OKay started out making the base today. cut a majority of the pieces. lots of sanding to do as my jigsaw likes to cut on an angle Still looks pretty good so far. The Melamite cut very well with only little chipping which can be hidden by a coat of white paint applied to the edges aswell as being covered with the edging. Should be good once its finished.
I predrilled all the holes so everything will match up perfectly, or within a few feet. I will cut the base board and the other bit tomorrow as I have to goto work now
Appologies mate but i have been meaning to pm you about your query for a base. There are two for sale for 10" dobs on the geckoptical website under mounts. I have sent an email for one of them and am waiting for a response. The base is provided with the altitude bearing.
What i like abou this base as opposed to a GSO base is that the alt bearings sit on round bearings which seems like it would provide smoother motion. It aslo might permit easier addition of a motor.
Regards
Thats okay wolf, I saw these and decided to go for one that is for the 8" scope. Yeah the bearing idea is a good one. Very simple. I will be using furniture sliders for mine, seems to be the item of choice for the bearing surfaces.
Hey Andrew,
What do your altitude bearings consist of?
Is it only bolts going through the melamine and chipboard? Or do you have a delryn sleeve in there somewhere?
Roger, it has the delrin sleeve...L.
ps. Andrew, is the base board round or square? If square, what your toes!!! :
pps. Decided on what to use for your 3 'feet' yet?
OKay whats a delrin sleeve? The alt bearing is on the tube, it rides on 4 little roller things made of teflon that are 120 degrees apart. The centre bolt is just there to hold the tube onto the sides of the base so it doesnt come off, as well as providing a little friction to hold the tube in balance. Not sure why they did this, but each to their own. The three feet I got lathed up at work, look like the Skywatcher ones but made of aluminium. Not sure what the SW ones are made of, rubber I guess. I will post some pics later of the progress after I fix my stuff ups because of being tired.
Arrrr!! That's right, your tube bearings fit inside the uprights don't they...(not on top).
The delrin sleeve I was thinking about was the one thru the centre bolt on the base boards... ..
No need for any in the tube bearing assy, as they are 'fixed'...... L.
Looks really good Andrew!!...For a delrin sleeve..I used a piece of steel curtain rod in which a 13mm..(1/2 inch) bolt will fit snuggly into...the hole for the both the base and mount (clamped together) was done by router to minimize any offset.
OKay now I know what a deralick sleeve is I can sleep better at night, I would have just called it a centre bush. anyway... thats not why I am posting.
I have completed the base ready for the final cosmetic rubbish to be done to it like the edging etc... I have one more thing to do and that is to add the side bearing supports to the inside of the uprights, otherwise it is completed. Oh need to clean off the pencil marks and fill in my oops holes.
I did take the scope out for a quick play last night and I must say the performance is awesome, I think I will be happy for quite some time. On the down side, its a little small, I needed to sit down to view as my back was getting sore observing
While a chair is a good idea, I prefer to stand so I put my 10" Dob on a base, a 44 gallon drum cut down to about 1/3 height, its the perfect size for the base too, and light to carry, fits perfectly in the boot and cost me zilch from work.
Still looks pretty good so far. The Melamite cut very well with only little chipping which can be hidden by a coat of white paint applied to the edges aswell as being covered with the edging. Should be good once its finished. 
..L.
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