We have made some more progress towards the pier with a finished pier plate for my EQ6 Pro. We had the plate professionally made at a local engineering company and now that it is completed. We can now continue progress on the Observatory. The next step is to get the RIO bars welded for the pier and pour the concrete.
We have been working extremely hard to get as much done on the Observatory as possible this weekend. Our plans for this weekend was to get the RIO bars welded together, pour the concrete for the base of the pier, collect the bricks, and lay the footers.
My Uncle welded the RIO bars together for the pier. We used 12mm threaded rod for the main bars and standard RIO bars for the rest, to hold it together. We went for the threaded rod instead of bolts as we found it easier this way. The rods are 2200mm long and once the Observatory is complete. The top of the Pier will be 1M from the floor. While my Uncle was welded. My father and I went to collect the bricks for the footers from our next door neighbours who generously donated 100 bricks to us, free of charge.
My Uncle finished welding in the morning and we spent the rest of the morning resting and replenishing our energy for the rest of the day.
We returned outside and prepared the RIO bars for the concrete. The pier hole which was 600mm x 600mm x 700mm took a total of 12 x 20kg bags of concrete to fill. It would have been more if it wasn't for all the large rocks we put in.
Once it was in and leveled, we spent the rest of the day plotting where the footers where going to go and put the bricks in place.
and you thought your tarantula image was green... you should see me right now
Pier looks like it goes fairly deep, should be very sturdy for any future equipment that you may end up hanging off it... with this kind of thing, making sure its future proof is the key... A few observatories I've seen were built with the original equipment in mind, and this can limit your options when expanding.
Looks like its progressing well Matty, will the walls be Al, bricks, wooden?
and you thought your tarantula image was green... you should see me right now
Pier looks like it goes fairly deep, should be very sturdy for any future equipment that you may end up hanging off it... with this kind of thing, making sure its future proof is the key... A few observatories I've seen were built with the original equipment in mind, and this can limit your options when expanding.
Looks like its progressing well Matty, will the walls be Al, bricks, wooden?
Thanks Alex,
I incorperated into the design quite a lot of room for upgrades most likely a larger OTA in the future. That's why I went for a solid concrete Pier.
The whole of the framing of the Obsevatory will be wooden. I'm really happy and excited with the progress we have made at the moment.
We finished laying in the footers last weekend. It was very hot but we managed to get it all finished by the end of the day. We made sure that all the footers were dead level with each other. Checking the next day, we were spot on (See images 3 and 4).
The Observatory is progressing along nicely with the top of the pier getting concreted tomorrow.
We spent the first part of the morning preparing the box frame for the concrete pier. We used 12mm standard MDF which would make the frame for the concrete pier.
We then leveled the box around the RIO bars and braced it using 2x4's. It took exactly 13 x 20kg bags of concrete to fill leaving us with less than a handful of concrete left over. It is now in the curing stage but is rock solid.
We have decided to leave the wooden frame around the concrete allowing us to be able to add some shelves and be able to easily attach things to it. The dimensions of the pier is 340mm x 340mm x 125mm.
The next step is Framing.
There will no construction work happening this long weekend as we are having a break.
Pier Plate
The Pier is Up! - Wednesday 1/10/08
