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More photos
The roll off frame which is 2 frames that roll off either together or in opposite directions.
The metal plate reinforcing for the truss is an important feature.
Its cut out using a grionder and a thin metal cutting disc from a sheet of 1.6mm galvabond plate you can get from Bunnings. I think it was 500 x 400 or so plus lots of screws. This means plenty of room for the telescope not hitting the bottom of the truss. Normally you would have a horizontal beam at wall height which the scope would hit.
Its strong too. My son hung his whole weight off this truss and it didn't budge at all.
The frame is made out of 50 x50 and 40 x 40 aluminium square section to keep the weight down. You currently can roll these sections effortlessly and smoothly a major upgrade from my last observatory where the roll off frame was a real problem. That was with treated pine. Metal is far superior in this application. Timber is not strong enough, is heavy and can give a bit over time.
My other observatory has a surprisingly heavy flat roof made of treated pine and Kliplok roofing. Its a bit hard to opena nd close but that suits the area which can be bombarded with very strong winds.
Greg.
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