How To: Build the ULTIMATE Budget Telescope Pier!
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2022
- Total costs for the build were around £120
Follow along as I create a super effective and budget friendly pier for my telescope in the observatory!
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Let me get this straight, you are an astrophotographer, an astronomer, a sometimes philosopher of the night sky, a carpenter, and now a structural engineer! What other talents are you hiding mate? Although I would never tackle such a challenging project, watching you go through the nuts and bolts (pun intended) of exactly how to accomplish this amazing feat was better than watching one of the home shows on TV. And now with the observatory getting it’s finishing touches, there is no question that we, your subscribers, are in store for many great Lukomatico videos in the months and years ahead. Thank you for your ongoing efforts to share and teach.
Haha! aw shucks Joe, at this rate my head will swell so big I won't be able to get out of this observatory anymore! :-D
I always look forwards to hearing your thoughts my friend, and getting to know you a bit has been one of the best things to come out of starting this channel! :-)
Lots and lots more videos in the pipeline, I feel so honored to be able to share my passion with people on here - I really do love creating content!
Thank you for watching and commenting mate, as always!
Some great construction innovations and use of available and relatively cheap materials in your Pier builds. Love it!
Hey there Alex!! - Thank you so much my friend, I feel very happy with how they have both turned out now we've had the chance to use them a bit, it's always nice when a plan comes together haha! :-)
Thanks for taking the time to watch!
Great video. Really enjoyed watching it! Makes me want to build an observatory as well, even though I didn‘t even begin with astrophotography yet. What a great project. Keep up the great work, the enjoyment and passion for this amazing hobby.
Thank you Joscha! That was such a lovely comment to read my friend, I really appreciate the positivity! :-) I wish all the very best in your astrophotography journey when it begins, it's a truly special thing! :-D
Clear skies!
Nicely done, like what you've done with the plates, super easy to level and have parallel to the plane of the horizon. Thanks for sharing
Thanks so much mate!! - I was really pleased with how the plates turned out so it's awesome to hear you like the look of them too :-)
As always, thank you for watching and giving your continued support - I really do appreciate it!
Luke a man of many Talents, builder, videographer, Astrophotographer, chicken keeper, thank you for sharing, likelihood is I will never have an dedicated Observation room but will enjoy yours via your channel. Cheers Ron
Thank you Ron!! - I'll not be able to make it out of the observatory at this rate, my head will swell up! :-D Genuinely though, I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy my channel my friend, that means a lot to me.
Hope you are doing well, and that you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
All the best,
Luke
Best Astro DYI I’ve seen in awhile. Brilliantly presented. Thank you.
That's really kind of you to say my friend, thank you very much!! :-)
Wishing you clear skies! 👍👍
this was so cool to watch Luke. I really loved the "shotty" camera work.. that is my kind of video production. made me feel like I was there with ya helping build the pier.
Hey Jason!! :-D Haha, that's just awesome to hear man! I'd have loved a hand with this lol, one of us on the adhesive job, the other laying and bedding blocks? we'd be done in 20 minutes! Really appreciate you coming and watching buddy, as always :-)
Clear skies!
This is honestly genius. This is the first video of yours that I have come across and it has earned you another subscriber sir! The simplicity and low budget of the build make me more hopeful that one day I will be able to have my own observatory. I think once I move to a place of my own I may build one of these piers and have a roll off shed just large enough to cover the mount so that I have have it permanently polar aligned. That being said, I think it is time for me to watch the rest of your channel!
That's so awesome to hear Jessie! I'm really happy to have you on board my friend, thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a super positive comment, and for subscribing! :-)
Clear skies!
Thank you for this Video. It helped me a lot to solve some problems I have with my plans and my equipment. Many thumbs up.
CS
Thanks so much for the very kind comment my friend, i'm really glad to hear it helped! :-) Clear skies!
Cracking video Luke and well done on your clear guidance and knowledge experience. I will certainly re-think my plans when i create my obs. Cheers and wishing you clear skies.
Chuffed to read that Peter!! Wishing you great luck with your build my friend 👍
Instructive video Luke it's a way of building a pier I certainly didn't think of and I shall keep in mind. Great image at the end there and that camera looks a great match with that fabulous rasa you've got. Keep well and clear skies.
Thank you Rob!! - Great to hear from you buddy, hope you've been keeping well :-)
I'm real pleased with how it's all turned out man and it's been a real pleasure sharing it with people along the way, I can't wait to get stuck into some proper long sessions this autumn and winter now and see what these cams and rasa etc can do! :-)
Clear skies mate!
I'm planning on building a shed/observatory in my backyard in the summer, and this video is a really good substitute to the thousands of dollars it would cost to buy a whole pier extension for my mount. Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful mate!! - I'm happy to say the piers are holding as solid as a rock, I can say with confidence I'd make these again if ever I need another pier! :-) Good luck mate!
I was wondering about that pier, glad you made this video.
Keep the excellent and informative videos coming.
Thank you so much Robert! Really glad this helped address the pier build for you :-D
Clear skies my friend
Superb job. Having done several handyman jobs myself, I liked the way you thought about and implemented the whole project. Very nice.
That's a very kind thing to say my friend, thank you so much! :-) I hope you have a superb rest of your weekend, thanks for watching!
Thanks for the words Luke. Certainly not boring. I'm right at the beginning (still thinking what I really need), so it's good to see someone who likes this type of approach. I can't afford all the "posh" stuff!
Thank you Simon!! - I'm extremely pleased with how the piers have turned out mate, zero complaints! - if you do go this route then I'm confident you'll be very happy indeed 👍 good luck mate!
Love watching these builds for the final results
Thank you Nik! - I'm the same mate, I love watching builds/restorations and things like that haha! I'm really happy to hear you liked the video :-) Thanks for watching!
Very interesting - I like your approach and implementation.
Thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching :-)
Very inspiring. Thanks for the very detailed explanation! As always, really enjoy your videos! Looking forward to more! Clear skies! 🔭
Thanks so much mate!! :-D It's so inspiring to hear that you enjoy my videos, I feel like such a lucky guy to be sharing them with folk! :-)
I appreciate you taking the time to watch and leave such a positive comment my friend!
