Mitchell
member
Reged: 05/19/08
Posts: 81
Loc: USA
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Wow! Thats a really nice looking tube, was it hard to make? Costly? Do you have a page with a little more detail on how you made it?
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Clear Skies and Good Health, Mitchell.
ATM:
4.5" F/3.75 ~ 6" F/6.5 ~ 8" F/8.25 (Polishing) ~ 10" F/4.8
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MikeS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/06/04
Posts: 912
Loc: Quakertown Pennsylvania
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Calan, have you tried the .064 aluminum tube yet?
I am wondering how strong the aluminum is compared to the steel.
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Mike Snisky
8" F5 Newtonian/Moonlite CR2
Orion Sirius EQ-G Mount
Orion 100mm F6 Achro on SVP w Intelliscope
Orion 100mm ED on LXD55 Mount
Denkmeier Standards
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Michael Miles
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/11/05
Posts: 603
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SaaaWEET Gene:
How much does your new tube weigh? I've been thinking of lightening my 10" DOB too. It never gets used due to the weight.
Michael
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LXD-75 w/
Stellarvue 102ED
Hardin 10" Newt
Antares 8" Newt
Meade AR-5
Meade N-6
Celestron 102mm refractor
Canon 300D, Meade DSI guiding
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calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Not yet Mike... getting close to pulling the trigger on it though 
Does anybody know if the XT10's primary mirror housing will fit on these 12" aluminum tubes? The stock XT10 steel tube is actually 11.875" in outside diameter, not 12".
Also, does anyone know exactly what thickness the factory tube is? I've been guessing .05, but I'd like to put a mic on it and be accurate...but I don't have one at the moment.
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Orion XT10 (completely rebuilt, DOB or GEM mountable)
Meade LXD75 6" Newt w/mods
Nikon 10x50 AE Extreme
Hyperion 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom
Astrotech 38mm Titan II
BO/TMB 6mm
Various Plossls
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a bannana.
The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblence to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog.
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calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Update...
I ordered the .094 tube from hastings. While it does work (it is a snug fit in the XT10's mirror and front support rings), it is also actually heavier than the original steel tube. My original calculations were based on an inaccurate estimate of the XT's steel thickness. The stock tube actually weighs about 13 lbs with a wall thickness around .028 in., and the .094 aluminum tube comes in at around 16 lbs.
I now have a .064 tube on order, which will weigh around 10.5 lbs.
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Orion XT10 (completely rebuilt, DOB or GEM mountable)
Meade LXD75 6" Newt w/mods
Nikon 10x50 AE Extreme
Hyperion 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom
Astrotech 38mm Titan II
BO/TMB 6mm
Various Plossls
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a bannana.
The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblence to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog.
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jdownie
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/24/06
Posts: 724
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Quote:
Update...
I ordered the .094 tube from hastings. While it does work (it is a snug fit in the XT10's mirror and front support rings), it is also actually heavier than the original steel tube. My original calculations were based on an inaccurate estimate of the XT's steel thickness. The stock tube actually weighs about 13 lbs with a wall thickness around .028 in., and the .094 aluminum tube comes in at around 16 lbs.
I now have a .064 tube on order, which will weigh around 10.5 lbs.
Measure twice, order once.
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ATM project - a terrible waste of good Pyrex.
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ddtwelve
member
Reged: 12/21/06
Posts: 15
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try universityoptics.com for mirror cell a lot cheaper than parks also you might need to hypertune the lxd75 mount as images may bounce around a lot i had a 10 inch f6 on my lxd75 mount and that move around a lot in the wind
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jdownie
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/24/06
Posts: 724
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Quote:
Your link is a middle man, he is reselling the same tube. Buy direct from Hastings and it's $11.88 per ft. I have their tube on my 10" and I paid $11.88.
Do you have any evidence Parallax is buying Hastings tube and marking it up? If not, this sort of claim would seem to contravene the TOS.
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ATM project - a terrible waste of good Pyrex.
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MikeS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/06/04
Posts: 912
Loc: Quakertown Pennsylvania
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Good luck on that .064" tube. Please post how it works. Has anyone tried the Black Lite tubes from Protostar? They are lighter than aluminum, but I'd like to know how sturdy they are.
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Mike Snisky
8" F5 Newtonian/Moonlite CR2
Orion Sirius EQ-G Mount
Orion 100mm F6 Achro on SVP w Intelliscope
Orion 100mm ED on LXD55 Mount
Denkmeier Standards
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calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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The .064 tube is nice..very rigid and 3 lbs lighter than the flimsy steel original. The end rings fit well, except you don't want to crank down on the screws without some type of spacer between the front/mirror rings and tube, or you'll slightly dent the tube at the screw heads, since the ring ID is less than the tube's ID. The OD is almost a perfect fit.
I'm building new side bearing plates that will mount to the parallax rings (and widening the base) instead of directly to the OTA, so that the pivot point is adjustable and the tube can be rotated on a dob mount. This also removes the minor weight of the alt bearings for when it is on the GEM, and lets the tube rotate a full 360*. (with the stock bearings in place, the tube can only rotate until they hit the dovetail or support bar on top).
All that's left before finish work is to finalize my focuser decision. (Leaning toward a Moonlight right now).
Stay tuned!
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Orion XT10 (completely rebuilt, DOB or GEM mountable)
Meade LXD75 6" Newt w/mods
Nikon 10x50 AE Extreme
Hyperion 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom
Astrotech 38mm Titan II
BO/TMB 6mm
Various Plossls
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a bannana.
The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblence to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog.
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calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Quote:
Measure twice, order once.
Since I didn't have a micrometer, I called someone at Orion who had a tech measure it... he said exactly .9mm. WRONG... calculations show it to be closer to .028.
It's amazing how much difference in weight .01 inches of thickness can make
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Orion XT10 (completely rebuilt, DOB or GEM mountable)
Meade LXD75 6" Newt w/mods
Nikon 10x50 AE Extreme
Hyperion 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom
Astrotech 38mm Titan II
BO/TMB 6mm
Various Plossls
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a bannana.
The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblence to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog.
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Michael Miles
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/11/05
Posts: 603
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Haver you thought about dropping the end rings and saving that weight too? The rolled ends serve the same function.
And what are you using to finish the tube? I wasn't aware that it was possible to paint aluminum. Looking forward to pictures of your finished scope.
Michael
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LXD-75 w/
Stellarvue 102ED
Hardin 10" Newt
Antares 8" Newt
Meade AR-5
Meade N-6
Celestron 102mm refractor
Canon 300D, Meade DSI guiding
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pferendzo
member
Reged: 02/10/08
Posts: 43
Loc: St Louis
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You can usually buy aluminum primer at an automotive store...
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calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Yep... you just need the correct primer and the surface needs to be very clean..roughing it up a bit with 220 grit helps also. I've also had good luck with epoxy spray paint (the stuff made for appliances). It's really tough and doesn't need a primer.
I'm leaning toward keeping it a natural fine-brushed finish, with full flocking on the inside.
As for the rolled ends, I thought about it... but I don't have confidence that the tube would be perfectly round afterwards. The cast rings force the tube to be (almost) perfectly round.
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Orion XT10 (completely rebuilt, DOB or GEM mountable)
Meade LXD75 6" Newt w/mods
Nikon 10x50 AE Extreme
Hyperion 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom
Astrotech 38mm Titan II
BO/TMB 6mm
Various Plossls
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a bannana.
The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblence to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog.
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