WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Thank you everyone!
Carol, you are so right! Looking back we just had a hole in the yard! 
Ok, we got started late today but managed to get the south wall finished, hinged, and bolt-locked in.
It was so hott, we quit for a few hours while I went to Lowe's and tried to find a door jam, the hinges for the top south wall, and a chisel to put the door lock stuff in our new door.
The plans call for a 2'8"x 5'9" door but any special order doors came around $200.-250.00 somewhere and the door we found yesterday was $63.00!
Its pure wood, weather treated and we had them cut it from 6'8" to 5'9" just like the plans call for. Were proud of the steal! 
The door jambs though....yikes.
The whole kit is $68.00 and would have to be cut anyways.
We went through the wood and found enough pieces to make our own for about $45.00, so well work on that.
Anyways, most of the OSB has been put up but we had to stop 'cos someones gotta feed and wash these kids and thr wife has a job to rest for. 
Heres some shots. This first one has the inspectors giving their seal of approval.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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And another.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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I tried to take one showing my completed south wall and the lock bolt thingies put on. Their up on the top corners.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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And one showing where the door will go.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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And the wife stole one of me while I took a breath and tried to figure out which type of roof we want. The gray chin hair is not real, it must be that weird pixel thing cameras do sometimes. I cant explain it.
Iron angle or little wheels on a board. Weve found both and they both seem to serve their purpose. We cant decide.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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THEPLOUGH
Nailed Again
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 3957
Loc: Carlisle, Cumbria, ENGLAND
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It's going up in leaps and bounds now. It will be no time at all till your in.....  
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Geoff...
Nexstar 8SE -- 9X50 RACI Finder scope... 6.3 F/R.-- 13 & 17mm Hyperion EPs.. 25mm Celestron E- Lux EP.. 2X Celestron X-Cel Barlow----- Celestron solar filter + A few bits and pieces..
Never give up on any one..... MIRACLES happen every day....
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 1430
Loc: The Big Tomato, California
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Looks excellent, WM.
Keep going at it. 90 percent of doing a thing is believing you can. After that it, it's all cake.
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Kit
"There's only two things that excite a man, expensive toys and real expensive toys." - Red Green
* A bunch of old ATM stuff that cost me next to nothing
* A bunch of new commercial stuff that cost me an arm and a leg
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John Fitzgerald
In Focus
Reged: 01/04/04
Posts: 1253
Loc: AR
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I looked at steel wheels in channels, garage door wheels on garage door track, and v-groove wheels riding on angles. The v-groove on angle is the way to go IMO. My observatory roof is roughly 18 x 18 feet, and rolls off by hand pushing.
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?
Observing since 1966
Messier Cert #898
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 28619
Loc: montana
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Wow! What a great job you are doing; sure looks professional! I can't believe what you have accomplished in such a short time; and all this with no carpentry experience! Well, you certainly have the experience now! 
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm B/TMB 3.2
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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RS67Man
Tinker King
Reged: 11/10/07
Posts: 740
Loc: Spanaway, WA USA!
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Looking great Mike! You will soon be spending many Sleepless Nights in your new observatory.
Walt
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Celestron 15X70 binos
Zhumell 10" "Photon Cannon"
Baader Hyperions 5mm, 8mm, 13mm, and 17mm, + FTR's
70mm Meade refractor on "broken" 494 Autostar tripod
6" F/8 "Ellis" 50 Year Old Newtonian Project!
AEACC The Automatic Electric Aluminum Can Crusher thread
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Hey, yall. Thanks for the nice words! It makes us feel like we can do anything!
Not much to report today. Waiting on the wife to come home and possibly we can finish the osb siding.
I think were gonna go the angle iron route. We know we need an inch and a half, but we dont know the thickness.
Anyone we call asks, and I dont know.
So far weve found 1/8, 3/8, and 3/16" thick but man its getting expensive.
The 1/8" is about $1.25-1.50 a foot, the 3/8" is $3.50 a foot, and I forgot to ask about the 3/16".
I think it would be cheaper to go with casters and depending on budget we may be forced to do that.
Im staining my new door outside and getting it ready. Thats about it.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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THEPLOUGH
Nailed Again
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 3957
Loc: Carlisle, Cumbria, ENGLAND
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The Castor's will work just fine and may even be easier to use... . This is now the FIRST and LAST thread I look at. Please keep the information coming...  
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Geoff...
Nexstar 8SE -- 9X50 RACI Finder scope... 6.3 F/R.-- 13 & 17mm Hyperion EPs.. 25mm Celestron E- Lux EP.. 2X Celestron X-Cel Barlow----- Celestron solar filter + A few bits and pieces..
Never give up on any one..... MIRACLES happen every day....
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 28619
Loc: montana
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I would suggest contacting Scott Horstman about the roller system, for his opinion. I know mine is a very simple, but extremely effective method of rolling the roof.
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm B/TMB 3.2
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2992
Loc: Bolton, MA
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I would second Carol. You don't want to "cheap out" on either the track, or, ESPECIALLY, the rollers...
