A most noble goal, in all, Baz.
Am.
CC, Image editing OK.
Hi Baz,
Good to see I'm not the only idiot who put their observatory in the front yard!
Mine looks a bit like a garden shed though, yours might attract a bit more attention.
Looks like it's going to be a cracker though.
Cheers
Stuart
Floor support ring on and floor joists assembled!
The Southern Cross watches over the construction of ASIGN Observatory II.
Here's this afternoon's progress. External walls on! Latest update http://www.asignobservatoryii.com/ob...nstruction.htm
Last edited by AsignObservatory; 25-08-2012 at 10:55pm.
One small task at a time. Today my goal today was to build a door frame and door to fit it, out of steel.
Done.
Great to see the progress you are making. Well done!
I hear ACT is pretty cold... hope you'll have some insulation...... or a hot toddy!
Thanks mate. I've got the cold covered!
Marking out the flooring for the top floor ready for cutting into a whopping big circle!
Swept and tidied, a bit of an idea of the space that will be available in the office downstairs.
Full story here.
Got a heap more bows on the revolving dome and cross-bars on the slot.
Just to let you know (in case the button doesn't) I'm following along with interest.
Am.
Hopefully I can keep you interested!
Finally got the last of the heavy bows on the roof. I've been at it for roughly two hours every afternoon after work until I run out of light. I've even come home at lunch times to get 30 minutes of labour in at times. Time is so precious.
The next step is to roll-form some lighter intermediate bows. Flat sheet to cover the dome will bend nicely one way, but not two ways, so trying to bend it over the large area between these heavy bows is likely to warp and distort them too much. Putting in some intermediate bows will mean thinner strips of sheet, reducing the need to bend them two ways.
Full-story here
One of the hurdles I've had to overcome is that the old pier is not high enough to mount the telescope on, as the new floor level is now much higher.
To solve this, I have built another wooden box like the one underneath, to be filled with reinforcing mesh along with some conduit to run electrical cabling. It will then be filled with concrete.
Full story here
1. Constructing the form-work for the new pier.
2. Form-work in position on top of old pier.
3. New pier extension topside.
4. While I was at it, I skinned the door with thick steel sheet.
Every time I look at this thread you astound me with your diligence and determination.
Wish I had a project that drove me like that.
Keep at it mate. Like everyone else I'm watching this with great interest.
Thanks Tim and Peter. That's very encouraging.
Baz.
The race was on today as the rolled steel arrived to build the dome's sliding doors and complete the intermediate dome ribs. I say, "race" because tomorrow afternoon I have a professional welder coming over to weld stuff together.
This afternoon I measured, cut and joined all the framing together for the sliding doors. I have used 20mm steel plate to join it all together with screws, that way the welder can just weld all the joints together, then I can remove the ugly plates and screws.
Below: Picture 1 - One side complete. Picture 2 - The two halves will split sideways to open the dome slot.