Turning cardboard box into travel box

[StutzJr]

I've kept the original cardboard boxes and polystyrene inserts for my skywatcher 6" f/8 dobsonian scope and would like to make my box a bit more practical / portable to take away with me. I'd like to ask for some suggestions for hardening up the box, keeping the inserts in place, adding some straps to close the box and adding some carry handles.
I'm aware of http://telescopes.net/store/15164-pa...refractor.html for about $80 but can't justify spending anywhere near that much for the few times I might want to take the scope on a trip.
My first idea is to fix the polystyrene inserts in place and sure up the inside of the inner cardboard box with some kind of spray expanding foam (not sure which type is suitable). Then I'd plan to reinforce the inside/outside of the outer cardboard box with (fabric) duct tape and fix in place some velcro straps to hold the box closed. Lastly I'd make up some webbing straps to tie around and use as carry handles.
Does that sound like something that would be worth the effort and cost effective?

[DavidU (Dave)]

I did this myself. I sprayed the inside & outside of the cardboard box with clear acrylic paint (several coats). It stiffened it quite well and it is water proof as well.

[leon]

Yep Dave that will do it.

Leon

[StutzJr]

Well so far this has't yet gone particularly well. I went to Bunnings and got some stuff.. I got some Norton "bear tape" cloth type duct tape which didn't really stick that well to the cardboard - I should have gone with his recommendation to get "all weather" plastic duct tape which probably would have worked better.
I also got a can of clear acrylic spray but that was barely enough to cover the boxes with one thin coat! I have a tube of "liquid nails" adhesive which is suitable for polystyrene but I want to do a better coating of the cardboard somehow first.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

The only cloth tape worth your money is Nashua Gaffe tape. It's the industry standard for stage production work; most live music is held together with gaffe. I keep a roll in the troopie to hold together anything that falls apart on the road. [The local music shop used to stock it - maybe still does - and I've recently got it from Jaycar.] However I would only use it sparingly on this project, just for edges and corners. The rest I would stiffen with paint as David suggested.

[StutzJr]

I thought the reason stagehands use gaffe tape is because it holds strong to surfaces but is still removable? Anyway I just wanted something to keep the bottom panels down on the inside and seal the seams/corners.

Is there a better alternative to the spray paint as it seems a bit wasteful and a pretty inefficient for a large flat surface?

[StutzJr]

I had another look in Bunnings but the only other coating I found was a clear oil based varnish but that was about $26 for a small tin. I've decided not to bother with any coating for now but I've glued in the bottom parts of the polystyrene inserts and weighed them down with some wood. If they don't stay in place then I'll try some foam spray which will at least firm up the inner box anyway.

[LewisM]

You could try nitrocellulose dope - flying model aircraft makers used to use it, and it is still widely available in cans at hobby shops. It makes cellulose rich fibres (which cardboard is) stiff and waterproof.

Now, I have teied taping Skywatcher boxes. I am not sure what they have in it, but most tapes won't adhere properly to it. I have been reliably told all the SW boxes are recycled, ex-USA paper. I remember having GREAT difficulty making tape stick to a SW box when I went to post it.

[DIYman (Doug)]

As for tape I am finding myself using more and more of insulation metallised tape around the place. (As the name suggests it is used to join sheets of insulation.) The tape will stick to anything except concrete or cement and is virtually untearable. There are two types, one with a smooth backing and another with hatch patterns. I use the latter. The tape also takes paint well. The not so jolly Green Giant (Bunnings) sells it at different widths.

[Astro_Bot]

I did the same thing to the box for my ED80, but I went "old school" and used clear contact, like covering school books. I then used gaffa tape to reinforce the structure at a couple of heights and superglued some rubber "feet" (that I had lying around) on the lower corners that also protect the corners. I cut some foam for the inside (I had some off-cuts also lying around).

Total cost about $20, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than the hard carry cases.

[StutzJr]

Originally Posted by LewisM

You could try nitrocellulose dope - flying model aircraft makers used to use it, and it is still widely available in cans at hobby shops. It makes cellulose rich fibres (which cardboard is) stiff and waterproof.

Now, I have teied taping Skywatcher boxes. I am not sure what they have in it, but most tapes won't adhere properly to it. I have been reliably told all the SW boxes are recycled, ex-USA paper. I remember having GREAT difficulty making tape stick to a SW box when I went to post it.

I know this is dragging up an old topic but I finally have some time to look into this now. I'm considering trying a small tub of clag celmix cellulose powder as per this link. I'll post back if I have any success with this stuff.

[StutzJr]

Turns out that cullulose mix was not cheap so I ended up getting a 10m roll of contact from officeworks for about $2 and it worked great.

[2stroke (Jay)]

Originally Posted by StutzJr

Turns out that cullulose mix was not cheap so I ended up getting a 10m roll of contact from officeworks for about $2 and it worked great.

Thats a great idea Never used a box for transport though as we have no children the back seat of the landrover holds any scope we have and we use the seatbelts to secure, from the ed100 to the 12" sky dob goto truss, yes the base goes in the boot.

The only box i wouldn't mind would be one custom for the ED100 as we leave it setup for imaging with an 80mm guide scope and dsi pro along with finder its a bit non-secure. Will be hunting down a cardboard box though and using your contact idea thanks, was going to make a hardcase but lol then its going to weigh to much.