Telescope Reviews: new LB16 base -- look Ma, no weights!

I set on an adventure to build a new base for my LB16. The primary goal was to make a base that could fit in my Prius so that I can get 50MPG going to my dark site rather than 23. Secondary goals were to eliminate the need for counterweights and to hopefully improve the motion of the scope over the stock base. If it came out significantly lighter that would be nice but it wasn't really one of my goals. A must was that it had to be sturdy.

I started on this project on my break between Christmas and New Year's and the fact that I'm not much of a wood worker surely caused the project to drag out. To be honest I'm not really don't yet either -- I still have some finishing to do. This last New Moon cycle I did get it to a useable state however and I can say that I am pleased.

On the blistering hot afternoon (108 degrees or something close to it) of June 16th I got the new base to the state where I was able to load it into my Prius and drive for an hour or so up to some darker skies. I arrived at Blue Canyon just before sunset, set the scope up, and had a wonderful evening. Unfortunately for the first time ever I didn't have time to create an observing list so I just went for some old favorites but I was able to enjoy the new base.

While I did meet my primary objectives, as it currently stands I need to remove the trunnions for it to fit in the back of my Prius standing up. I need to decide if I'm going to live with it like it is and remove them every time (4 bolts each), lay the LTA on it's side while transporting, or sacrifice a bit of the altitude rotation to shorten it up. (I would probably lose about 10 degrees at the horizon -- so I won't be able to look at Omega Centauri.)

I did achieve my goal of being able to go from an ortho to a Paracorr+Terminagler with no additional counterweights. There is just enough static friction to allow use of either extreme at any angle with no drift. I've never used a premium scope so I have no point of reference but I'm pretty sure that while the movement is nice and smooth and better than stock, it still isn't like a premium dob.

There is no doubt that it came out sturdy. Heck, I could probably rest my Prius on it. As for weight, I shed a few pounds from the stock scope but not enough to make a huge difference. If I had to do it over again, I would do things a bit different and it would definitely come out lighter. That said, I'm not unhappy as dramatic weight drop was not a major goal. Perhaps when I build an EQ platform I'll redo the base using the knowledge that I've acquired so it will be lighter. (And I'm sure I could do the base portion in a fraction of the time.)

Okay, enough talk -- I'm sure you want a picture. Here's one with a BGO. As you can see, I still have some staining to do...