Your roof is going to weigh well over a ton (probably more like 2 tons!)... it has to be completely supported by the rollers you use, and also roll smoothly...
Think about this: if you have a total of 8 rollers (4 each side), each roller will be holding 500 pounds... Cheap ("furniture type") castors or wheels won't hack it...
You want STEEL wheels with quality bearings... I'm guessing that the angle iron Scott used on my observatory is 3/16" but that's only a guess...
I believe the angle iron is LESS important than the wheels, since it is 100% supported underneath its entire length, whereas your roof is 100% support only where the wheels are... (of course you dont want the angle iron to collapse under a load of 500 pounds...
Let me also weigh in that I think you and your wife are doing a antastic job at a very productive pace (especially considering you have lives, work and kiddos also!)
keep it going (and the pics coming!)
clear enough skies
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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John Fitzgerald
In Focus
Reged: 01/04/04
Posts: 1253
Loc: AR
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I used 3/16" thick x 1.5 x 1.5 inch angle. Some use 1/8". 3/8" thick is too heavy and thick to easily drill for screws. The 3/16 inch thick seemed about right for my heavy roof. I bought my v-groove casters (10 of them @ 800 lb capacity each) locally at Grainger.  My roof weighs approximately 1,850 pounds as close as I can figure. It is 3-12 pitch and is approximately 18 ft x 18'-4" projected onto the ground. The wheels are about 43 inches apart. The nominal load on each wheel would be about 185 pounds or 23% of the limit. IMO the loading should be kept below 50% for ease of rolling. "Widowmaker" may need 10 wheels.
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?
Observing since 1966
Messier Cert #898
Edited by John Fitzgerald (06/02/08 08:27 PM)
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blatterjr
sage
Reged: 08/13/07
Posts: 263
Loc: Saint Petersburg Florida
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Dave is correct, it will be heavy!
233# Long members + ridge
985# Trusses (4-12 pitch)
272# Sheathing (1/2" ply or OSB)
745# Roofing (assumed asphault shingles)
120# Hardware and flashing
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2355# Subtotal
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2591# Total (with 10% contingency)
I would recommend 4-6 casters per side on 3/16" angle. At 12 casters, you'd be safe with a 250-300# rating. If there are only consumer grade casters locally, you could try Mcmaster.
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Robert
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Meade 12-LX200-ACF
BINO: Nikon AEX 10x50 6.5°
DSLR: Nikon D70+CCPro2
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Saint Petersburg Florida
27°47'22.92"N , 82°43'09.48"W
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Hey, Everyone.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
The wife was exhausted from a hard day of work on top of an all weekend quest to do as much as we could, so shes asked for a break for the day. Weve done nothing.
Ive stained my door twice with the Thompsons, and once with the Helmspar I have left over from doing my CatsEye CatsPerch chair. Its all shiny and pretty.
Were still kinda stuck though.
BYO offers the v-groove wheels, but Dean, grainger, and McMasters has the v-groove wheels by themselves (like BYO) or on a castor of various sizes.
All can be found with an 800lb load rating.
Its just trying to figure out if we build the 'homemade axle' box like BYO does, or attaching castors to a board and going that route.
Im gonna try to talk to the guy about the pier tommorrow and see how its coming, hes also offered to help me with a deal on some angle iron.
We need about 72ft. of angle iron.
36' on each side, West and East.
Thanks a big chunk!
Grainger has these castor wheels weve been looking at, and they also offer these non castor v-groove wheels, both seem to be a bit cheaper price wise.
McMaster Carr offers these (number C is the one Dean has shown me that he uses) and they look just as good.
I guess it just comes down to a decision.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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blatterjr
sage
Reged: 08/13/07
Posts: 263
Loc: Saint Petersburg Florida
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The Mcmasters are WAY expensive compared to the Graingers... I didn't realize you were doing V-Groove (though I see it now scrolling up).
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Robert
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Meade 12-LX200-ACF
BINO: Nikon AEX 10x50 6.5°
DSLR: Nikon D70+CCPro2
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Saint Petersburg Florida
27°47'22.92"N , 82°43'09.48"W
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John Fitzgerald
In Focus
Reged: 01/04/04
Posts: 1253
Loc: AR
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My wheels from Grainger are part # 1NWC3. I bought 10 of them for $204.19 on 2/5/08, including tax. YMMV. They have the grease insert in the axle, and it sticks straight out for easy access from the inside of the obs, unless you accidentally turn them backward.
I paid right at $100 for 80 feet of 3/16 x 1.5" angle track. It was cut into 2-16's and 2-17's for the observatory. You will have scraps, because it comes in 20 foot lengths. Small angles like this cut easily with a sawzall or cut-off wheel on a circular saw. You will need some good (made in USA) bits to drill the angle for screws to hold it in place. Some hold it in place with screws with washers bearing against the angle. This is OK provided there are at least a few screws drilled through to prevent lengthwise slippage of the angles.
Edited by John Fitzgerald (06/02/08 10:35 PM)
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12070
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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The Non_Castor version would be more expensive once you figure in the cost of the extra bolts, as well as the extra support needed on the sides to mount the wheels to...
Best to buy the first ones...
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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