Do it yourself custom tripod

A DIY Custom Tripod!

Here are a couple of pictures of a tripod I made for my refractor. I found the tripod that came with it too short to use with the long scope. I got the basic design from a CN article, by the way. I adapted it a bit; this is the second try at making a tripod. The first was OK, but I had miss-measured a couple of important dimensions and ended up with really tight fitting joints at the tripod head which caused splitting in the tops of the spacers. That was a good lesson in test fitting before gluing. This is 5' tall at the base of the mount, and allows me to see overhead from a comfortable position. I went from a rickety aluminum tripod to a wooden one, and it was like getting a whole new scope. It is heavier than the aluminum tripod, but I don't know how it compares to a steel one.

It is made of good Canadian pine, varnished with an oil based spar varnish. It can be roughly adjusted up and down by pulling the pins in the legs and moving the legs up or down 4". I have an idea how to make a sliding leg for my next effort. I decided to do without an accessory tray, and just use a light chain to hold the legs at the correct angle. This facilitates moving it. It is as sturdy as you could possibly hope for.

I was at a public showing by a local club, though, and a gentleman there had a Celestron 9.25 SCT on a steel tripod, and it was being bothered by the slight wind that we were experiencing. This caused me to shake my head when I considered the money he'd put into that kit.

A great advantage to wood, besides its stability... Is that it's cheap, and if you screw it up you can run it through your table saw and make it into firewood, then start on another piece of timber.