TheSkySearchers

I finally finished my permanent pier and brake rotor pier mount. I have the electrical buried underground and up the pier... no more extension cords! (Still need to put the outdoor outlet cover on)
I decided to do pavers around the pier because I had some laying around not being used.
I think the brake rotor pier mount turned out pretty good. I am patiently waiting for some clear skies to get back to imaging.
Anyway I thought I’d share some photos here.
Come on clear skies!
Kerry

What a great idea Kerry!
I hope you get a lot of use from it.

The only thing I will suggest is try it in that position then try it lower down on the spreader bolts.
Long steel bolts under tension like to act like tuning forks.

Kerry C. wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 1:57 am I finally finished my permanent pier and brake rotor pier mount. I have the electrical buried underground and up the pier..

Nice bit of work. You should get a lot from it.
You have cameras. Do you have any photos?

(Your neighbors seem close. )

Best Regards,
Mike M.

Very nice Kerry!

Lady Fraktor wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 4:51 am What a great idea Kerry!
I hope you get a lot of use from it.

The only thing I will suggest is try it in that position then try it lower down on the spreader bolts.
Long steel bolts under tension like to act like tuning forks.

Yes I plan on decreasing that space. I just have it that way while I get things set up.
When all is said and done I’ll just have enough room to have access to the mount bolt for tightening.
Thanks for looking out for me.

mikemarotta wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 11:53 pm

Kerry C. wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 1:57 am I finally finished my permanent pier and brake rotor pier mount. I have the electrical buried underground and up the pier..

Nice bit of work. You should get a lot from it.
You have cameras. Do you have any photos?

(Your neighbors seem close. )

Best Regards,
Mike M.

Thanks. I hope it serves me well.
Yes I have cameras. I’m not sure what you mean by having any photos, but yes I do have a few.
Kerry

I am definitely going to keep this in mind for when I can place a permanent pier!
I love re-purposing items like this.

Great project Kerry.

It would be great to see the construction phase photos. Did you cast the pier in concrete?

It's definitely the way to go for me eventually. The time that I will struggle to lift the mount and tripod together will probably coincide with the time that I retire (a few years!) I best start the design phase now.

Did you make the pier mount adapter? Or is that a Skywatcher thing?

Regards

Graeme

ahh , futher inspection , now i know what the brake rotor is xd

Graeme1858 wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 7:49 am Great project Kerry.

It would be great to see the construction phase photos. Did you cast the pier in concrete?

It's definitely the way to go for me eventually. The time that I will struggle to lift the mount and tripod together will probably coincide with the time that I retire (a few years!) I best start the design phase now.

Did you make the pier mount adapter? Or is that a Skywatcher thing?

Regards

Graeme

Thanks Graeme,
I have photos of most of the construction, I’ll post those photos hear.
So yes, the pier itself is concrete reinforced with rebar, it is 8” in diameter and goes 3’ in the ground, the top of the cement is 37” above ground. I used 6 bags of 60# concrete mix, they cost $3.25 per bag. I had to use 2 concrete tubes joined together then cut to the length I needed for my pier, $10 each. The rebar was about $6.

The pier mount is made from 2 brake rotors. This is not my idea, copied it from a thread on Cloudy Nights. I ordered my rotors off of Amazon, they were $15.00 each. The HEQ5PRO and AVX mounts as well as a few others have a 60mm center mount hub. The rotors I ordered match up perfectly with this. What rotors you use would depend on your mount. I used a piece of scrap aluminum for the cross brace that the center mount bolt attaches to the scope mount.
A few nuts and bolts, 1 can of rattle can paint, a drill, and a couple of taps for your preferred bolt size.
Anyway, if you have other questions I’ll try to answer as best as I can. Here are some construction build photos. Sorry for the random order.
Kerry

That's ingenious Kerry! What a great use for a pair of rotors.

Nice bit of work for sure!

All the best,

That's a great 'repurpose' of the brake rotors!

When I built my last pier I used a piece of scrap aluminum (3/8" thick) that I picked up from the scrap yard for $5.00. Sure beats the expensive 'store bought" ones!!!

Gordon wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 4:55 pm That's a great 'repurpose' of the brake rotors!

When I built my last pier I used a piece of scrap aluminum (3/8" thick) that I picked up from the scrap yard for $5.00. Sure beats the expensive 'store bought" ones!!!

Thanks Gordon. If/when I upgrade my mount I’ll keep the bottom rotor and manufacture the upper portion out of aluminum to fit whatever mount I get. Now that I know what I am doing it should be pretty straightforward.
Kerry

Hi Kerry,

Very very clever. Most of the machining and holes that you would need to do to a solid piece are already done here. And because you are repurposing a common mass produced part, you aren't paying the astronomy tax.

I have been known to look in the discard bin of engineering shops and have found bits and pieces that only needed minor re-machining to re-purpose.
When I was 19, I saw a truck brake drum in the waste bin of my university mechanical engineering dept. The flange was bolted down and the drum slid exactly inside my steel pier almost like it was machined to fit.

The only thing I had to do was to drill and tap some holes in the pier to lock the pier to the drum.

This really should go in the ATM or Home Observatory section.

Thanks for your post.

Joe

OzEclipse wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 10:10 pm Hi Kerry,

Very very clever. Most of the machining and holes that you would need to do to a solid piece are already done here. And because you are repurposing a common mass produced part, you aren't paying the astronomy tax.

I have been known to look in the discard bin of engineering shops and have found bits and pieces that only needed minor re-machining to re-purpose.
When I was 19, I saw a truck brake drum in the waste bin of my university mechanical engineering dept. The flange was bolted down and the drum slid exactly inside my steel pier almost like it was machined to fit.

The only thing I had to do was to drill and tap some holes in the pier to lock the pier to the drum.

This really should go in the ATM or Home Observatory section.

Thanks for your post.

Joe

Thanks Joe,
Like I said it wasn’t my idea but I did a few of my own mods to suit my needs.
I have had a chance to use it and I am very very pleased with the outcome.
My guiding has improved a lot which I give credit to the permanent pier.
I didn’t know for sure where to put this thread. If it needs to be moved perhaps a moderator could do that.
Kerry

Hi Kerry,

I went ahead and moved this to the "Home Observatories" subforum.

Nicely done.