February 15: In the evening I removed the protective layer of masking tape from the laminate on the altitude bearings and attached them to the mirror box. Then, I installed the altitude bearings and teflon pads to the rocker box. After that I installed the azimuth bearings and brake on the ground board, and attached the ground board to the rocker box. Once all bearings were in place, I positioned the mirror box inside the rocker box and tested the movements in both azimuth and altitude.
I applied the final coat of urethane to the filter slide assembly, the upper cage assembly, and the upper truss fastener plates. That finishes the truss poles and paves the way for tomorrow's main activity: assembly of the upper cage. I also need to install the mirror cell into the mirror box and touch up the altitude bearing bolt heads with flat black paint.

Azimuth bearings and brake.

Completed mirror and rocker boxes, with altitude bearings attached.

The lower half of the telescope assembled.

The last component to assemble.

February 16: The upper cage is the focus of my efforts today. I started by attaching the light baffle stops to the side of the filter slide assembly. I also painted the back side of the assembly flat black. While the epoxy cures I moved on to the installation of the mirror cell into the mirror box.
After cleaning the garage, I decided to assemble the finished components... including the skeleton of the upper cage.

The mirror cell awaiting its mirror.

Closeup of control panel on mirror cell.

Light baffle stops glued to filter slide assembly.

The backside of the filter slide assembly, freshly painted.

The 'soon to be completed' telescope!

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© 2002, 2003 Peter Argenziano, all rights reserved.
Page last updated on 16 February, 2003