I got sick of whinging about having no tracking, so after consulting many designs, I knocked up a Haig Mount this morning.
Took about 3 hours, 1 hr of which was applying layer after layer of shellac before assembling.
I thought I'd stuffed up the camera mount when I used the 16mm spade bit instead of something smaller, but I gasketed it with bits of hose and it's all good.
A couple more things to do to it. Gotta make a timer wheel, make a handle to turn the screw with, mount a finder scope along the hinge and finish off the whole job with an inlay of gold paint on the top. ( Esthetics are everything)
The proof of the pudding will of course be in the images.
Thanks to Ken:- http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=17142 , I'm going to be motorised, so I don't have to build my barndoor tracker. I knew there was a reason that I couldn't find time over Christmas/New Year to build it!
A bit of work to do to set it up - the infamous polar alignment- then I'll shoot some wide-field.
Self-timer plus....ummm....a wormhole in space/time?
Very very close Erick,
More of a time warp.
I took the photo with the Digital Powershot, but the camera on the mount is a Canon EOS 50 SLR.
Gotta step back in time to the age of film to fulfill my desire for widefield long exposures.
Here's some comparison pics I took with the Powershot.
Canopus came out fab , and I think Orion would have been pretty good too if I didn't have my foot resting against the tripod.
Nice first light images - just watch where you put that foot when you trip the shutter....
I just noticed in your sig that you have a Hama tripod - I picked up a sale item at Photo Continental some time ago; a heavy but very stable model. Easy to adjust although it came without a head and I had to make a 3/8 inch adapter so I could screw various heads onto it.
The Hama model I have is quite lightweight and not all that stable. I don't use it all that much because I have the Velbon which has a quite luxurious fluid head.
I replaced the drive bolt on the Haig today. There was a bit of a bend in the first one. Added another nut to help guide it as well.
The single hinge has to go. Too much movement. Tomorrow I'll replace it with two smaller brass hinges.
There are other small changes that I need to make before I mount the SLR onto it.
I feel the need for a permenant pier in the paddock.
I feel the need for a permenant pier in the paddock.
Some while ago, I dropped into Capral Aluminium and obtained a 1.5 metre length of 4 inch aluminium pipe with a wall thickness of approx 3mm. Cost me around $45 and I made a pier for the Vixen mount.
The nice thing about aluminium is it is light weight, easy to work with and does not rust.
Good luck with the permanent mount, you’re really motoring along!
Aluminium does not behave well in concrete (it likes acidic or neutral environment and concrete is very alkaline). Steel pipe is better for permanent setups (it is for ever if nickel plated) and it does not matter if it is heavy. For a permanent site you will want to fill it with concrete anyway.
I was using plastic pipe in the past (filled with concrete and couple of steel rods with threads at the top, to fit the mount) and I was very happy with the setup.
I am planning something like that for my yard in the near future.....
Jjjnettie,
That may be OK for temporary permanent site :-)
You just drop the hardwood pier into the hole 30cm deep in the ground filled with concrete.
But you should expect it to change with time, it could twist and/or split... But for the type of setup you are using now it might be OK.
Just be sure to use old hardwood (already properly dried and completely dead and stable) and always keep it dry under the cover.
However, I would consider steel or plastic pipe filled with concrete, it is not complicated at all to do and you will be certain it won't move.
Aluminium does not behave well in concrete (it likes acidic or neutral environment and concrete is very alkaline). Steel pipe is better for permanent setups (it is for ever if nickel plated) and it does not matter if it is heavy. For a permanent site you will want to fill it with concrete anyway.
I was using plastic pipe in the past (filled with concrete and couple of steel rods with threads at the top, to fit the mount) and I was very happy with the setup.
I am planning something like that for my yard in the near future.....
Whooops – thanks for that!
I should really have written that I made a transportable pier, with 3 bolt on legs, although I have since considered a permanent pier in the back garden. Glad I didn’t now.
Just out of curiosity, over what time period would a catastrophic failure be expected to occur? Say 12 months, 3 years, 5 years or greater?
Couple of years maybe or faster, I think it depends on many factors... but I know for certain that aluminium is never used with concrete.
Non-protected aluminium left outside in the rain will "rust" in a matter of month or two (I was watching parts of the old washing machine that I stored in the backyard before disposing them off, very quickly the shimne was gone and was replaced with white powder-like substance (Al hydroxide)
Couple of years maybe or faster, I think it depends on many factors... but I know for certain that aluminium is never used with concrete.
Non-protected aluminium left outside in the rain will "rust" in a matter of month or two (I was watching parts of the old washing machine that I stored in the backyard before disposing them off, very quickly the shimne was gone and was replaced with white powder-like substance (Al hydroxide)
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way to go Jeanette. I'm looking forward to see how it works out.
- then I'll shoot some wide-field.
, and I think Orion would have been pretty good too if I didn't have my foot resting against the tripod.