Clear skies :-)
Great video Luke I will use this when I finally get my obsy!
That's just awesome to hear Simon!! Thanks so much for watching mate, and I'd love to see a picture of your pier or something if you do go this route!! Clear skies!
Awesome video my dude!
Thank you so much bro!! :-D have a great weekend!
Brilliant video, really enjoyed it. I’m inspired to try this myself 👍
Hey there Mark! - That's absolutely superb to hear my friend, I'd love to see it if you do end up giving it a go! :-) Clear skies!
Nicely done.
If you do another one, I suggest that you drill a hole through the concrete blocks.
Put a steel plate bonded and bolted to the floor slab with the glue and ànchor screws.
From the central hole place a bolt up from the bottom. Pur a long nut on the end of the bolt, attaching the long nut to the plate.
Then place an all thread rod into the long nut. Use thread locker on all of these connections
Stack the blocks (each with a hole through the center) on the all thread rod.
When you get to the top, place the bottom leveling plate on top of the stack with a layer of mortar underneath.
Tap the plate to bed it into the mortar.
Once the mortar sets, put a nut on the all thread rod and tighten the nut.
You want the rod clamp down with enough force to ensure that no matter what you do with the telescope the concrete always stays in compression.
Your current design can put the concrete in the blocks in tension, through the screw in anchor bolts. This is the weakest spot in your design.
Those bolts, when screwed into the concrete put the rim of the hole they are screwed into in tension. (Think driving a tapered plug into a hole.) This can lead to cracks forming in the block. Once a crack starts, the fastener has lost its holding power.
For more on how the rod works, do a web search for "post tensioned concrete reinforcement".
By making a rod clamped concrete block sandwich, you get a nice monolithic mass to stabilize your pier.
Those anchor bolts work best going into a slab of cast concrete.
I think yours will work. I would, however, watch for cracks develop in the corners of your top block.
Since most observatories are run at ambient temperatures, you have the stresses induced as the steel bolts and concrete blocks expand and contract at differing rates.
I still think you may be fine... But.. there is nothing that can't be over engineered! :-)
Thanks very much Steve, really helpful stuff!
I'll keep an eye out for cracks and such especially as autumn/winter comes, luckily from what I've read the concrete anchor bolts are pretty stable, temperature tolerant and safe provided you use the right size hole for them, so I'm not hugely worried about stress on the blocks just yet but definitely will remain aware of it, thank you 👍
Having used both piers for a while now I'd honestly say they've turned out excellent for me at least 🙏
As you say though, there's nothing that can't be over-engineered! :-)
Clear skies!
This was tremendous and provided some really good information. Extremely good video.
Much appreciated Lynn!! - That's fantastic to hear! Clear skies!
Well done Luke, looks very sturdy, and all steps are thorough explained by you !
I wish I had the place to built an observatory
Thank you very much Siegfried!! :-) I'm glad to hear you liked the video!
Hope you've been well my friend 👍👍
Excellent Luke, cracking job and fits the bill nicely! I need to get my second pier done when I get back home, and seeing what you did removing the legs of the tripod, I might do this with the Exos-2 and give me a 3rd mount!
Thanks so much Dave mate, your endorsement means a lot!!! :-D Definitely worth a bash at just popping the legs off, should save a few quid on pier adapter plates etc if it's a workable solution for you bud!
Thanks for watching! :-)
Great video well done looking forward to more great photos and videos
Hey there Sean! Hope you are doing well :-)
Thanks so much for your kind comment, I can't wait to share lots more with everyone! I'm currently working on a couple of targets with the rasa that are in the video pipeline 👍 hope you'll enjoy em!
Thanks for watching and giving your support! I really do appreciate it 🙏
Nice innovative pier design, well executed, very informative video. This coupled with the observatory design and build videos make a useful series.
Thank you very much!! That's wonderful to hear :-)
Hope you have a great rest of your weekend, Clear skies!
Gday Luke ! What an innovative way of putting a pier together. I've heard from a couple of videos that also sometimes some of the traditional metal piers don't have enough strength/rigidity and can cause oscillations. Your solution looks cheap but highly effective. Looks like you and your dad did a great job laying those original pavers, look solid as. Congrats on the new piers mate.
Hope you're keeping well
Ollie.
Hey Ollie mate! Hope you're keeping well :-)
Thanks a bunch man! I'm glad to hear that you like the look of the pier, it's certainly lived up to all my expectations for it which is all I could ask for! :-)
RE: metal based piers, I've heard similar about undersized ones particularly, - no doubt a massive enough and gusseted steel/alu pier would be great though! (just cost a fortune compared!)
Thanks for watching bud!
Absolutely brilliant Luke.
You wern't joking....This truly is an ULTIMATE Budget build and a fast build too. It looks solid and a great alternative. Top job mate, It looks fab with the gear mounted.
Looks like the test went well. Have to say there is some seriously awesome image quality coming out of that RASA...... I want one haha.
Thank you Ben mate, I'm over the moon to hear that you like it! :-) I'm chuffed with how it turned out, especially given the easy construction and quite low cost! :-) would absolutely do it again! - That said, your own approach to building a pier has turned out blinkin' magnificent mate, top work!!
RE: RASA, oh mate... do it! they are so good haha!
As always, a pleasure catching up earlier mate, hope you and your family have a lovely weekend! :-D
Clear skies!
Simply awesome Luke. I can only reiterate what others have said. You are one clever lad 👏
Thank you very kindly indeed Ian! That's real nice of you to say my friend :-)
Thanks for watching and clear skies!!
Hey Luke,
It was great watching your video building your Telescope piers in your Osbsertory, its looks great, keep up the good work. 🌠🙂
Hey Corin! It's great to hear from you my friend, I hope you are doing well! :-)
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! It was a lot of fun to create and nice to be able to share ideas with people like this!
Hope you have a great weekend buddy!
