Looking good Barry!
You can also get sheets of Teflon to the size you need from
Cut to Size Plastic. Calculate how much you'll need and order twice as much - this will deal with cut loss and any errors you may make leaving some backup material. That is unless you want to keep some up your sleeve for any other projects that come up. I've found these folks very obliging and helpful!
You can easily cut and machine the stuff yourself - its as soft as the plastic from an ice cream tub. Doing it yourself will also save you a packet! Just ordering the sheet to your dimensions will be less than a quarter the price of getting them to cut and machine the bits for you.
Quantities? The rule of thumb for Teflon is:
15pounds per square inch
This requires you to weigh the OTA and craddle assembly first to calculate how much you'll need for the altitude bearings. Convert the kg to pounds (lb) and divide this by 15. You'll get the total area of Teflon you'll need. The actual pad dimensions is then the quotient when the gross area is divided by 4.
For the azimuth bearings you'll need to add the weight of the rocker box to that of the OTA and craddle. You then go through the same calculations for the total area and then divide this by three for the three pads you'll be needing.
Cost? From my last dealings with Teflon sheet from Cut to Size Plastics I got a sheet of 250mm X150mm X3mm thick for around $60. This was two years ago. I've made at least five dob mounts from this, including for my 17.5" dob, and I've still got stuff left over for a few more.
Barry, show us the finished product when it's done!
Mental.
Hi Barry , I PM'd you on the teflon , I have some for you .
