Welcome
fellow Amateur Astronomers to the construction pages of the VSC
"North Star" Field Tripod. When Gary Barabino gave me the
bad news regarding the accidental destruction of his 8" Konusky's
tripod, I began thinking about how to construct a new cost effective
unit for him. The first parts I considered were the legs. Being the
main support components of the tripod, they had to be strong with
little to no flexure. Keeping cost in mind, I decided to work in
wood. In deciding which type of wood to use, a number of species
came to mind; oak, maple, walnut, etc. Then it hit me like a ton of
bricks! During the construction of my 10" fork mounted Newtonian
reflector, I used 2x2 hard pine stakes under the base platform to
reduce flexure. Despite being made of pine, the stakes possess a hard
durable grain that resisted bending and flexing. An added bonus was
the fact they were very cost effective as compared to more exotic
woods like the ones I mentioned previously. Each stake cost only
$1.20, and I required nine of them to do the job, which totaled $11.55
including tax. If it were not for the inexpensive cost of these
sections of wood, it would probably be better to just purchase a
tripod from a major manufacturer. Along with the purchase of a half
sheet of 3/4" plywood and various hardware components, we were
able to construct this tripod that is superior in quality to many on
the market today. This
is indeed an awesome field tripod that any do-it-yourselfer can build
using common household power tools, and a little patience.
Sincerely, Mel Dawson
..."Clear Skies, Forever!"