Alternative to Vibration Suppression pads?

Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

I saw once here on the 'net for homemade suppression pads. It uses furniture
coasters, the brown softer platic kind & a heavy weight mouse pad. Cut the
mouse pad, making circles that fit inside the coasters. I don't know what kind
of weight they can handle. I used them once after I made mine & they seemed to
work. Haven't used them since I now have a pretty sturdy mount for what I was
using them for. Just my 2 cents worth.

Ralph
41 16N 75 50W

Go to http://www.mcmaster.com/ and search for Sorbothane. You can get a
4"x4"x.5" sheet of it for around $8. I'm not sure what hardness Celestron
and the like use in their pads, but McMaster offers 40, 50, and 70 OO.

"Otto Parets" wrote in message
om...
Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

I found that going to your local Sporting goods store, you can buy (3)
Hockey pucks for about a buck a piece. I then take a 1" spade drill and
c'bore one face about 1/2" to keep the tripod leg from possibly sliding off.
These work great, as they are inpervious to weather, very ridgid rubber
similar to engine mount material with a quick dampening time, and are very
inexpensive. They also work extremely well as Dob feet if mounted on the
bottom of the ground board, and at 1" thick give adequate ground clearance.
Finally, I use them under my DS16 mount as levelers, as I also purchased (3)
1/2" Carridge bolts, C'bored a diameter just smaller than the head of the
carridge bolt, about 3/4" deep. I then pressed the head into the c'bore.
These may not swivel as nice as the $50 levelers, but under the weight of
the mount swivel just the same, and keep my mount in place on the 8 x 8 pad
in my back yard that I made for this mount. Actually the original Idea came
out of S&T.

"Otto Parets" wrote in message
om...
Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

Otto-
I made some myself, using a method I saw posted on Astromart. If you
get some of the large furniture-leg pads, then fill them with caulk
and let it cure, you'll get a set that works very well. I haven't
compared them to the commercial sets, but my pads dampen the vibration
on my AT1010 by about 50%.

Chris Nicholl

that's silicone caulk, right?


"Chris Nicholl" wrote in message
om...
Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

Otto-
I made some myself, using a method I saw posted on Astromart. If you
get some of the large furniture-leg pads, then fill them with caulk
and let it cure, you'll get a set that works very well. I haven't
compared them to the commercial sets, but my pads dampen the vibration
on my AT1010 by about 50%.

Chris Nicholl

The mistake people make is to assume the pads are simply rubber pads.
They consist of an inner and outer layer of hard plastic and that
sandwhiches an inner layer of sorbothan. The Meade, Celestron and
Orion versions are all the same principle. Adorama in NY usually has
very good prices on them. The problem with just buying a piece of
sorbothane is that it "spreads" out and if you simply put it under the
legs it would squish and probably tear quickly. Frankly...they are
cheap and probably one of the biggest improvements you can make for
your telescope to reduce vibration. I use them on all my telescopes
and mounts..from my camera tripod mounted binocs...to my 11"Nexstar
GPS on a Meade GFT and 6" APO on a custom tripod with German mount. I
usually see at least a 50% reduction in vibration. It is also
extremely effective at minimizing wind harmonics.

To be most effective you should remove any existing rubber crutch tips
so the metal legs rest directly on the pads.

I have also tried using a 1/4" sheet of rubber...that worked
somewhat...about 20% reduction...but not much more than rubber crutch
tips.

Bob Berta


(Otto Parets) wrote in message . com...
Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

"Otto Parets" wrote in message
om...
Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

Take a hacksaw and cut off the aluminum legs and recycle them.
Have you tried wooden (red oak, for instance) tripod legs?
My CG-5 mount is SO shaky as it comes from the factory, that it's
embarrassing (for Celestron, not me).
If they make a shaky mount, I'm sure as heck not going to spend extra buying
their de-shaky-mount items.
A trip to the local building supply store yields some nice red oak. Soon as
I get some time, I'll make some real legs. A friend made similar legs and
his CG-5 mount is stable as can be. No vibration. None.
Give the focuser a tweak, nothing shakes. I love it. Total cost, about 20
bucks.

Enjoy,
Etok



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Yes it is...thanks for pointing that out.

Chris Nicholl


that's silicone caulk, right?


"Chris Nicholl" wrote in message
om...
Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.

Thanks to all who can help.

Clear skies,
Otto Parets

Otto-
I made some myself, using a method I saw posted on Astromart. If you
get some of the large furniture-leg pads, then fill them with caulk
and let it cure, you'll get a set that works very well. I haven't
compared them to the commercial sets, but my pads dampen the vibration
on my AT1010 by about 50%.

Chris Nicholl

Its not an idea since I have set.. industrial coolers use vibration
dampening floor rubber mats.. usually sold in large sizes, 8'*4' etc.
These pads are made of a rubber/cork/rubber sandwich. They are usually
0.75" thick and are rigid, can be cut into smaller pieces with a bandsaw
etc.

The set I own is as effective (very) as a set of celestron vibration
dampening pads, but better suited to a losmandy G11 or other large mounts.

I once priced buying a large pad and cutting it up, cost would have been $1
per 3"*3" pad.

For you do it yourselves types: the pads are about 1/2" thick high density
cork, covered on both sides with 1/8" rubber sheet.. quite hard, you cant
deform them by hand.

On 13 Jul 2003 15:15:10 -0700, (Otto Parets) wrote:

Does anyone have an idea for an alternative to those expensive
vibration suppression pads? I thought of some dense rubber, but I
looked for a thick sheet of rubber at the hardware store and came up
empty handed.