Making or Buying a Equatorial Mount

Hi
I wanted to buy an equatorial mount for casual viewing that will be
left permanently outside. I was shocked at the prices (£150 +). I've got
access to a welder and basic workshop facilities and was thinking of making
my own out of an old bike frame I've got. Does anyone know if this is
possible? It's only got to take the weight of a 3" refractor. Alternatively,
does anyone know where I can but a cheap mount from, I only want to spend
about £30-£35.

P.S. I made my own Alt-Az mount which was quite easy.

On Wed, 3 Sep 2003 19:34:18 +0100, "Ricardo"
wrote:

Hi
I wanted to buy an equatorial mount for casual viewing that will be
left permanently outside. I was shocked at the prices (£150 +). I've got
access to a welder and basic workshop facilities and was thinking of making
my own out of an old bike frame I've got. Does anyone know if this is
possible? It's only got to take the weight of a 3" refractor. Alternatively,
does anyone know where I can but a cheap mount from, I only want to spend
about £30-£35.

P.S. I made my own Alt-Az mount which was quite easy.


Anything is possible to someone with DIY skills and enthusiasm!
I don't think you'll get a useful mount for much less than £100, they
are expensive even second-hnd. I suppose an AP1200 is out of the
question then? (joke). I've seen old mounts - perfectly usable - sell
within the price range you are talking about. An old Fullerscopes Mk11
or III (sans drives) would fit the bill. No, I don't have one.

ChrisH

UK Astro Ads: http://www.UKAstroAds.co.uk

Stephen Tonkin wrote:
Ricardo wrote:

I wanted to buy an equatorial mount for casual viewing that will
be left permanently outside. I was shocked at the prices (£150 +).
I've got access to a welder and basic workshop facilities and was
thinking of making my own


If filthy lucre is limited, and it really is only for casual viewing,
you might want to try your hand at one of the "pipe mounts" that are in
most of the old ATM books (IIRC Howard - _Standard Book for Telescope
Making_ -- has 3 different designs). These tend to use 2-inch or
2.5-inch galvanised pipe and fittings, "off the shelf".

Also try KeeKlamps (http://www.keeKlamps.com ) - just found them myself
- for handrails around an access platform at the Astronomy Centre.


I have seen equatorial mounts built on car differentials, remove the
diff in the centre and it makes a neat English mount !

Steve
--
Steve Taylor
Technical Director
Astronomy Centre
http://www.astronomycentre.org.uk

Hi

You could even try contacting TAL to see if you can buy one of
their monster built wooden tripods without a scope on it.

I actually stood atop one of these tripods to do som wiring a few
months ago (wooden legs supposedly insulting me from shocks,
how wrong was i)

Rob

"Ricardo" wrote in message
...
Hi
I wanted to buy an equatorial mount for casual viewing that will be
left permanently outside. I was shocked at the prices (£150 +). I've got
access to a welder and basic workshop facilities and was thinking of
making
my own out of an old bike frame I've got. Does anyone know if this is
possible? It's only got to take the weight of a 3" refractor.
Alternatively,
does anyone know where I can but a cheap mount from, I only want to spend
about £30-£35.

P.S. I made my own Alt-Az mount which was quite easy.

http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/tal_scopes/tal_fs.htm


"Robert Geake" wrote in message
...
Hi

You could even try contacting TAL to see if you can buy one of
their monster built wooden tripods without a scope on it.

I actually stood atop one of these tripods to do som wiring a few
months ago (wooden legs supposedly insulting me from shocks,
how wrong was i)

Rob

"Ricardo" wrote in message
...
Hi
I wanted to buy an equatorial mount for casual viewing that will
be
left permanently outside. I was shocked at the prices (£150 +). I've got
access to a welder and basic workshop facilities and was thinking of
making
my own out of an old bike frame I've got. Does anyone know if this is
possible? It's only got to take the weight of a 3" refractor.
Alternatively,
does anyone know where I can but a cheap mount from, I only want to
spend
about £30-£35.

P.S. I made my own Alt-Az mount which was quite easy.

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies. If I can't find anything in my price range,
I'll have a go at making one.



"Robert Geake" wrote in message
...
http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/tal_scopes/tal_fs.htm


"Robert Geake" wrote in message
...
Hi

You could even try contacting TAL to see if you can buy one of
their monster built wooden tripods without a scope on it.

I actually stood atop one of these tripods to do som wiring a few
months ago (wooden legs supposedly insulting me from shocks,
how wrong was i)

Rob

"Ricardo" wrote in message
...
Hi
I wanted to buy an equatorial mount for casual viewing that will
be
left permanently outside. I was shocked at the prices (£150 +). I've
got
access to a welder and basic workshop facilities and was thinking of
making
my own out of an old bike frame I've got. Does anyone know if this is
possible? It's only got to take the weight of a 3" refractor.
Alternatively,
does anyone know where I can but a cheap mount from, I only want to
spend
about £30-£35.

P.S. I made my own Alt-Az mount which was quite easy.

"Ricardo" wrote in message ...
Hi,
Thanks for all the replies. If I can't find anything in my price range,
I'll have a go at making one.


Hi,
Sorry to take so long to post. But for some reason I can't get
this new website to come up in a browser. Only as a direct link.