Clear skies :-)
Nice work Luke. The Obsy is coming along superbly mate and you cannot beat a permanent pier. Not that the Tripier the EQ8 comes on isn’t an absolute beast. Love how Chloe was all tucked up watching TV while you were grafting lol clear skies mate
Hey Glenn! :-D Great to see you here mate, - I gotta admit I laughed at that myself while editing the video haha, she did help when needed though so it's not too bad :-D
Totally agree by the way, having the pier, obs etc, all permanently set up has been just unbeatable - loving it!
Clear skies mate!
Hi Luke, great video and explanation on how you built the pier. This is going to inspire a lot of imagers to have a go at this method of building a pier. Another fine capture with the RASA too, lots of detail there in such a short space of time. Clear skies.
Hey Jon! - Thank you matey, I'm super pleased with how it turned out - Me and Chloe actually just painted them white tonight as it was cloudy out, made them look a lot neater too! :-D
I'd love to think these piers would start to pop up all over the world now haha! that would be seriously cool!
Thank you very much indeed for watching and taking the time to comment mate, hope you have a great rest of your weekend!
Very informative video Luke - great idea with the concrete foundation blocks! .. I had used patio blocks to set the height for my pier base but as I had the pulsar pier nothing else required. However, I may look at another pier for the smaller OTA at some point so will take note of your technique, very cool!
Thank you so much bud!! - The pulsar piers look lovely mate, great bit of kit for certain! :-) I'm super happy with how this design turned out though, given the relatively low cost and ease of constructing a quite tall pier I would happily do it again given the space!
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts, as always! :-D
Clear skies!
awesome video Luke. I don't have a big enough garden to put an observatory in but if I did this and your previous videos are a template for observatory and peir building. Well done mate and enjoy!
Hey there Paul! - That's just brilliant to read my friend, thank you!!
I'm really thankful that you've watched the video and taken the time to leave a lovely comment, I appreciate it :-)
All the very best,
Luke
This was awesome Luke and gives me some food for thought.
Thank you James!! - It's not really a conventional design I guess, but really works well if your foundation is good enough! I'd definitely build another given the chance/space :-)
Incredible work on that Tulip by the way my friend!!
@@lukomatico My property sits on top of limestone. I can't dig a hole more than 6" before hitting solid rock... so when I do start the obs.. doing a traditional pier I think is going to take too much effort. I was thinking of a cement slab and then just stick with tripod/pier.. but your design here looks very feasible.
Thanks :)
Brilliant video Luke.. A real service to the community this mate. Makes me eager to build my own obsy/pier. Unfortunately in rented accommodation at the moment but this is going on my saved videos list until we move and I get the chance to build.
Keep up the great work mate, this stuff is gold dust... especially to us tight fisted Yorkshiremen 😂
Clear skies buddy ✨🔭👌
That's awesome to hear bud! :-D I'm really happy that you've liked seeing the build! It's been the one of the best things I've decided to do really, totally changed astronomy for the better!
Thanks for watching and all the best to my fellow Yorkshiremen!
Hi Luke, nice to see how you built your piers thanks for the information
Thank you for watching buddy!! :-) Super happy to have made the video now!
Clear skies!
excellent Construction luke, It looks Nice and Steady For those Long Focal Lengths indeed mate!!
Thank you so much mate!! :-D It's rock steady fortunately, very happy with how it's turned out! I hope it was enjoyable to watch!
Clear skies Avanteesh!
Nice job Luke - the observatory is looking good !
Thank you very much indeed Mike!! So glad to hear you like it my friend, that means a lot coming from you!
Hope you are keeping well :-)
Thank you for watching and giving your support - I appreciate it as always!
Clear skies!
@@lukomatico credit due....when credit is due
Great job.
Thank you! :-)
I admire your construction skills!
That's very kind of you to say Tom!! Thank you my friend :-)
Clear skies!
I must have watched this video a dozen times already.
I will be doing one of these stone piers on my balcony to save space and aesthetics. I’m going with 20x20cm concrete stones and aluminum plates. My rig is the eq5 and 130pds so nothing big and heavy on gat would need a bigger pier. If I priced everything correctly then I’ll spend about 100 euros.
Thanks for this inspirational video and looking forward to seeing more.
Hey Robert!!
Oh man, that's awesome to hear my friend!! I'm so glad it's been useful to you, the 20x20's and alu plates will be perfect I bet - I'd love to see it when you are finished!
Thanks so much for sharing and good luck with the build :-)
Clear skies!
Nice job Luke, looks solid enough….and a nice fairly easy DIY pier for people to copy, similar to a Todmorgan type pier….but better…
I see you got some of the roof clamps as I used on my obsy, glad I could help with the link to them…..👍🏼
Thank you Stewart my friend! - The whole thing came out great in the end I think, - it might not be conventional, but it sure does work! :-D
I really appreciate that you found those clamps again mate! I've still to figure out just how I'll mount em and have it not interfere with the roof sliding past it's baffle plate, but I'll get to the bottom of it soon I'm sure! :-D
Clear skies mate!
Nice idea and something I may consider as the height of the pier could work in my shed design favour.
Good to know Rob!! Good luck if you choose to make it mate, I've been very happy with mine :-) Clear skies!
I've been contemplating building myself a mini-observatory (think "plus-sized storage box") and the original plan was to use the mount-tripod, but this might seem like a better option if scaled down to my needs. I found this inspiring, informative and very helpful.
That's superb to hear mate!! I can definitely recommend the pier still, especially now it's been in use for around a year without issues 👍 good luck on whatever route you decide my friend!
Looks like a solid construction there. Nice step by step for anyone wanting to do the same. I'm still jealous of you having a big enough area to fit two scopes :).
Hey there Logan mate! :-D I'm definitely so glad I opted to build for two scopes, it's made things so much easier! Real happy to hear that you liked the pier build by the way bud! Thanks for watching :-)
Well Luke, as usual you've impressed me lol It's a bit like Astrostace's pier but taken to the max! Such a simple but effective idea, and the squareness of the blocks even suits the angular EQ8 really well I think :) I got so engrossed in watching this that I slightly burnt the kids dinner :D Pizza on Fridays.
