DIY tube rings + mounting plate (103mm for ED80)

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

I am very proud of myself right now.

I spent the latter half of this Sunday making my very own tube rings and mounting plate to mate my ED80 to the EQ5 I bought from Mark. This was the first time I used a router (the mechanical kind) and I failed with my first attempt, but my second one worked out well.

Here are a couple of pics of my creation with and without scope (click the thumbnails for larger pics):

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~jano...-001_thumb.jpg http://members.optusnet.com.au/~jano...-003_thumb.jpg

Notes:

Ingredients:

- 20mm and 12mm exterior plywood (Home Timber & Hardware, sold by the square metre & cut to any size; never buy timber from Bunnings!) $10 with heaps left over.
- Sticky backed felt (to protect the precious OTA from being scratched by the wooden surface); felt comes in A4 sheets from Lincraft for $4 --- this stuff is nice and thin and does the job well
- small nails and/or wood screws
- wood glue
- 6mm bolts with nuts for hinges (threads only at the ends and smooth elsewhere; yet to buy washers)
- two more 6mm bolts, nuts & washers to clamp two halves of each ring together (yet to buy, temporary springy clamps are carefully hidden in the above photos )

Gotta have power (and some other) tools for this job:

- good jigsaw (< $50) that can do angled cuts + good quality blades for straight cuts + skinny ones made for curved cuts
- router for the inner precise circular cut. I bought a Blak&dekker router for $99 just for this job; but I always wanted a router anyway just needed the excuse. I had to improvise with the B&D router because although it does circular cuts the attachments do not help with small circles (radius < 100mm).
- good quality sharp router bit ($12 from Tony's in Oakleigh VIC)
- bench drill (<$100); This is crucial for the bolted hinges. Handheld drilling will never yield a nice smoothly moving hinge. Also, ideally the size of the bolt used for the hinge should closely match the size of one available drill.
- handheld drill for predrilling holes for screws or nails even (plywood splinters easily)
- sandpaper, sanding block
- good goggles for dust and a dust mask and(/or?) vacuum attachment for jigsaw & router. I cannot emphasise this enough. I had goggles and safety glasses, and neither were adequate. I have sore dry eyes full of sawdust.
- clamps for glueing things in place before driving in nails / screws

Beyond that, the pictures should be self-explanatory...

The setup works really well. It's just as functional as a ready-made one and it's rock solid. And the ED80 loves it!

[Dennis]

Nice work Steve, looks a very neat job and very effective set up.

Cheers

Dennis

[iceman (Mike)]

Nice one Steve, where's the comprehensive how-to writeup for the site?

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Sorry Mike, I don't see the point in a lengthy howto. There is nothing complicated about this and I think the pictures pretty much tell the story. Just gotta take one's time and use the right tool for the right job. Reading the instructions that come with the power tools helps too as does some experience using them; things like knowing when the wood will splinter, which blades are best for cleaner curved cuts, how to make an angled cut without the blade bending, how to keep the router steady, how to keep all your fingers, etc etc. You also have to weigh up whether it's worth the time & effort for the cost of $80 for new rings, and whether you'd be embarrassed to be seen with chunky wooden scope rings instead of slim metal ones.

I made these not just to save a few bucks but to gain some experience with the router. I must say I love this tool; very clean and precise cuts. It should work well for making altitude bearings for BIG Dobs.

[elusiver]

looks tops steve! i've been lookin for an excuse to buy a router TOO!! but now i have to find an excuse to buy an 80 ED

el