[Scorpius51 (John)]

Hi Jeremy

A year or two ago I replaced the base on my Bintel 10" Dob when it was damaged by flooding in our garage. Fortunately the scope was untouched as I had installed a plastic bag over the lower part of the OTA. However, the MDF base was trashed.

I decided to rebuild the base with 18mm marine ply to the same dimensions and pattern as the original base. Fortunately, I was able to re-use the original azimuth bearing after removing the mud and mulch that had inundated the garage. The other fittings, including the eyepiece holder and base handle, were also re-used. I also replaced the original fixed rubber feet with large rubber-wheeled locking castors.

I am extremely happy with the result and believe that the new base is much better than the original. I have attached a few images of the finished product.