| Understanding
how expensive a really good manufactured tripod
can costs, and how well constructed they can be, I had to figure out a
way to produce the tripod legs for this unit with similar strength
capabilities, yet keep the project cost down. As mentioned before, I
consider a variety of woods like oak, maple, and others to make the
legs, but these woods carry a hefty price. I needed wood of high
strength and hardness at a drastically reduced amount of cash. So it
hit me to use hard Pine Stakes! The same stuff I used under the base
platform of my 10" Newtonian's fork mount. Nine 48" length -
2x2 stakes were needed; three stakes per tripod leg. In selecting the
stakes while at your home supply, or hardware
store, it is a good ideal to make certain they are
straight. This means you will have to look down each side of the stake
lengthwise to verify this. Chances are great that you will find many
of these pieces of wood are warped - a good explanation as to why they
are so cheap ($1.20 each). So spend some time selecting prime pieces,
unless of course you choose to go with the more expensive species of
woods. Please click
on the image above for an enlarge image.
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