Building My Observatory

So I went to B&Q and bought one of the storage boxes, it just fitted into my Clio and no more. It was so tight that I had to cut the parts out of the packaging to get them out of the car, there was no way that the whole box was going to come back out in one piece!

The first task was to build a sturdy frame under the base to take the castors which would allow the box to move across the patio. It had to be sturdy as a slot needed to be cut out to allow the pier to be surrounded by the box to keep the telescope weatherproof. I used 12 metres of 96mm x 48mm timber to build the base.

When I tried the base in position on the patio, I realised that things would work out better if I positioned the pier away from the centre. By having the box in this position while the telescope was in use, the lid of the box will obscure the dreaded street light.

Cross-braced the frame and fitted the castors which have brakes. I also cut away part of the front of the frame to make way for the slot for the pier. When closed up, the pier will butt up against the centre cross brace.

The base in position.

It took me 16 minutes to put the box on the base.

The box pushed back to with the scope in its approximate position. It will be mounted on a pier, not the tripod.