Category Archives: Observatory

Building an observatory. Construction #3

What finer way could a blazing hot sunny day be spent than barrowing and shovelling a tonne of concrete? ???? This Sunday I started the day by cutting some of the outer floor timbers to length and digging the previously-mentioned … Continue reading

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Building an observatory. Construction #2

Having decided that I can wrap the timber in DPC material to protect it from damp, this Saturday afternoon I lowered the shuttering for the two concrete blocks that I’d already put in place so that the highest one will … Continue reading

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Building an observatory. Design #2

Though I’m not 100% confident in my welding skills, I’m coming round to the idea of making the frame for the rolling roof section from a square section steel tube. I think in the end it will be lighter, less … Continue reading

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Building an observatory. Work commences.

Once I’d mowed the grass in the planned area I wasn’t entirely happy about the steepness of the slope. The floor deck will be built off six concrete pads and the pad at the bottom of the slope would have … Continue reading

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Building an observatory. The design.

I’ve been tinkering with Sketchup (version 8 — the latest one I can get to work under Wine) to create a design for the observatory. It’s quite a handy tool for setting things out to see how they’ll all work … Continue reading

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Building an observatory. Part 1 of many :)

I’ve been promising myself that I’d build an observatory for years, but life has just got in the way a bit and I never managed to get started. I’ve now decided that I should really get on with it, so … Continue reading

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Google Sketchup on Ubuntu 11.04

For designing the observatory I really needed something a bit more “touchy-feely” than pencil and paper — my usual method of designing bits and pieces I build. A few people had mentioned Google Sketchup, but it’s only available for Windows … Continue reading

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Pier Tube Deliberations

Before construction on the main structure of the observatory can start, I need to get the pier in place because this will be set into a concrete block in the ground under the floor. As I’ve said before, my aim … Continue reading

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Observatory Build. The Big Idea.

Since I’ve had my telescopes I’ve been very tempted to build an observatory. My preferred viewing site is some forty metres from the house which is a long way to carry kit (not to mention to trail power leads if … Continue reading

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