Telescope Reviews: DIY Eye piece cases

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Equipment Discussions >> Eyepieces

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northernontario
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 07/01/09

Loc: Porcupine, Ontario Canada

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: Scanning4Comets]
#5618617 - 01/12/13 08:50 AM

I have an old hollowed out Allen Bradley aluminum case that once housed a vintage programming terminal.

Foam and sponge were bought at wally world.

To cut the foam and sponge, I used a hack saw blade. Works very well, better than a knife or scissors and you can control the cut much better.

jake

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Sarkikos
Postmaster

Reged: 12/18/07

Loc: Suburban Maryland, USA

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: northernontario]
#5618644 - 01/12/13 09:17 AM

I've heard it helps to freeze the foam first before you cut/saw it. Never tried it myself, though.

Mike

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Sarkikos
Postmaster

Reged: 12/18/07

Loc: Suburban Maryland, USA

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: Scanning4Comets]
#5618646 - 01/12/13 09:18 AM

Fumble fingers!

Mike

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wky46
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 12/12/05

Loc: west Ky.

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: Sarkikos]
#5618725 - 01/12/13 10:09 AM

Quote:

I don't know about these clumsy observers with fumbly fingers. Drop accidents? I've been an amateur astronomer since the early '70's and have never dropped anything of consequence. A plastic eye cap or two, yes. But an entire case of eyepieces, or even one eyepiece? Never!

Mike

Don't jinx your good luck!.... jeeez

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Sarkikos
Postmaster

Reged: 12/18/07

Loc: Suburban Maryland, USA

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: wky46]
#5618776 - 01/12/13 10:43 AM

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Jaimo!
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/11/07

Loc: Exit 135 / 40° North

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: eastwd]
#5618808 - 01/12/13 10:59 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I've been building a few recently, small little Grab-N-Go Boxes for going out in the backyard...

Those are absolutely gorgeous eyepiece boxes you've made. Amazing detail on the lids. Wish I could make (or even buy) something like that. Thanks for posting those pics.

Thanks I appreciate your compliments, and welcome to CloudyNights!

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MRNUTTY
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/22/11

Loc: Mendon, MA

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: Sarkikos]
#5618893 - 01/12/13 11:40 AM

Quote:

Yeah, I'm with you Mike. However, in the past many people have been very vocal on the subject of Pelican cases as cheap insurance against undetected faults in case mechanics leading to catastrophic losses. In the realm of possibilities, one can't say it won't happen, however improbable, and for those cases that contain very expensive or irreplaceable EP's, the added cost is as negligible as the peace of mind is considerable.

Having recently materially increased my holdings of TV optics, I'm finding myself inexplicably drawn to their reasoning :-)

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derangedhermit
sage

Reged: 10/07/09

Loc: D/FW, TX

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: MRNUTTY]
#5620025 - 01/12/13 11:39 PM

i've bookmarked this cnforum thread for custom case and foam: Thread on My Case Builder
I also am thinking about installing Antares 2" to 1.25" Twist-Lock adapters in a case for my 1.25" eyepieces. Positive locking, more secure and cleaner than foam. The general idea is that you secure the naked eyepiece mechanically in the case; there may be better (or cheaper) means of doing that - like a simple ring with a lock setscrew, like on the focuser itself.

I think what i would like best is something like a belt that had a secure fast-clamp system for eyepices, so I could have 6 or 8 and maybe a couple filters available on my person at all times while observing, without going to and from the eyepiece case or having to fumble around in pockets. Something like those metal or polymer shotgun shell "sidesaddles", except for eyepieces.

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Lane
Post Laureate

Reged: 11/19/07

Loc: Frisco, Texas

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: derangedhermit]
#5620092 - 01/13/13 01:16 AM

Quote:

i've bookmarked this cnforum thread for custom case and foam: Thread on My Case Builder

The only problem here is that no one is ever satisfied with their eyepiece collection, it is always changing or growing.
That custom cut foam does look beautiful though.

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mich_al
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 05/10/09

Loc: Rural central lower Michigan ...

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: Luigi]
#5620353 - 01/13/13 09:32 AM Attachment (29 downloads)

I observe on an attached deck so my stuff doesn't need to travel.

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mich_al
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 05/10/09

Loc: Rural central lower Michigan ...

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: mich_al]
#5620363 - 01/13/13 09:36 AM Attachment (34 downloads)

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JimK
professor emeritus

Reged: 09/18/05

Loc: Albuquerque, NM USA

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: droid]
#5646555 - 01/27/13 05:58 PM Attachment (21 downloads)

Quote:

Im looking for ideas on how to make an eye piece case from readily, and cheaply, available boxes ,etc.
Tool boxes, tackle boxes what ever ,everything is fair game.

Ideas?????? photos, descriptions needed

Here's a simple idea for an eyepiece box that I made.

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JimK
professor emeritus

Reged: 09/18/05

Loc: Albuquerque, NM USA

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: JimK]
#5646559 - 01/27/13 05:59 PM Attachment (21 downloads)

I started with a 1.6-liter plastic "Really Useful Box," a scrap of 18mm birch plywood, and some 1-inch felt circles. I cut some 1.25-inch holes in the wood for eyepieces, added a couple of coats of satin lacquer from another project, and put several 1/4 circle felt spacers in each corner of the box. Adding some string for a carry handle finished this simple dew/dust resistant case.

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Jaimo!
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/11/07

Loc: Exit 135 / 40° North

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: JimK]
#5646669 - 01/27/13 06:44 PM

Nice job, Jim!

Jaimo!

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astro_baby
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 06/17/08

Loc: United Kingdom

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: Jaimo!]
#5649654 - 01/29/13 02:39 AM

I did a longish thread ages ago, cant find it right now but heres the article on my site which is cut down a bit from the thread.

http://www.astro-baby.com/articles/Eyepiece%20Case/Eyepiece%20Case%20Project.htm

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dcoyle
professor emeritus

Reged: 10/11/05

Loc: Turbulent but dark skies, N.M.

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: astro_baby]
#5650093 - 01/29/13 11:27 AM

Very nice job fabricating that case, astro baby.

Thanks for posting.

Dan

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droid
rocketman

Reged: 08/29/04

Loc: Conneaut, Ohio

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: dcoyle]
#5650236 - 01/29/13 12:44 PM

I remember that thread, purple velvet is unforgettable, lol.
It did give me some ideas though, Ive got a suit case style tool box from a yard sale, emptied it this morning.
Gonna use wood, and stain it though.

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astro_baby
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 06/17/08

Loc: United Kingdom

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: droid]
#5650347 - 01/29/13 01:42 PM

I think if K were doing the priject again I might be incllined to skip the velvet and jus have rubber bumpers. The velevet made construction a lot harder and slower. I would also skip the LEDs as they are of little use.

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turtle86
Pooh-Bah Everywhere Else

Reged: 10/09/06

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: astro_baby]
#5650654 - 01/29/13 04:10 PM

Quote:

I think if K were doing the priject again I might be incllined to skip the velvet and jus have rubber bumpers. The velevet made construction a lot harder and slower. I would also skip the LEDs as they are of little use.

Still looks pretty awesome though. Great job!

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Husbyggarn
super member

Reged: 12/12/08

Loc: Sweden

Re: DIY Eye piece cases new

[Re: turtle86]
#5653521 - 01/31/13 01:52 AM Attachment (5 downloads)

What about having the LED's in the lid instead? the LED's would be pointing down from the top of the lid.
I've been thinking about doing it this way.

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