Hey Chris!! :-D I hope the Pizza wasn't too badly ruined haha! I'm super happy to hear you like how it's turned out bud, I'm pleased with it too for sure! I'm hoping to maybe render it in plaster after a while has passed, to clean up the look of the thing a bit further - or perhaps even just paint it white or some such, with masonry paint!
As always mate, it's a pleasure to read your thoughts on things!
Thanks so much for watching :-D
(p.s, I'm hungry for Pizza now, burned or otherwise!)
Really , really good video(s) ! Who would have thought about all the skill levels involved in taking a simple "picture" of a night sky object . I imagine you've considered floor vibrations when walking around the Scopes while they're imaging . Something you could probably test for later however if you're tucked up safe and warm in the Office there will be no need , hopefully , to wander around in the next room . Very envious of your new Shed and setup . Congrats !/SRK
Hey there Scott! :-D Thank you so much my friend, I highly appreciate your positive comment!!
RE: vibrations, it's a great point! It is seemingly rather well isolated luckily, likely down to how well bedded in the flags are as they've been down a loooong time! A deeply dug, broad and fully isolated pier would likely be even better of course, but that just wasn't needed for me in here - as you say, we're in the warm room most of the time anyway while it's imaging so vibrations are no issue! :-)
The only effect we sometimes see is if the warm room gets too, well, warm! if we open the door to let out some heat, then that can absolutely affect the images a bit while it's venting past the scopes, but settles down when the door is shut - expected behaviour I guess, but noteworthy none the less!
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment matey! Hope you have a great weekend!
Fantastic video Luke ! The observatory is something else ! I would never have thought you could build a permanent pier using that type of construction. Love the fact you're not digging down a couple of feet as well. Fascinating stuff Luke the whole build.....one question I have is at some point could you do a detailed walk through of the roof cos it doesn't seem to have the traditional " goal posts" unless I've missed something which I'm guessing means you don't need as much redundant space and more space for the actual observatory ? Anyway Luke top top video 👍
Hey there Paul! Hope you have been keeping well my friend! :-)
I'm very glad that you've enjoyed the videos of late, sharing them is such a pleasure knowing they are well received!
I definitely wanted to avoid digging up the patio for sure! it was laid around 15-20 years ago by me and my dad would you believe! it's stayed solid so I was confident in it as a foundation and I'm very happy to say my confidence was not misplaced, the piers are solid and I'm over the moon with the end result, especially given the relatively small outlay!
RE: the roof - when I get around to editing the build videos together it should show a lot better how it works, but as a general description - it basically has the roll-off roof runners going over the top of the warm room building, removing the redundant space usually required exactly as you say! No need for a pair of posts and runners going out into no-mans land with this design, really happy with how it turned out! :-)
Thanks so much for watching and commenting mate as always, hope you have a super weekend!
Excellent video, Luke! Wonderfully clear and detailed. Gave me an idea for modifying my pier, using the adhesive rather than welding. You may have saved me a bit of money. As to the "shoddy" camera work, it was just fine. I've seen much worse on RUclips!
Rick
That's brilliant to hear Richard! - I really am glad you found the video useful my friend, wishing you all the best with your pier mods!
Clear skies :-)
Loving the tennis ball on the end of the counter weight bar 👍. As an alternative for anchoring metal bolts/rods/brackets into concrete, brick or stone, polyester resin (eg., Rawlplug R-Kem II from Screwfix) gives a rock solid tie in. The concrete will break before that stuff does - however it is a permanent fixing.
That's a great idea!
Hey JJ! - That's a superb suggestion mate, thank you! I had a little look at some "chemset" recently for an unrelated job but the permanence of it was a little daunting LOL! seems like incredibly strong stuff! - I was really impressed with how the adhesive I used on the blocks themselves keyed together too, it's stuck like hell - would buy again! :-)
Glad you liked the tennis ball mate, haha! :-D - Chloe kept bumping her head on the bar end so it's solved that problem right away!
Really appreciate you taking the time to watch and leave a super helpful comment too man, top stuff :-)
All the very best,
Luke
@@lukomatico Yeh I’ve used it on jobs before, it’s awesome stuff. Just don’t get it on your hands! TBH I wouldn’t have thought that glue would be strong enough for the concrete blocks but looks like you’ve found a great solution, nice one 👍.
And I guess a tennis ball to protect Chloe’s head is probably more practical than a crash helmet 😎.
Excellent video Luke! Lukomatico’s Engineering’ channel 😀 Great work! Speaking as a builder, that should do a cracking job mate 👍 Very nice first light image! That will serve you well Luke!
Clear skies!
Hey Simon mate!! - As I was building this thing I honestly thought to myself "I wonder what Simon will make of this?" - So glad to hear you like the look of it my friend, having your endorsement on it as an actual bona fide builder is a real proud moment for me mate, thank you! :-)
I'm super happy with how it all turned out, the plates worked a treat and the adhesive keyed to the blocks extremely well - no worries left now, time for enjoyment!
All the very best mate!
Thanks for watching, and for your support :-)
@@lukomatico lol, what would I think! I would think, I wish I could build myself an observatory!! 🤣🤣 but I don’t have the room! I’ve actually used that adhesive to bond bricks together in an awkward situation and it worked a treat 👍 just say to yourself in the future, what would Simon do 🤣 you’ll be fine Luke👍 Clear skies!
Interesting video thanks for sharing . I went a similar path a while back constructing my piers but instead of solid blocks i used hollow blocks and assembled them with glue on the edge and let it set for a couple days and then poured concrete in the centre. It is so stable and extremely cost effective. I run an EQ8 with 12 inch f5 Newt and it is rock solid
Hey Trevor! That sounds like it turned out to be a great solution mate, nice work! :-)
I've been really happy with how this one has worked out, the benefits of a pier are not to be underestimated are they! 👍👍
Thanks for watching
@@lukomatico Absolutely fantastic pier. I looked into many designs and soon realised that a square pier had a lot more rigidity than a round one and the blocks are perfect . My first one was done 6 years ago and it it still rock solid and the Polar Align has not moved. Mine goes underground too as I was stating from a bare patch in my yard and then i concreted the floor once my obs was built
Great job, you may want to consider angle iron on the block corners, PL glue will hold them in place. Just be adding strength for the pier.
