Today's job was putting together the rollers for the shutter. I had previously cut out and assembled two plywood arc that matched the radii of the dome opening. I then drilled an attached ten 20mm rollers to each one, then attached them to the shutter frame using aluminium flat bar; this is only a temporary, have a nicer solution which I will implement in the coming days
Put the whole unit on the dome and with great relief the shutter rolled smoothly along the tracks without an issue. Very happy with the result so far.
Cheers
Last edited by anthony2302749; 07-07-2024 at 06:07 PM.
That's a very impressive build Anthony!
Here's a weird question, did you waste a lot of ply doing the large radius bends?
It's stopped me doing certain builds in the past, knowing I'd only get a few large radius bends out of each sheet and marine grade ply being somewhat expensive.
I have resorted to doing stacks of thin strips bent and glued for smaller jobs, nothing like a dome though. That I haven't tried building and wouldn't have a suitable place (or room, or area unobstructed by neighbours trees) in the back yard to put one.
One day I'll win lotto and buy a property where I can have a dome. I'll probably drop dead before that happens.
Though if I were to win I'd probably be too busy playing with expensive Italian motorbikes.........
That's a very impressive build Anthony!
Here's a weird question, did you waste a lot of ply doing the large radius bends?
It's stopped me doing certain builds in the past, knowing I'd only get a few large radius bends out of each sheet and marine grade ply being somewhat expensive.
I have resorted to doing stacks of thin strips bent and glued for smaller jobs, nothing like a dome though. That I haven't tried building and wouldn't have a suitable place (or room, or area unobstructed by neighbours trees) in the back yard to put one.
One day I'll win lotto and buy a property where I can have a dome. I'll probably drop dead before that happens.
Though if I were to win I'd probably be too busy playing with expensive Italian motorbikes.........
Hi Leo
There is minimal loss of plywood when cutting the radius bends. I used a 6.4mm router tip for the cutting as recommended, so possible loss 12.8mm in saw dust. After the initial cut, the scrap plywood between each radius would be about 15mm at its thickest. On a good setup you could utilise say 80% to 90% (ballpark figure) of the plywood as usable timber.
Past couple of days I have rework the Shutter and the track that the shutter rolls along. The shutter I replaced the aluminium for plywood block to affix the roller to the shutter frame, a workable solution, probably still need to tweak it a bit.
As for the tracks I ditched the colour bond strip for aluminium 25mm flat bar. After returning two pieces of 25mm by 3m aluminium flat bar to Bunnings for a refund of $28. I then when to Action Aluminium and picked up four pieces of 25mm by 4m aluminium flat bar for $30. Note, don't skimp.
Method used to create the tracks was to layer up the aluminium and yellow tongue and gluing them into place with Gorilla Glue ensuring everything was square and aligned correctly. Once dry screwed into place.
End result is the shutter now roll smoothly over the dome.
You'd have to be extremely happy with your results Anthony, the dome looks amazing and it's easy to see how much work you've put into it.
Bunnings are thieves when it comes to steel and aluminium. I can buy 6 metre lengths (or 6.5M) from a steel supplier in Bathurst for less than a 1 metre length of the same thing from Bunnings, same with steel.
Bugger, I drove straight past the other day taking my son to an ENT in Orange and never thought to grab some stuff I needed. I have to take my son to Bathurst for an MRI next Monday, I better write a list.
I don't like driving (it's a migraine thing) and while Bathurst is only 45 minutes away I seldom go there.
I have made some more improvement to the Main Shutter, one being the roller bearings. I was not happy with them affixed to the timber, so I remounted them on right angle aluminium and then attached them to the shutter frame. If I need to replace one, it just makes the job easier. Also need to fix the spacing between the out-roller frame and the inner frame due to the remounting of the rollers.
Final task was to cover the Shutter frame with 3mm plywood. This was done with the Shutter frame in place and glued, covered with ply, stapled into position. Only task left is the cleaning up overhanging plywood, fill in the holes, sand and fiberglass the edges for waterproofing.
How well does it work, very well, Happy with the results.
So, the dome as a whole is almost complete.
Cheers
Last edited by anthony2302749; 13-07-2024 at 04:21 PM.
Since my last post I have completed assembly of the shutter track. This required the addition of the top aluminium strip which was aligned and screwed to the yellow tongue. Some minor teething problems with binding caused by the aluminium strip rubbing against the support blocks of the shutter rollers, this was correctly readily easy by trimming the support blocks by 5mm.
So today was the beginning of the observatory build which is going to be a square structure. The process that I have adopted is to construct the roof/Dome support structure first. This will make the process easier with mounting the support ring and rollers prior to installation. Who wants to be up and down a ladder all day.
Also have completed the assembly of 16 rollers for the dome to run on.
That's going to end up being an amazing build Anthony. The attention to detail is a credit to your skills.
I'm sure you're going to spend many great nights in the dome once completed.
Silly question, what coating are you going to finish it in?
Bunnings has a preparation undercoat that will stick to epoxy. It works well. You probably need to find someone in the paint dept without acne to find it- I had to.
Bunnings has a preparation undercoat that will stick to epoxy. It works well. You probably need to find someone in the paint dept without acne to find it- I had to.
Continuation of the roof frame while dodge the rain.
Progress to date. Finished off the frame for the roof/dome support. As I only need to cover the corners, I decided to keep it simple and go for a flat roof design, using 17mm CD Plywood which will be waterproofed.
The decision to go with a flat roof was based more or less on the need to keep the structure within the 3m council rule and the over complicated carpentry to angle the corners. So, it was stick with the KISS principle.
Also assembled the base ring which will be used to mount the roller bearings.
All up, looking the way I have planned in my head.
Did consider that style of caster but from my research they don’t work well particularly with metal on wood, If the wood is soft it will cut in. Best solution would be to attach a metal base to the dome ring for it to work properly which I did consider but found it to be somewhat difficult and time consuming. I have made my on roller that will do the job.
Those multi-direction rollers definitely wouldn't be good rotating on a timber base as you've already decided, the wider units you've made up will be much better. Even were you to put a steel ring the roller would still eventually groove the steel depending on the thickness of the sheet and working with thick sheet steel is not easy, not light, far from simple to cut and would add significant cost.
Overall every bit of your construction is looking amazing. Did you work with timber as a trade/job or just an interest?
I haven't found anything better than 1" steel tube and trucks made with 4 skateboard wheels. Holds up my 3m dome no probs, and it rotates with a hand push or wiper motor.
