anyhow, I just purchased a Heq5 for my 8" f/6 newt and ther legs are way too long! I mean like I have to stand on a chair to view if the scope is facing anywhere from south thru west to northwestish. I am guessing that the legs need to be about a foot shorter or maybe more. I am no shorty at 6 foot tall, so obviously the tripod is built for a telescope that has the EP at the back/bottom. the current legs have about 8 inches of tube that could be cut but thats not really enough.
so I am wondering if out of the goodness of anyones heart they could build me some wooden legs? I'd be willing to pay material costs and postage (or pickup if in sydney) if it doesnt cost too much, but i have a very limited budget after buying the mount so take that into account. I am guessing that a hard wood of some sort would work best. I have a good secondhand lumber place near home and have no doubt that i could pick something up ther, but i personally dont have the skills or propper equipment to do a decent job of it .
I had the same problem a few months back, and in the end just made my own. It cost me under $50 to make the legs, out of good hardwood. I simply drew up what I wanted, took it to a good timber mill and got them to cut it up for me to the exact measurements (thickness and all). It was much simpler than I expected and can carry over 100kg without much of a problem (ie me).
I can send you pick of it if you like but I dont have the time to make a 2nd one.
lol geoff, would you believe i was just at that thread?
i'd still need someone to cut it for me. i have a rickety old saw, a jigsaw that doesnt cut in straight lines (or is that a user issue? ) and a stanley knife... and thats it for cutting implements
I'll have a go at making some legs for your mount.
I have a Vixen SP mount and I can make the legs the same way (see attached pictures)
Can you give me some measurments from your HEQ5? I need to know the width of the lugs on the mount where the current steel legs attach.
Hope this makes sense, IM me if not.
Vinger,
can I suggest you make the legs about the right length and don't try to get clever with making them adjust. I have adjustable legs on my tripod, but it is a flash sucker. There must be a good reason Takahashi don't make adjustable tripods, you buy a length that is short, medium, or long.
Measure what you need and get them that length.
David,
I had now idea how to build a tripod. But with a little help from a friend this was the result.
Will adapt these to the Atlas mount someday
Yes the HEQ5 is not the same as the below. EQ5. I will have to do as per your drawing. Thats why its not done yet.
Best of luck with it as its well worth the effort.
I've been thinking , why can't you simply cut down the old tripod. You say that there are only 6 inches you can remove, but looking at your tripod in this post, you should be able to trim both the upper and lower tubes to achieve whatever height you desire. The only issue may be removing the alloy clamps, but from articles I've read it is not that difficult.
Can't see where the taper is, but for the lower tubes to slide in and out they couldn't be tapered, is it the upper bits that are tapered?? The R-tickles I have seen were for the Meade tripods, similar in construction but not identical. The trick seems to be getting the aluminium bits off unscathed. If you have only a small amount of taper on the upper legs you could possibly remove some off the top of the leg.
Or, for a few $ more, one of these portable piers from AOE. It may be height adjustable. If not, just hack a bit off the tube.
Heavy Duty pier stand with two section steel post making it adaptable for either Newtonians, Refractors or Catadioptrics. Stands 1.25m high, 108mm tubing diameter, wide 1.1m base diameter and large polished aluminium touch pads.
AOE-PS - Heavy Duty Pier Stand - less than $200
hmm... for the moment i am going to leave everything as it is. i'll look into this more at a latter date (next year). thanks everyone for your input
i used the said scope on the weekend and it wasnt really that bad. i came torealise that alots depends on teh initial position of the focuser. if i start it in a lower position then it is a touch more managelable. i only had to use the bottom step of teh stepladder.
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) and a stanley knife... and thats it for cutting implements 
, why can't you simply cut down the old tripod. You say that there are only 6 inches you can remove, but looking at your tripod in 
