Horsehead
Construction Detail - Page 1
Horsehead

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Site - N 34° 55' 34" W 81° 04' 34" . The backyard was the location of choice. Easy access to food, bathroom, bug repellent, and heat/air conditioning. Excavation begins - Why did I pick July (100 degrees in the shade) to start this?
Only one more load and the pier hole will be deep enough. This is looking NE and is the most light polluted direction. Finally, whew.... The hole is 4 ft W x 4 ft H x 2 1/2 ft deep. When it hasn't rained for 4 weeks, this red clay is like a giant brick. I think I lost 12 lbs.
Next came the framing for the concrete. Jerry laid this out in 10 min. Another 1 1/2 ft and we get 4 x 4 x 4. With this size footing, I don't expect any movement for the size scopes I will be using. Here is the pier mounting base. The pier was custom designed by VWT Inc. here in Rock Hill, SC. The "legs" are 3 ft long and made from 3/4" bar stock welded to the machined 3/4" stainless steel threaded rods.
I added a 3" PVC pipe that will carry all my cables from the scope back to the work table. This keeps the floor cable free so there is nothing to trip over in the dark. (3" will let you put the SBIG parallel cable right on thru without any tight spots) The concrete truck came and in about 10 min. we were full to the top. Pier foot was placed while the concrete was still good and wet. (Wear old clothes and shoes to do this)
The pier foot was supported and leveled after being aligned to north. I let it dry for 5 days before I took the support off. Due to the extreme heat, I watered my concrete 5 times a day. (never did get anything to grow) We also poured the footings for this 10 x 10 observatory.
This is looking South. The Cedar tree by the corner of the house has now been removed. Close-up shot of the pier foot. The line helped me sight in North. The pier itself allows for approx. 10 degrees of movement on its base, so my "this limb on this tree is under Polaris" alignment was close enough.


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