Thanks Woody! - That'd be a pretty cool way to cap them off for sure! I had considered putting a render on the blocks too as an option, to make it look like one pillar? Hmm.. lots of great ideas in the comments!
Thanks for watching mate!
Nicely done. Not many low cost options in Astrophotography. Good to see how to do it properly 👍🏻
Thank you very kindly indeed Tom!! - It turned out pretty nice looking I reckon, and functionally it's perfect! Happy to have been able to share the video my friend! :-)
Hope you are enjoying the 2600 mate!
Great video. May I ask where you purchased the steel plates from? Thanks!
Hi mate! In my case the cheapest option was eBay, they arrived pre-cut 👍
ramble? hell no; clear instructions - well done .. cheers - from the Land Down Under
Aw mate that's awesome to hear, thank you!!! :-D really appreciate you watching and commenting my friend, cheers!
Hi Luke...Wow a handy video for the Diy'er ... I may give it a go myself. The steel you used for the bases was it mild steel or any other kind? Also how is THAT bond holding between the pier blocks....I am looking for a simple method of installing a pier in my observatory which is on top of a concrete base without having to dig 2 foot down - I just want it on top of the already platform I have similar to you, so I don't have to lug the whole thing in and out every time and go thru polar alignment each session....very helpful and clear video
Thanks so much mate!! The bonding is holding up perfectly, I couldn't be happier to be honest! Polar alignment hasn't needed touching in months and months.
Re: the steel plates, just mild steel - again, worked a treat 👍
I'd fully recommend it!
Great video Luke. Always interesting to see the ‘work’ that goes on behind the actual work.
Plus DIY is the best way to do almost anything.. well, maybe not medically. Nobody wants a DIY vasectomy. 😂
haha! I've got half a cup of tea down me now after reading that😅
Thank you so much dude, as always!! :-D I'm so happy with how both piers turned out that I might even give DIY surgery a go now 😂 that proper creased me up lol, DIY vasectomy 🤣
Hi Luke. Love the video, just curious, how many tubes of adhesive did you use on each pier? Sorry if it’s been asked before.
Thanks so much mate! I was using about 1.5 tubes per pier 👍
Really impressed with how they're holding up, highly recommend!
Great info, Luke. This is off topic but what coma corrector do you use with your Skywatcher PDS series telescopes? Thinking of getting a PDS due to your awesome videos and wondered what corrector to get?
Hey there mate!! Hope you are well :-)
Re: the coma corrector, I use the aplanatic from skywatcher, it's marketed as for the f4 quattro scopes but happens to work superbly with the PDS newts 👍 (I've tried the matched 0.9x cc from sky watcher too, it's not bad but if you can afford the extra then the aplanatic is worth it, better details and sharpness across the field)
Hope that helps!
Just planning my roll off roof shed for my scope. You probably mention in the video, but what size is the main room with 2 pillars in? How close together did you end up putting them?
Sorry about the late reply mate, if I recall correctly they are about 4ft or 4ft 6" apart at center, hope that helps!
Good luck with the obsy 👍
Great job! As a side note, maybe paint the pier ? Might make it look rather nice ? I know it's not a major thing, but things look nice when painted! lol. Well Done for a great job and thank you for giving us all a great much cheaper alternative to those hideously expensive steel piers! Wes, Liverpool UK.
Thanks so much Wes! :-D I've actually painted the pier with white sandtex masonry paint since the vid, it's looking very scientific now! (well, as scientific as concrete blocks can anyway lol!)
All the best mate!
@@lukomatico Oh right thazt's ace Luke! It's always a great feeling when we finish a project! Here's to many years of happy star gazing with your new setup Luke!
hi Luke, loving your obsy mate. I built mine about 4 yrs ago, nowhere near the size of yours tho, but does the trick. for my pier, I used 225mm pvc soil pipe filled with concrete set into the ground and reinforced with steel rods, or reo bar as they're called here, and built to a height of about 1.3M
I'm currently looking at a system called Pier-Tech which is an electronic height adjustable pier but not sure if available here in Oz.
Any great video as usual, and well done on your 1st build. take care mate
Hey there mate! - Thank you so much for the kind words! :-) I'll bet the 225mm pier ended up good and solid - awesome solution! :-)
RE: Pier-Tech, I've seen those things around - super interesting design, being able to raise and lower the pier would be magic in some situations for sure, I hope you are able to source one mate as they look like top quality kit!
Thanks so much for watching and leaving a really positive comment bud, I appreciate it!
Clear skies :-)
I have build 40” tall retaining wall with this type of glue. Super strong! 10+ years on and it is as solid as at begging keeping enormous weight of soil.
Hey Ana! - That's really good to hear the adhesive is standing up strong after all that time!! - I've been hugely impressed by the power of these adhesives, if I ever needed to make another pier I'd be doing the same thing again, 100%! :-)
Clear skies!
@@lukomatico Constructors routinely use it here. Power is incredible. Your idea to build pear from blocks is smart and innovative.
That's very kind of you to say! Thank you :-)
This is awesome! Great video! Thanks for sharing so much detail in the video, so that we can all confidently build one too! Quick question: I'm not familiar with that adhesive. Are you concerned that the glue will cease to adhere or lose strength over time? During hot and cold seasons? I'm no glue expert but that is the only thing that pops into my head as a future potential issue so wondering what your thoughts are on that. Thanks much! :)
Hey there Pat! - Thank you so much for watching and leaving a great comment my friend! :-)
Regarding the adhesive - good question! It's advertised as being highly temperature tolerant (both low and highs) and is from a respected brand here in the UK so I'm sure it'll be OK! :-)
Thanks for a great question!
