Well, time for another update; I'm getting down to the business end now ... and as far as the weather goes, it's been great for ducks and telescope building, hasn't it!?!
Attached images below:
- Stainless extension shaft that I turned on my lathe. I calculated that I need it to extend the shaft on the Paramount to achieve balance (otherwise I would have to purchase a 4th counterweight which would be overkill). Cost from Bisque would have been approx $300 becuase of high shipping costs; cost of stainless stock for me to make it: $40.
- Shows the extension shaft in place.
- I always wanted a generous finderscope to be more than just a finder and plan to use a WO ED 70 for that rich field experience; however I became worried when I tested the scope in the WO rings I bought as I needed to tighten it quite hard to stop slip. I decided to replace the delrin tipped screws with some large nylon faced stainless inserts that I made to provide better friction but also do not rotate as you tighten the screws (non-marring). I got the idea from the Alpine Astro site.
- The finder / rings attached to the tube.
- I needed to drill 4 holes (2 widely separated pairs) in good alignment on the tube (which is not perfectly round) so I used this jig, which is self aligning on the tube.
- I've seen a couple of horror stories regarding rodents setting up house inside a Paramount (due to the open RA shaft that has holes at the back end to permit through the mount custom wiring). Here is my solution: an end cap I made out of fibreglass that attaches to the shaft end and has 3 electrical glands that pass the wires through.
I'm currently working on the electrical / USB systems and then I will be ready for a test mount of the mirrors to determine exactly where to drill the holes for the primary. Work has been slow as I have had a lot of back pain over the last few months and looks like I will need a back operation, but hopefully I will complete the scope before that happens.
I'm also building a kit shed that I will use as an area in which I can spray paint the tube; I planted the idea with my wife that we need extra storage in order to tidy up our garage (for mower, etc) so I am not only getting brownie points for doing it but am scoring my spray painting booth as well
