Telescope Reviews: CGE arrives....Digging begins!!!!(for Pier)

LOL,thanks guys!!!
Mark,I am actually going to let this cure fo another couple of days...I would have set it up later this afternoon(24 hours is plenty of time to "dry fit" the CGE,no scopes or weights,just the mount...)BUT,it has been raining all morning and that will easily add a lot more time to the curing process..

I am going to set it up by the middle to end of this week for sure(depending on the weather!!)

I am "planning" an OBS,but the wife....whew,thats a hard sell right there..
I MIGHT get away with complaining about not having a "shed" for the lawn mower and how we need to be able to park 2 cars in the garage and not just hers...and THEN,desing and build a roll off with an extra room for an actual "shed"...
Sounds good to me...but this economy will keep that from happening for at least a couple years,which is why I built the pier now(which could EASILY have an OBS built around it!!).

I will keep you all updated when I can actually SEE this thing in action,even if I cant use a scope with the mount...I just want to see it up there...

I am thinking about some kind of finish for the pier now..I dont think my wife is a fan of a bright blue ginormous(her exact word

)tube sticking out of the ground.
Mark had a good idea of making it a bird bath when not in use..but she kinda laughed at that,dont think she needs me to go that far...

I was thinking of that Marbeled,cracked,or hammered paint look...then maybe some kind of stone walk way around it...hmmm
any other suggestions?

BTW,I am going to be puting in a quad outlet with weatherproof box mounted right to the side of the pier...AND,eventually,maybe some kind of small shelf going 180deg(opposite side of CW swing LOL) around for dew controllers,cam accys,CCD accys,EPs,etc,etc,etc...just think I might do it out of Aluminum,for some reason I cannot be a carpenter in my lifetime...but metal,give me metal and I am good...I like drills....and power tools...I think just heard that Tim Allen manly grunt coming from somewhere......

ALSO,in case any of you are wondering what something like this costs,here you go:

1)Concrete=~$60!!
2)1/2"x3'(IIRC) Threaded rod ~$3.50 ea. so ~$14,AND nuts and washers for the rod..~$8
3)Rebar....I got this for free...I work in construction and on one of the jobsites saw some (I think it was)5/8"x3' pieces and asked the Masonary Foreman if he minded if I grabbed four of them...You CAN buy them at HomeDepot.But,if you see a job site with conrete guys there,it doesnt hurt to stop in and ask(just be prepared for some wierd looks and maybe even a yelling at from the Job Superintendant...they are all jerks..LOL).For me=FREE!!,MIGHT cost ~$15 total for 4 pieces..
4)Top Plate Materials.Aluminum scrap(round rod) AND Steel base plate(square) were ALL purchased on Ebay...Steel was ~$20(IIRC),and the Aluminum was ~$30 (IIRC)...pretty cheap..and some places on there will even cut your piece exactly the length you need and ONLY charge you for YOUR piece!!!
5)The Tube!!!!
This was another "jobsite thing"...except this time,I didnt work there...It was a City Road construction job and I saw a bunch of the sized tube I wanted and stopped in and asked the Foreman if "they have any "Scrap" pieces in X length to let me know,hold it aside for me,or to call me..."..he did,a couple days later he gave me a 12" piece!!!!! I only needed 6'..and only ended up using 5...LOL
so AGAIN,FREE...

There you have it.easy as,well...it was "easy"