Clear skies! :-)
@@lukomatico Awesome! Thanks!! Much appreciated! :)
Temperature is the #1 threat aside from weight, as the fluctuation of temperature would cause expanding and contracting.
Hey there! :-) Thanks for your input mate, I appreciate you taking the time to share! Luckily all the materials and adhesives I used are pretty darn resistant to temperature swings, so there should be no issue there!
Thanks for watching!
I like this approach!. I see discussions about piers and folks telling me to dig down to bedrock and pouring large working slabs then the pier. Seems like overkill/overpriced for even your scope/mount weight.
Great work!
Thanks so much!! I can certainly say if I make another pier sometime, it'll be one of these again! Quick, easy and rock solid 👍 Cheers!
Hey dude great video, out of interest where did you you get the blocks from?
Hey there mate! - I got the foundation/trench blocks from a local building supply yard, they cost around £3-ish each if I recall correctly! :-) Hope that helps!
@@lukomaticoMany thanks 🙂🙏 🛸🔭
Hi Luke. I like your observatory more and more. You really use simple but ingenious and inexpensive construction methods. Are you an engineer? I ask because your building methods and skills seem to indicate so. I hope to be able to fulfill my desire to build my fixed observatory in Spain in the coming years. For now in Venezuela, I only put my telescope in the garden when I use it, but a 59kg SC 10" with a homemade mount is a good weightlifting exercise lol. Hugs
Hey there Jesus my friend!! :-D That's really kind of you to say, I'm so pleased you like the build!
Regarding an engineering background, that's very flattering to read haha! - I'm afraid I'm not an engineer though, my only real qualifications are in mechanics!
I would love to see your own build progress when you are able to begin my friend, that would be incredible - I'm very envious of the idea of an observatory in Spain, lovely country and lovely people, that sounds like a dream haha!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting, I always appreciate hearing your thoughts!
Clear skies and hugs! :-D
TOP, now your eq8 is more stable compared to original balck tripod?
Hello there my friend! :-) Sorry about the late reply, - The tripod for the eq8 is very very good, but I prefer the Pier i've made overall as it's much taller and very stable, allowing me to see out of the observatory to lower declinations! Thank you for watching!
Hi Luke, quick question, I was just wondering what the spacing is between the piers and what the overall internal dimensions of the observatory are? Now that you have been using the observatory in earnest for the last 9 months or so have you had any problems with lack of space or come to the conclusion any of the spacings or size would be better being a few centimetres larger. I'm interested because I have the opportunity to build an observatory in my garden but space is always a premium but on the other hand it would be nice to have enough space for a twin setup.
Oh that sounds great mate! Good luck with your build!
As to measurement, they are 130cm apart at the pier centers, overall observatory internal size is around 8ft4" x 10ft -ish
If I was doing it all over, I'd definitely go for a dual pier once again - but, I'd increase the distance a little - maybe to 160+cm apart at center and make the obsy side around 9ft 6" x 11ft 6" or so, to allow mega sized scopes in there!
My opinion is to build bigger than you think you'll need, ideally - as big as you can! You won't regret it.
Hope that helps!
Great job there Luke looks nice & solid & your mount looked sweet with that RASA 8 on it, I like the idea with the tennis ball so you don't get injured in case you walk into it but the question is which dog lost out on their ball being sacrificed for it? lol
Great video as always clear skies!!
Hey mate!! :-D Haha, I cracked up laughing reading this! Would you believe it, we actually smuggled the ball in the house without any of the dogs seeing it, and put it on there in secret so none of them would feel like we took their toy LOL!
Thanks so much for watching mate, hope you guys have a super weekend!
@@lukomatico Glad to hear the dogs didn't suffer then lol. Hope you're all well & clear skies.
Hi Luke, I’m wondering if you could give me some advice. I’ve been Patreon member for a bit. Should I leave my question here or is there a better way for patreon members to communicate? I’m wanting to make two corner posts of my elevated deck piers with cement blocks but they’ll be quite high. Should this still work? (20 feet high or so …). Thanks!
Hey there Robert! - It's good to hear from you mate :-)
If you'd like to fire off an email to me then that's totally fine mate, - if you go to my youtube "about" page and hit "business contact" it'll display the address for you :-)
(I'm sorry that's a bit of a mess around, it's just a measure to try and protect my email a bit from spam bots that can trawl for addresses in comments etc!)
Or if you'd rather discuss here, that's fine too mate!
That's an interesting problem and I may well be misunderstanding it - My gut feeling is that while it'd probably work, it's likely not the right approach for something built to that height as it's just blockwork and bonding - usually a standard 'bricked' approach using engineering bricks with mortar & probably rebar would be the norm for such a tall pillar at a guess!
My eq8 pier here is about 5 & 1/2 feet tall to the top of the blocks and is rock-solid, but I'd personally take a different approach if I needed it to be 15 more feet tall.
Thanks for getting in touch, and thank you so much for all your support!
Hmmm piers are usually poured directly into the ground without contact to the floor. What makes you sure the floor will not sink in under the heavy load over time? Still a very pragmatic solution and I hope it works out.
Great question mate! :-) I'm confident in the flagstones holding up as me and my dad laid them well on a layer of sand and cement about 15-20 years ago now, they've barely moved in all those years - definitely a good foundation is a key consideration though for such tasks as building a pier, - were I doing this without the pre-existing patio to work from I'd have dug a square and filled it with concrete first to give myself a foundation pad :-)
Thanks for watching!
Finding those type of blocks here in the US is nearly impossible. All of the solid blocks I am finding are tapered for a outdoor deck. Your idea is grand, and got me thinking.
Hey there Mark! - I'm really glad to hear you found some inspiration in the video, that's super! :-) Sorry that the blocks seem to be hard to source in the US though my friend, I had no idea it would be like that!
Thank you for watching and good luck with figuring an alternative solution :-) Clear skies!
