· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> ATM, Optics and DIY Forum Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Parker-style tripod and extension       #5666997 - 02/07/13 12:20 PM Attachment (75 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I started this project in mid-June if I recall correctly. It is finally done and I thought I'd post the results as things appear to have worked out. I've built a few different tripods but wanted to try one in the "Parker style" as I thought the design really hit on all the marks. Here's a LINK to the CN page that got me interested...the post I'm referring to is about 3/4 of the way down the page. I'll begin by saying that my selection of red oak, and curly red oak specifically is not the ideal wood to use in a tripod. It has a tendency toward brittleness, fracturing with the figure....but it was at hand when I started at 2 AM back in June. Ash would be best and it is currently plentiful and cheap (if available locally) due to the Emerald Ash Borer. My other deviation in material was the use of a 1" copper pipe instead of iron w/flange. This was another "material at hand" decision and it made for some interesting design decisions as I'll detail later. Gotta do some running this afternoon so I'll start with a teaser pic of the disassembled tripod parts....more to follow. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5667972 - 02/07/13 10:22 PM Attachment (55 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   To use the copper pipe I decided to bury it in wood using the lathe to shape and bore out the hole. I wanted a centering pin for the Celestron CPC and SE mounts so a threaded rod was run the length of the copper pipe. Plastic discs were made to push outward on the copper in the wooden flange to secure the pipe and a cap and nut on the other end provide tension. A copper coupler was used because I had it...but I had to file saw teeth into it so it could bore its own hole as I lacked a Forstner bit the right size. No idea if this arrangement is strong enough but it looks cool. This barely fit on the lathe. Best to get everything else done on the head before attaching the wooden flange as it gets in the way. I used the drill press to place all the threaded inserts in the project as I can't get them to seat straight any other way. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5667981 - 02/07/13 10:27 PM Attachment (46 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I took my time getting the legs attached so that they fold up correctly with nothing too far out of alignment. The sliding discs work well...the copper pipe is immobile with a little tension. Not pictured are 1" thick centering discs that were also placed in the pipe to help center the threaded rod. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5667984 - 02/07/13 10:30 PM Attachment (32 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   That's an RC wheel above placed as a stop for the legs when folded. Up next a shot of the top of the head. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668002 - 02/07/13 10:38 PM Attachment (36 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I wanted a smooth sliding spreader hub. This is what I ended up with. Two cylinders were turned on a faceplate, bored for a UHMW plastic "doughnut" that would ride the pipe and counter bored for the pipe to pass through. The ends of the two cylinders were brought together, glued up and caps made to hold the doughnuts in place. I used a mortiser to make the slots for the attachment ears for the spreader bars. First a detailed diagram then a photo. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668005 - 02/07/13 10:39 PM Attachment (37 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The photo.... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668007 - 02/07/13 10:41 PM Attachment (34 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A shot of the whole works put to use.... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668025 - 02/07/13 10:49 PM Attachment (25 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   At all the hinge points in the project, including the leg pivots at the head I included space to place fiber washers in the mix. They provide nice feedback and resistance when tightening things up. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668031 - 02/07/13 10:51 PM Attachment (26 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A photo of the legs folded against the RC wheel.... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668036 - 02/07/13 10:53 PM Attachment (33 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A shot of the tripod in various poses... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668038 - 02/07/13 10:54 PM Attachment (32 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Holding up the 8 SE.... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668040 - 02/07/13 10:55 PM Attachment (26 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The CPC 11.... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668044 - 02/07/13 10:56 PM Attachment (30 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Can't forget the extension for the refractor! The extension was a fun build. I'll post some photos of it tomorrow. Post Extras:       plyscope Pooh-Bah Reged: 11/23/06 Loc: Perth, West Australia Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668080 - 02/07/13 11:14 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Good job! Thanks for sharing the pictures. A very practical design. Post Extras:       Dick Parker professor emeritus Reged: 08/17/07 Loc: Tolland, CT and Chiefland, FL Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668446 - 02/08/13 08:13 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Oh my!. What beautiful woodwork. Nice job. Thanks for sharing Dick Parker Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: Dick Parker]       #5668838 - 02/08/13 11:54 AM Attachment (24 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The extension uses a wood tube from a failed 5" Surplus Shed project. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668841 - 02/08/13 11:55 AM Attachment (21 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   More... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668854 - 02/08/13 12:03 PM Attachment (23 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Again.... Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5668863 - 02/08/13 12:08 PM Attachment (29 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   And finally.... Thanks for looking! Post Extras:       btb sage Reged: 07/07/06 Loc: Northeast Indiana Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5669286 - 02/08/13 03:35 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hope you have a solar scope to use during the day that is to nice to use at night so no one can see it! Post Extras:       Scanning4Comets Markus Reged: 12/26/04 Loc: Deep Space! Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: btb]       #5670132 - 02/09/13 04:24 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Exceptional workmanship! Cheers, Post Extras:       Dave O super member Reged: 12/21/11 Loc: Sri Lanka Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: Scanning4Comets]       #5670181 - 02/09/13 05:51 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   That really is very nice! Thanks so much for sharing. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: Dave O]       #5670197 - 02/09/13 06:39 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   It is a great design. The CPC doesn't know it's not on the OEM tripod and the old C6R with a Orion Sky View Pro mount has a 2 second damping time which I didn't believe possible. And of course, looking good has its own rewards! Post Extras:       hottr6 Pooh-Bah Reged: 06/28/09 Loc: 7,500', Magdalena Mtns, NM Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5670481 - 02/09/13 10:43 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I can see where you ran out of copper tubing and had to use a nipple to make up for it. Clearly flawed, and you'll have to make another tripod. Send that old firewood to me.... I'll even pay for shipping. Damn. Wish I was 10% as capable when working with wood. Post Extras:       Kunama super member Reged: 10/22/12 Loc: Australia Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: hottr6]       #5732795 - 03/14/13 07:23 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   That's just beautiful !!! Post Extras:       ed_turco Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/29/09 Loc: Lincoln, RI Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5734318 - 03/15/13 03:19 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   As I've mentioned before, crutch legs would make dandy legs for that tripod head, though not as pretty as yours. Just a thought. Ed Post Extras:       StarStuff1 Carpal Tunnel Reged: 04/01/07 Loc: South of the Mason-Dixon Line Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: ed_turco]       #5734364 - 03/15/13 03:36 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Me likes! Post Extras:       tim53 Postmaster Reged: 12/17/04 Loc: Highland Park, CA Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: StarStuff1]       #5734752 - 03/15/13 07:25 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Me too! Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: tim53]       #5734918 - 03/15/13 08:40 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks, all. Post Extras:       Biff Carpal Tunnel Reged: 09/04/05 Loc: Tampa, FL Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: herrointment]       #5735300 - 03/15/13 11:40 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   That's just awesome! I was going to design a tripod pretty much exactly like you've done but looks like you've done all the hard work already.... so if you sea tripod come up in the future by me you know where it came from! One question on the sliding hub, is there something to lock it down once the legs are spread and set? or is it even needed? Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Parker-style tripod and extension [Re: Biff]       #5735407 - 03/16/13 01:11 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I put in a threaded dowel-screw type thing that closed a saw kerf in one of the plastic donuts. A snug slider fit is all it needed so I don't use it. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 17 registered and 34 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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