I put some quick shots of my Mk111 Fullerscopes mounting (which
ChrisH recommended in an earlier post) on a Mysite website. And then
spent the rest of the morning trying to publish it to the web. Then I
had to go to work.
You should be able to get a Mk111 equatorial mounting from about £50
upwards (certainly under a hundred with a pier (or tripod) and slow
motions & synchronous drive all in good original condition) A bare
head without slow motions should be well under £50 IMHO. If they'll
sell it at that price. g There were three types of base to the
Mk111. Tripod (for three legs), pot (for a pipe) and flat plate (for
screwing to a post).
Put a wanted ad on Astro Ads (link at the bottom of all ChrisH's
posts) for a Mk111 Fullerscopes mounting (that's if nobody offers you
one privately as result of this thread). Try and get one with slow
motions and preferably with the little synchronous motor drive. Which
will keep an object in the field of view for hours if you line the
mounting's polar axis up on the pole star.
The Mk111 mountings are ideal for small refractors. Mine even held my
6" f/8 refractor until I managed to obtain a Mk1V mounting. (The
Mk111's bigger brother). Mine live permanently out of doors with a
small lightweight tarpaulin bungee hooked over each mounting.
An alternative to the Fullerscopes would be the Charles Frank
equatorial. There were at least two models of conventional german
equatorial. The smaller one is similar to the Fullerscopes MK111.
I hope the link works for you. If it does I'll put some more images
on the website tomorrow (when it's light enough to take some more
pictures). One point worth remembering. If you have to buy a new set
of tube rings for your scope. It might be a good idea to line them
with more felt. The cheapo rings I bought by mail order have scratched
both my OTA's to death.
Good luck.


Chris.B

http://mysite.freeserve.com/fullerscopesmk3

http://mysite.freeserve.com/fullersc...ng/index.jhtml

Thanks for the advice Chris.


"Chris.B" wrote in message
om...
"Ricardo" wrote in message
...
Hi,
Thanks for all the replies. If I can't find anything in my price
range,
I'll have a go at making one.


Hi,
Sorry to take so long to post. But for some reason I can't get
this new website to come up in a browser. Only as a direct link.

I put some quick shots of my Mk111 Fullerscopes mounting (which
ChrisH recommended in an earlier post) on a Mysite website. And then
spent the rest of the morning trying to publish it to the web. Then I
had to go to work.
You should be able to get a Mk111 equatorial mounting from about £50
upwards (certainly under a hundred with a pier (or tripod) and slow
motions & synchronous drive all in good original condition) A bare
head without slow motions should be well under £50 IMHO. If they'll
sell it at that price. g There were three types of base to the
Mk111. Tripod (for three legs), pot (for a pipe) and flat plate (for
screwing to a post).
Put a wanted ad on Astro Ads (link at the bottom of all ChrisH's
posts) for a Mk111 Fullerscopes mounting (that's if nobody offers you
one privately as result of this thread). Try and get one with slow
motions and preferably with the little synchronous motor drive. Which
will keep an object in the field of view for hours if you line the
mounting's polar axis up on the pole star.
The Mk111 mountings are ideal for small refractors. Mine even held my
6" f/8 refractor until I managed to obtain a Mk1V mounting. (The
Mk111's bigger brother). Mine live permanently out of doors with a
small lightweight tarpaulin bungee hooked over each mounting.
An alternative to the Fullerscopes would be the Charles Frank
equatorial. There were at least two models of conventional german
equatorial. The smaller one is similar to the Fullerscopes MK111.
I hope the link works for you. If it does I'll put some more images
on the website tomorrow (when it's light enough to take some more
pictures). One point worth remembering. If you have to buy a new set
of tube rings for your scope. It might be a good idea to line them
with more felt. The cheapo rings I bought by mail order have scratched
both my OTA's to death.
Good luck.


Chris.B

http://mysite.freeserve.com/fullerscopesmk3

http://mysite.freeserve.com/fullersc...ng/index.jhtml

In message , Chris.B
writes

Dare I recommend Freeserve's Mysite website builder without falling
foul of the commercialism rules? I don't want to start another flame
war!
It really is incredibly easy to put some images and text together and
all completely free of charge. NO HTML required! Those of you
clutching fuzzy astro images. Or even fuzzier pics of your gear, to
your assorted bosoms. Could share them with us. The images, not the
bosoms!

http://mysite.freeserve.com/fullerscopes_mk3

http://mysite.freeserve.com/fullerscopes_mk4

Chris.B

Nice sites, but as a fairly satisfied Freeserve customer I much prefer
the old www.merseia.fsnet.co.uk [blatant plug - the name you get is your
address] system. Roll your own site rather than use a site builder tool,
and no adverts.
My one problem with the Fullerscopes mounts was that the mild steel
shafts rusted even when kept dry. How do you get round that?
--
"Forty millions of miles it was from us, more than forty millions of miles of
void"

Jonathan Silverlight wrote in message ...


Nice sites, but as a fairly satisfied Freeserve customer I much prefer
the old www.merseia.fsnet.co.uk [blatant plug - the name you get is your
address] system. Roll your own site rather than use a site builder tool,
and no adverts.

I used Mysite websites because no HTML was required. I feel too old
to start learning a new computer language. With a few small niggles
Mysite does all I want without much effort except patience. Those who
can manage HTML have my admiration. My own opinion of my websites is
rather luke warm. While I want to share the fun of owning Fullerscopes
mountings and all the economic benefits. I find it difficult to make
them exciting. So I have been relying on a few pretty images against
the shrubbery in the garden.

My one problem with the Fullerscopes mounts was that the mild steel
shafts rusted even when kept dry. How do you get round that?

I have the same problem. Even dew makes them rust. I plan to replace
them with stainless steel when the right size turns up at work. It is
only available in 5 metres lengths and in production order sizes. The
effort of increasing the shaft size on the mountings themselves. With
all the problems of accurately opening up the holes in the castings,
wormwheels, setting circles, weights, clamps, oilite bearings etc is
probably just not worth it. So I'm still hoping for some metric
stainless stock very close to the original Imperial sizes. Turning
down (the very tough) standard 35mm stainless steel (acid resisting)
bar accurately to the original 1.25" (31.75mm) in the length required
for the MkIV declination shaft would be quite an engineering
challenge.

Chris.B