Luke - just a couple of questions bro. Is there anything that you can't do ? Also, can you come out here and do a build for Iceman Astro!!?? 😅. I'll probably never do this myself, but good to see how it all came together. Thanks for sharing bro
Haha!! Thank you so much brother, I'm genuinely so happy to hear you like it :-D
If I lived out there in Arizona you can bet we'd have a ball with builds and stuff haha, I just think the heat you guys get would probably destroy me 😂 I start getting too hot when we reach 24/25c+ here LOL
Thank you for giving this a watch bro, I really appreciate your time 🙏
All the best and wishing you clear skies!
Great video Luke, I'm building the same thing. I'm curious to know how they've held up over time? Clear skies! -jason
Thanks Jason! - they've held up wonderfully, I can honestly say if I needed another pier I'd do the same build again without change 👍
@@lukomatico That's good news. I appreciate your talents. Have a great day!
I don't know where you live but looking at your floor, deep frost is not something you have to worry about? Frost would move those concrete tiles around quite a bit in my area...
Hey there! We're from the UK so don't really have to worry about frostlines and such :-) The flagstones it was built on have been down around 20 years and have barely moved luckily!
Good point though, thanks for raising it!
Looks pretty sturdy! What's the advantage of using a pier over the tripod though?
Also, I still don't understand why people get so excited over getting things level. It makes no real difference, unless you're a perfectionist lol
Thanks so much mate, glad you like it!
The advantages for me in the observatory are many - the height for one, it allows me to reach targets I never could before by being able to have the scope far higher up than even the tallest of tripods would ever allow.
Next up, the amount of floor space it gives me back without having to have tripod legs in there.
Thirdly, it's more rigid than a fully extended tripod is by miles, allowing better guiding and wind resistance.
Fourthly, the permanence of the setup - I can't accidentally trip/kick a tripod leg in the dark, meaning I need to re-do polar alignment etc, it's just always ready to go session after session :-)
There are more advantages, (and some disadvantages I guess too!) but overall it's been a truly fantastic upgrade to my astronomy 🙏
Re: leveling, haha - totally agree mate, it's a bit of an urban myth in astro I guess!
Thanks for watching and clear skies! :-)
@@lukomatico thank you for taking the time to reply. Lots of good reasons to get a good solid pier type mount there. Maybe when I get to my 'forever' house (hate that term) I can look into doing this. For now, a flat platform in the corner of the garden, tripod and maybe one of those Keter storage things will do for me. I only use a Samyang 135mm lens with the ASI533 on an EQ6r-Pro so I don't use up much space (yet). ;)
Looks nice , but I would be afraid of it pulling apart... I know you said its solid but I am a worrier ... I did my own , I drilled 4 feet down into the soil and used 2 4 foot sono-tubes and I filled them with lots of concrete and built a deck around it but not touching so when I walk no vibration,,,, I saw the price of a pier and could not see spending that much money for a metal tube.... I love the EQ8 , I have the EQ6 and it works wonders ....
Hey Steve! - I totally understand mate! :-) I can only say that the particular adhesive I used has really keyed with the concrete blocks HARD! so much so that taking off tiny blobs of spill has proven a real effort, so actually parting the blocks would be a non-starter I think! I've no worries at all left after it's set now, but I fully understand how this kind of approach isn't for everyone! :-)
I really appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts my friend, your own pier sounds like a real beast of a thing, great job!!
Clear skies :-)
is your building on the ground? i see stones under your big one. nothing in the way EWNS? so i assume you do mostly straight up photography?
Hey Andy! It's built on a flagged area, so I wanted to leave the underlying ground alone as much as possible - I do have obstructions to many sides but thanks to the extra tall piers I've built I can see quite low to the horizon in the spots where it's clear for me, giving extra options :-)
The piers are both holding up excellently, I haven't needed to touch PA in months now, even though I do keep checking to see if anything has changed!
What type of obturator you use for the flats and dark flats , I assume that is at the very end of your tube ???
Hey there Claudiu! I use an a3 led tracing panel set to it's lowest brightness on the end of the dew shield extension piece for my flats - as for dark flats, I don't use them at the moment, just regular bias instead :-)
Thanks for watching!
@@lukomatico thanks, For your replay, I thought. It was something else. I wish you clear skyes.
Thank you my friend, clear skies! :-) 👍👍
Hello there, iam building a pier to for EQ6, my roof is 197cm from bottom of pier so i wonder if u Can tell me the hight from eq6 head bottom to top og you 8” Newton when it is i sleep position, i dont have eq6 now 🙂
Good luck with the pier mate! RE: the height, from the bottom of the eq6 baseplate, to the top of the scope when parked in a flat position (not "home") it's 50cm, Hope that helps!
@@lukomatico Thx, yes, now i know around the top og pier should end 👍 using to leca block glue to around 330*330mm , to or tre stack should be perfect👍
Hi Luke really liked your solution to the budget pier, I am looking at copying your plan however I am having difficulty finding a building supplier that can source the 375x275x140 foundation block. All can supply me the standard 440mm block. I am located in Wiltshire not sure what part of the country you are in but it may be a locally made block. look forward to your reply.
Thank you so much Malcolm! - I'm glad you liked how it turned out 👍👍
Re: getting the blocks, I just phoned around a few local places asking for foundation blocks basically, best to ring in my case as the websites rarely showed everything they actually had! You'll want to source 300x275x140 size solid ones, don't buy the aero lite blocks for this purpose 👍
I bought mine from MKM building supplies, I think your nearest one may be a little trek away though.
Hope that helps mate!
@@lukomatico Hi yes I found MKM and Buildbase, I have now sourced them in Barnsley and they are shipping to me next week 👍
Brilliant stuff!! Best of luck with the build my friend :-D I'd love to see it when it's done if you get the chance, tag me on Instagram with it!!
