Two bits of the focusser started, with a screw thread to join them together.

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Time to start on the last major component – the focuser! This will be a Crayford Focuser using some 3x3x8 ball bearings, some aluminium tubes and bits and pieces lying around.

The first part to be constructed is the base-plate that will attach the focuser body to the telescope. This is threaded to take the bottom of the focuser tube; this will then be secured with locktite.

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Made the dovetail bar for the new telescope:

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I’m building a telescope, of which more anon. I don’t want to build a mount for it, so I’m going to use my existing Mead GOTO mount. This means that:

• I want to be able to attach the new telescope to the existing mount
• The telescope needs to be able to slide in the mount to get the right balance. This is particularly important as the new telescope will be heavier than the 90mm Mead telescope.
• I want to be able to attach the Mead telescope to the GOTO mount too.

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