Dobsonian Mount for 4.5″ Newtonian Reflector Telescopes

EclecticGuy September 23, 2008 astronomy, diy, telescope 4 Comments

A few years ago I designed and built a Dobsonian mount for my Meade DS-114 telescope. The original equatorial mount – even though it had the Startracker feature – was really difficult to use and prone to vibration. Dobsonian mounts are known for their simplicity and stability. I had considered building a Dobsonian mount in the past and finally decided to one after a frustrating night of stargazing at my son’s school Star Night.

When I built this mount in 2005, I allowed several astronomy Web sites to post a PDF article I wrote describing the design and construction. Since then, I get occasional inquiries about the design and construction. Now that I have a blog, I am publishing the design here with additional comments based on several years of use.

Here is what the finished product looks like:

Read the original article for complete construction details. Here are the designs and a few construction photos from the article:

(OTA = Optical Tube Assembly)

 

Main Pivot Assembly

I used 3/4″ HDO (high density overlay) for the structural components. Bearing surfaces are laminated with Formica and the bearings are teflon chair glides – all standard lumber yard items.

The mount has held up very well and is very easy to set up and use. Initial pointing is very easy with a Dobsonian mount – you basically just aim it like a big gun while looking through the spotting scope. It is much more intuitive than an equatorial mount. The mount does not change the telescope and you can always go back to the original mount if you desire. I’ve had mine sitting around for 3 years – I think it is time to sell it on eBay!

(I just did a quick Google and rediscovered one of the sites that published the original article here.)

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Dobsonian Mount for 4.5″ Newtonian Reflector Telescopes”

  1. Burton Tarkington said:

    Jan 08, 09 at 11:02 am

    Hello: Thank you for publishing this information. My wife and I just purchased a Meade DS2114ATS-TC telescope and are just beginning our adventure into astronomy. I am wondering if there is any reason, in your opinion, that a mount of this design could not be constructed using Aluminum rather than wood? I am more comfortable working with metal than wood. Any way, thanks again and take care. Burt

  2. EclecticGuy said:

    Jan 08, 09 at 11:25 am

    Burt, you certainly could use aluminum to build a Dobsonian Mount. I have a woodworking shop so I built mine of wood. With aluminum, you would not have to use Formica for the bearing surfaces on the pivot assembly and rotating platform. Definitely send me a photo when you finish it! I would love to post it here.

    Cheers,
    EclecticGuy

  3. GEORGE HATCH said:

    Mar 26, 09 at 8:38 am

    I RECENTLY PURCHASED A MEADE 10″ INCH DOBSONIAN TELESCOPE AND THE GUY I BOUGHT IT FROM SOLD THE MOUNT. I AM HOPING I CAN USE THIS DESIGN TO BUILD A MOUNT FOR IT. IF ANYONE HAS A BETTER DESIGN OR AN IMPROVED SUGGESTION PLEASE E-MAIL ME. THANKS!

  4. EclecticGuy said:

    Mar 26, 09 at 8:49 am

    George, the Dobsonian mount is a pretty simple. The most important thing is to make sure that it is solidly built and the moving parts can rotate freely. You should be able to scale this design up for a 10″ telescope easily. I have been very happy with it over the last 4 years.

Leave a Reply