@@lukomatico Hi Just to let you know my build was delayed due to having to spend time in hospital unexpectedly..... Well this last weekend I started the build, Friday afternoon spending the planning time to work out where the main slab was going to sit and it orientation, last week I collected my steel plates from a local engineering company and checked these over too. Saturday I laid the main slab and 2 of the pier blocks. Sunday morning really impressed with the bonding strength already ..... I continued all day cleaning and bonding the pier blocks till i reached my desired height and then left it to cure. Monday morning and afternoon I then fixed the bottom plate to the pier, this was not so easy as the concrete anchors I bought similar to yours were not cutting a thread in the block and it was just stripping the thread leaving a hole. Due to this I then sourced some concrete anchors(similar to a rawl bolt). this solved my issue and the lower plate was fixed I then mounted my top plate without tightening any thing and left it again overnight. Tuesday morning i then leveled the top plate, mounted my HEQ5 Pro, and then put my telescope Skywatcher 200pds on the mount. Well all I can say is thank you for sharing your video of your Pier build ...IT IS BRILLIANT..... I will share some photos when the weather improves but typically as I finished the heavens opened LOL.. thank you again Malcolm
@@malcolmbrandon6806 Hey Malcolm! - I'm very happy indeed to hear you're out of the hospital and back in action mate, they are wonderful places but there's little worse than having to spend time in them!
I'm smiling ear to ear after reading about your build mate, so chuffed it's all worked out well for you!!
Genuinely I'm thankful for you taking the time to get back in touch and let me know how it turned out, that's really made it all worthwhile 🙂
I hope you keep well, and that you now get plenty of clear skies to enjoy your new pier with!
All the very best,
Luke
Run a chunk of 1” angle iron up each corner, would just strengthen everything beyond belief, just saying.
Hey mate! That's a great idea aye, I actually bought some to act as edging strips but never bothered putting them on! 😂
The 4 threaded bolts sticking up with the flat plate on it for making your pier level is not required you did know this correct? Did you see that off another video or was it something you just made up? I say this because I too have a pier on my property and I don't have this type of setup. The only thing that matters is your mount being aligned to the NCP. My pier is about the same height as yours but mine goes into the ground 7.5 feet and is 36" in diamter with rebar, fiberglass mesh in the concrete and my pier above the ground is 12.7" in diamter steel tube with a wall thickness of .170". I take breath taking photo's of the heavens on windy nights or calm nights it makes no difference. I see this type of design all over RUclips and I just don't understand why someone would take such a sturdy concrete pier and then put threaded rod at the top to make it leve and ruin a great setup.
Hey Lawrence! Yeah I know it's not required mate, it just feels like a job half done if things aren't level though 👍
I needed to use a plate over plate design so I could bolt down the mount to the top plate from the underside, just an access thing really!
Mortar on it's own wasn't a good plan but I think rebar and mortar would be more trustworthy than glue.
Hey mate! The mortar surprised me with how weakly it held so rebar or no I wouldn't trust it for this! The adhesive however does seem to offer a pretty ridiculous bond, I've been impressed by it! :-)
If you can build a pier out of concrete blocks, why do you need to drill holes to add the steel plates? Why can't you just use the same adhesive to attach a plate to the top that you turn 90 degrees to allow the corners to stick out? No more drilling into concrete!
Good question! It'd honestly probably be fine haha! - personally I felt like bolts were a better option when adhering concrete to steel though, as while the concrete surface is well keyed for the adhesive to get a lot of surface area, the steel is very smooth of course, so probably harder for it to grab!
Good point. I'd hate to use glue for that last bit, only to have it be the part that gave way and had it all come crashing down!@@lukomatico
@@hotflashfoto I will definitely say the adhesive is a great option for the blocks themselves though! They feel like one cohesive pier, not a jot of movement :-) I haven't had to touch PA in months even through some very large temperature swings too! 👍
Why not just dig a hole, put in a form with rebar and mix concrete and pour a solid pier? Not at all expensive, and there for 500 years or better...
PS- Please see this video about pier construction- ruclips.net/video/i1F4JUiZVec/видео.html
Hey mate! - I chose to avoid doing this in the 'standard' manner deliberately, even though I know it would make a great pier :-)
I wanted to do things my own way with construction methods that anyone could apply to try and pave the way for people who are a little less confident with DIY - it has worked out great, extremely strong and with great vibration dampening properties 👍
Good video. I will be stealing many of your ideas.
That's awesome mate! :-D Thank you for watching and good luck with your own build my friend!
Clear skies!
Is this video an example of what not to do? I see so many things wrong I don't know where to begin. All that brick olds heat for a start. What is on your walls? Insulation? More heat.
Hey there!
I mean this in the nicest way possible - I think you've missed the point of the vid!
Professional installations have been using concrete plinths, piers & pads since observatories began - if concrete is good enough for them, it's certainly good enough for any one of us.
Metallic piers are all well and good, but one can't be made for anywhere near the price this one was, plus they have their own drawbacks too such as resonance & poor vibration dampening, meaning you're going to need gusseting at the very least. (not to mention being very unfriendly to make for the average DIY'er, - I myself can weld & fabricate luckily, but how many random folk who want a telescope pier on the cheap can say the same thing? hence the design being aimed at being cheap, solid & easy to DIY)
RE: the walls, it's just a bit of bubble foil - to me it looks better than bare wood and reaches ambient within 10 minutes of the roof rolling off anyway, no fuss.
Hope that explains where I'm coming from with this!
Clear skies!
@@lukomatico Sir, you have a stone floor and a stone peer and reflective walls .Do you know why lizards like rocks? You may be shooting yourself in the foot with all the heat all that stone holds through the night. Living in the U.K. your already fighting the atmosphere and light pollution. Why make it worse on yourself? But if your don't believe me that is fine. So long as your happy.
Hey there mate! - I do appreciate what you're saying and I agree that setting up somewhere that could offer better local seeing conditions would be more ideal, but I've got to use the space I have available to me as best I can, which for me meant building on this pad 👍
I'd only say that between setting up on the bare flagstones for many years vs setting up here in the observatory I've not noticed any difference with thermal effects, it cools down quickly enough as to not really be a problem for me (seeing here tends to be very average, so perhaps differences would be hard to spot anyway from my location)
Cheers!
Do not listen to this guy, he knows nothing about building anything.
Said random internet man #22277499274 lol... 😂😂😂