Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
I've been experimenting with lightweight and simple DIY ideas for a P-mount. (My last endeavor was the 3/4" aluminum square tubing which is working very well.) I found this wood at Home Depot which is marketed as "hardwood" though it didn't seem very hard while drilling through it. It was very simple to build and works great. My Obie 10x60's only weigh 3.5 lbs including L adapter and the wood is bowing slightly so this setup would not work for larger binos. However, it one were to double up on both horizontal pieces, it could hold more.
The wood is 1"x1"x36" (measures a true 1") and are $2.70 each.
The speaker stand I was able to get locally for $39.00.
Hardware includes nine 1/4"-20x2-1/2" bolts, washers, nylon washers and nylock nuts. I also used 1/4"x1" steel spacers as sleeves in each bolt hole to protect the wood. I used some 1" steel strap where the P-mount attaches to the speaker stand for extra strength and stability.
Counterweights are two 2.5 lb. barbell weights from Walmart ($1.87 each) hanging on a 2-foot piece of that 3/4" aluminum square tubing with squeeze clamps holding them in place. (I mounted the tubing in a quick-disconnect way because I have to store the whole setup after each use in a small compartment of our motorhome. This goes for the P-mount on the speaker stand as well.)
I mounted a piece of 1" steel strap to the bottom of the vertical mount to hold the magnetized digital level. (The level is for the Push-To system which works very well with binoculars.)
I hope that this will offer an alternative for those like me who don't have the money to buy the more expensive manufactured mounts.
Pictures to follow.
Edit: I meant to give credit to Rod Nabholz as I got this idea from his P-mount.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
Edited by Tom Andrews (05/10/08 04:14 PM)
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Picture 2
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Picture 3
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Picture 4
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Picture 5
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
BobinKy
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/27/07
Posts: 882
Loc: Country road
|
|
Tom--
Nice parallelogram. I like the degree circle at the base--an extra touch! 
--------------------
Bob
38° Kentucky, USA
|
jmcdonald
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/01/05
Posts: 1451
Loc: Tucson, AZ
|
|
That's very cool and looks like somethng I could build. Thanks for posting.
If it's not too much trouble, could you post a picture with the various pivot points rotated somewhat from the pictures above to show how it moves? I can see how it would move in Altitude and Azimuth, but am confused how the other axes rotate.
--------------------
Jerel
Discovery 12.5" modified truss DOB
Orion 100mm f/6 achromat
Garret 15x70 LW Binoculars
22-T4,13-T6
IDA Membership
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Jeral,
I'll be glad to post more pictures as soon as the wind dies down enough for me to set up and get more pics. We're having gusts to 40 mph at the moment.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Quote:
Tom--
Nice parallelogram. I like the degree circle at the base--an extra touch!
Thanks Bob! The neat thing is, it only took one afternoon to build.
I did forget to mention that the digital level doubles as the counterweight for the binos. If someone wasn't using a Push-To system, the same barbell weights could be mounted on the vertical post as counterweights.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Quote:
That's very cool and looks like somethng I could build. Thanks for posting.
If it's not too much trouble, could you post a picture with the various pivot points rotated somewhat from the pictures above to show how it moves? I can see how it would move in Altitude and Azimuth, but am confused how the other axes rotate.
Jeral,
Here are some other pictures. I hope they are what you were needing. If not, let me know.
I made a change to nylon bushings vs. steel to avoid rust.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Opposite side.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Vertical mount for binoculars.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
I forgot to mention this in the original post. I used a 1/4"-20 all-thread coupler recessed and glued into the vertical piece to attach the L adapter to.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Put it together.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Another view.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
I decided to add a "wrist" or "hinge" to this parallelogram to complete the convenience of viewing with binoculars. Each "C" is made of the same 1" wood. I put them together with 3/8" wood doweling and glue. The hinges have the 1/4"x1" nylon bushings to protect the wood.
I was able to use it tonight in between cloud waves and it worked perfectly. And it's still half the weight of my homemade aluminum tube P-mount.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Close up.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Another.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
Last one.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Tom Andrews
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/25/07
Posts: 548
Loc: Homebase - Albuquerque, NM; c...
|
|
The original aluminum tube P-mount.
--------------------
Tom
The Secret To Life:
Focus on what you have, not on what you don't;
Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't.
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
[Re: 