Finally completed my telescope dolly build. I'm naming it "Franken-dolly" as it is largely salvaged from off-cuts or re-purposed materials - partly because that's easier on the conscious (and wallet), partly because it's just d*mn hard to find stuff sometimes as an ex-pat living abroad.
The arms of the main dolly are salvaged wood from some kind of furniture - just happened to be exactly the right width. Which is a good thing; not exactly sure what kind of wood it is, but it's *hard* (and therefore strong). Very difficult to cut, and had to take my time drilling it so as not to overheat the drill bits. (Even so, one of the smaller drill bits snapped!)
The triangular base/support is made of plywood off-cuts from a cabinetry workshop.
The vertical supports (to prevent the telescope tripod from slipping sideways) are made from off-cuts of leftover skirting boards.
The handle is a re-purposed garden hoe handle.
All different kinds of wood, so everything was given a liberal coat of stain to try to make them roughly the same colour.
Finding something to attach the handle to the base but allowed it to swivel was a challenge ... in the end, I bolted two eyes of a gate latch together.
Still waiting for my adjustable feet to arrive, which will act as stabilisers - had a bit of trouble finding those, had to order online in the end.
This will allow me to drag my entire setup to the downstairs courtyard of my apartment building, and therefore avoid the ugly diffraction spikes I've been getting in my deep space images (due to the "invisible grill" we have on our balcony to keep the kids safe).
Very keen to take it for a test run! Hopefully those stabiliser feet arrive soon.
[Edit] Finally got around to adding a picture with the stabilising feet added ... very necessary to prevent vibration/shaking.
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