Click on the below pictures for a larger image.
This is my 10" f5 Dob in it's knocked down form. I either
needed to buy a larger vehicle or shrink my telescope to fit
it in the car. So I made the telescope and mount so I could knock
it down.
I used some standard furniture knock down fasteners to make the
mount so I could easily assemble or disassemble it. The fasteners
are ramped, like bed rail fasteners, so that as they move in
one direction they tighten up and when moved in the other direction
they loosen up.
The mount is made of 3/4" and 1/2" Baltic Birch Plywood.
I use a plastic dead blow hammer that has lead shot in it to
tap the pieces so they tighten. I don't need to tap very hard
to have a good, solid connection.
Here I am attaching the Front Board.
The telescope tube was also too long to fit in my car. Since
it was made out of aluminum I cut it in half using a good jig
saw. I pop-riveted a ring of aluminum to the inside of the lower
section of the tube, having it extend about an inch & a quarter
past the edge of the tube. This provides a collar for the top
section to slide over. I use 3 snap type clamps to hold the two
parts together. I scratched in an indexing line so that the two
parts are always aligned properly. Very seldom do I need to recollimate.
I'm using some aluminum rings that Kenneth Novak of Ladysmith
Wisconsin used to sell for my altitude bearings. I also made
the tube box so that I can loosen up a couple of knobs and slide
the tube to balance the whole thing.
Here is the whole scope all set up. It takes me about 2 minutes
to put everything together. And it takes about the same amount
of time to take it down. The entire scope fits into the trunk
of my car along with my eyepiece case & tool box. I am also
using Sky Commander
digital setting circles with it. I have been very happy with
the way the scope and the Sky Commander work.
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