sheets, just in case i decide to get a bit more creative with it all. i'm actually tempted tosplit it down the middle, one side with the scope, then make a shelf type system for the other, that way, i'm not wasting all the space underneath the finder scope and eyepieces and whatnot.

turned out fairly well i think. all that's left is to get some fabric and fold over the whole foam mess....make it look pretty!

[Lee]

Looks good..... I did similar, but with a box that was a bit short, so have to transport the dew shield separately.... nuisance.... might get one of those gal ones...

[dugnsuz]

Great job josh,
I've got to sort out something like this for my ED80 and guidescope real soon! Thanks for the ideas.
Doug

[citivolus]

Looks good Josh! That is a nice fit.

[h0ughy]

nice job - I used something similar for my PST

[StarLane]

You've done well there mate, saved heaps on a commercial case.

[joshman]

actually, what's a good material to make a dew shield out of? and what sort of design is best for an ed80?


yeah, the top piece of foam compresses down nicely onto all the gear holding it nice and secure.

[jjjnettie]

That looks quite professional Josh. Well done me boy.

[mrsnipey]

Hi Joshman, congratulations on your new scope.
How heavy is the new case? Does it have a handle?

[joshman]

thanks man!

yeah, it's the cheapie craftek 765mmx250mmx335mm galvinised toolbox available from teh bunnings down on blunder road at oxley, not far from where you live, the foam inserts i got from clark rubber up at enoggera.

as for weight....not really, there isnt much in the final product. and it's got a handle each end of the box, i'd actually like to re-inforce the lid and add and extra latch or two and put a handle into teh lid, but that's a rainy day project for another time and a different paycheck, i've got a few more ideas that take priority for this case floating around in my head, hopefully i'll have tomorrow off and i can put a few into action

[Ric]

Well done Josh, you ED looks very snug in its new home.

Cheers

[joshman]

i totally had a brain storm earlier...i should have some pics up tomorrow if i get a chance to work on it

[turbo_pascale]

I did something similar with a plastic toolbox from bunnings for about $30.

Got some cubed foam from my brother. It just fits in with the losmandy rings.

Nice & light, and a good handle on top.

Turbo

[mrsnipey]

I'm taking notes so that when (if) I ever get my refractor I'll be doing the same. It looks like it could take a beating and still keep the scope nice and safe. And it's cheap too.

What did you use to cut the foam? I've tried cutting foam before and mangled it, severely.

[joshman]

don't be fooled, my foam is fairly mangled, i've managed to hide it in that pic though, the scope sits in the cutout fairly loosely, but i've cut wedges and blocks to stop it from rolling around inside the cutout, then the top piece of foam compresses nice and tightly down onto it all, allowing for a snug fit, and no movement. for cutting it i used a combination of a finely serated knife and very sharp stanley blade. i ended up taking the blade out of the knife and wielding it manually, found it alot easier to cut with. alof of it was guess work with the cut outs, i marked a rough outline with a nikko pen, cut some out and see how the piece fit. i aimed to have about half an inch of each item sticking out above the foam, allowing for some nice compression from the top piece.

these toolboxes are pretty strong, despite their pricetage, i've seen these boxes get kicked around a fair bit and still hold up, but i don't plan on kicking any of this :D. of course the really expensive tool boxes are stronger, but they're heavier, much much heavier, and well...more expensive.




nice, elegant solution you have there. this was the only sub-$100 toolbox big enough to house the scope in it at bunnings, so i figured i could also get a whole bunch of other stuff in to it while i was at it also. i had a brain storm last night and am going to try and implement it today... hopefully i'll put some more pics up later on.

[Sharnbrook]

I have been told, but never tried it myself, if you put foam in the deep freeze overnight, it is sufficiently rigid next morning to be able to cut it cleanly with a VERY sharp knife.

What I have tried, is cutting 150mm foam with an electric carving knife. This was suggested to me by Clarke Rubber (at Enoggera), and is what they use. Not having an electric carving knife, I bought one for $10 from Cash Converters, and I have to say, it worked very well.

[Dennis]

For my cases I used the closed cell type of foam, rather that the more “spongy” open cell foam which can soak up water. The closed cell foam is more rigid and because it is chemically blown, it doesn’t absorb and hold moisture like the traditional spongy stuff.

Also, the closed cell foam comes in different densities and I used the most dense (little give) for the case that holds the mount and the less dense (more give) for my OTA box. Their relative density also makes it easier to cut with a sharp Stanley knife.

It’s not cheap stuff, costing me around $50 to $60 per case, but then it does protect my expensive instruments.

Cheers

Dennis

[joshman]

i'm unsure which type of foam is in this case, but it's pretty rigid, with enough give to allow adequate compression to hold it all in place, as well as provide a nice cushioning. i'm fairly pleased with how it turned out. clark rubber also told me that an electric carving knife was best to use, but what the hey? can't do anyhting about it now! and i had a super sharp stanley blade to do my cuts, so it turned out as well as i could have hoped.

[joshman]

ok, here's a work in progress pic, this is roughly what the end product will look like, i hope to make up a proper tray for the top instead of having those containers, and i still have to neaten up the sheet that's covering the foam, but it's a really snug fit with the sheet in there.

i feel that my equipment is safe.

[timelord]

Gooday joshman, next time you need to cut foam rubber try what I do--use a electric kitchen knife it cant be beat for nice neat cuts.
Al.

[dugnsuz]

That last pic looks like a coffin now Josh!!
Rest in peace ED80!!!
Well done.
Doug

[joshman]

that box works a treat, a friend of mine is reasonably adept at metal work, so i'm getting him to make a tray for the top. 720mm(l)x290mm(w)x50mm(d) are the final dimensions of the tray, it'll be handy to store more eye pieces and the hand controller for the mount and all the other odds and ends that accompany such endevours, i'll post more pics and whatnot upon my return to brisbane, my parents are on dialup. this makes me sad.i also got my heq5 mount yesterday, so i was excited to play with that last yesterday/last night. managed to get it all up and runnign and inbetween the clouds, i managed to see a few astronomical goodies, i've posted a first light report in general chat...for anyone that's interested.now i also need to make up some kind of case for the mount head, then everything is safe!

[joshman]

and here's the tray finally made, and how it fits into the metal box, as well as a pic of my whole kit at present, in the near future, there'll be a proper box for the mount head (something with a handle) and a box for the soon coming canon 350D and various eyepieces, filters and extenders and whatnot.

it's slowly coming together!