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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

C11 Counterweight rehab and mod

Comparing the newly outfitted and painted C11 and tripod, the counterweight looked drab and needed some attention - and a mod...

I notice when I clean the weight, that a date is stamped on it....



August 1st, 1997.

I never noticed this before....almost 15 years old - very cool

I have always had a issue with the lock-bolt on the 22lb weight. One needs a tool to tighten and loosen it along the shaft...and out in the field, and I rather not lug one around. Must change this into something with a knob.

The bolt is 3/8ths..and I just happen to have one in Joe's warehouse...but in a long 3' long piece of threaded rod...

I cut me off a hunk of rod...longer than the original bolt. With gloved hand, I wanted space for padded fingers...

I also have a bag of these knobs. I took them off a exercise machine I had thrown out years ago....'cause someday they will come in handy. I have incorporated two of these already to secure the mount on top of the tripod base, but here, the screw thread diameter is too small to fit into the counterweight. So, I cut and drill it out...

I use Gorilla Glue, real good stuff, to secure the bolt to the knob...

The glue expands a bit and now we have a knob where there once was not. I like... #Thumbsup#

But, we are not done yet...

With the additional accessories riding high on top of the C11, the 22 lb weight was not enough and I had to augment more weight with a counter weight from a G5 tripod mount. I used a bungee cord to let it "hang" from the counterweight shaft...not cool.

What I needed was more weight disks, but I was not about to buy some - paying for dead weight. Looking around the joint, I have these weights. I had them since I was a teenager when I started bodybuilding - and used them for decades. Bringing one to the workshop...it just doesn't fit. The diameter of the hole is too small and I have no way of enlarging it.

Many years ago, when I shared an apt with a lovely, we found 3 weight disks in her porch, (2.5lb, 5 lb & a 10 Lb), ...but they were Olympic sized and I had standard sized bars. I took them and she wanted them out anyway...'cause, you never know.... . I had them stacked in the back of the weight cabinet and had spider webs and dust on them. Bringing them out, they cleaned up well.



(I worked on the 10 lb one earlier just before this project and did a crude rubber stopper plug thing to it. It worked and I used it at a star party already, but I can do better.)

If I had some Lucite-like material or aluminum blanks, I would have used that...but instead, I use wood. The danger in wood is the swelling and shrinkage from environmental conditions...but it's all we got. I measure out a circle plug...

..and the diameter of the weight shaft.

Bringing it to the band saw, I cut it out, making it slightly larger and with pressure points - as to make a tight fit...

I use old faithful Gorilla Glue and give the I.D. of the disk a good coating...and then pound the plug it...

It takes quite awhile to pound it in place, but it sets nicely and ain't coming out. I use the drill press to drill out the central shaft opening...

Comes out nice...

But, not finished yet.

I want something to not only cover the wood and protect it, but maybe something to help hang onto the shaft while in use. I look around my warehouse and come up empty. Maybe something like a rubber washer I can attach...I dunno.

I go to the plumbing section and come across some left over bathtub/sink escutcheons. I bring one to the weight shaft...and it slides on tightly.

Excellent!

This is what we will use.

I attach the rings with screws to the disks and buff them up with metal conditioner...and they look rather cool....

These will be referred to as my "Bathroom weights"... ;D

They hang on nicely to the counterweight shaft, but they need some sort of finish, as they are still kinda grungy. I like the Rustolium Hammered Paint that I have been using in this C11/tripod rehab and mod...and use it to brush on a coat...

My weights, (the original and the Bathroom weights), look great and shiny.

We are almost done with the weights, just something else to do.

The stop bolt at the end of the counterweight shaft, keeping the weights from falling off and onto ones toes....is this feeble wing nut-like bolt...

This has got to be swapped out as well for something beefier and my bag-o-knobs come into service again.

But that...for another day.

[erikruud]

If I had some Lucite-like material or aluminum blanks, I would have used that...but instead, I use wood. The danger in wood is the swelling and shrinkage from environmental conditions...but it's all we got. I measure out a circle plug...

Joe, try calling a couple counter top places and see if they have any scrap Corian. You could also check with some sign shops. A friend of mine has a sign business and he always has Corian scraps.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Finishing the Counter Weights...(or - The Dead Weight project)

The following day, with the gorilla glue set on my knob and bolt, I locate a large diameter washer and it all comes together nicely. Solid and with a large knob now, it's a whole lot better than that wee little wing nut that originally kept the counter weights from slipping off the shaft. (C'mon Celestron!... ) It's big enough for a gloved hand to twist on & off in the bitterest of winters or after a long observation session...

Now for the weights...

I painted the weights with the great Rustolium Hammered Paint - and they come out cool looking. I also painted a inner circular ridge on the 22lb original weight, (after this pic was taken), with the Glow in the Dark paint I got sometime earlier - but not too happy with it. It certainly does glow - but they haven't got the flow characteristics of the paint down yet. It goes on rather chunky and does not lay right. I'll leave it for a while and see how I like it...or not.

But...

I'm satisfied with the mod.

The adapted counter weights hang onto to the shaft all by themselves, (thanks to the bathroom escutcheons), and the massive 22lb original weight is held in place with the modded hold down bolt solidly.

I still have a 10lb weight to mess with, but am confident that it will come out and perform just as satisfactory as well. I won't use all of the weights at the same time obviously, but as I attach and take off various accessories riding on the C11, I now have the option to adjust the counterweights for proper and delicate balance.

But I think IU need to carry the weights now separately from the Ci700 mount.....it's just too damned heavy to lug all in one case...

On to the next C11 project...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Erik,

I will keep this in mind for future projects or if the wood degrades/falls apart.

Thanks for the lead.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Finishing the Counterweight project....

While the mount is drying from a new paint job, the original counterweight needed some final details. I painted the inner indent ring with Glow-in-the-Dark paint, but not too thrilled with it.

It does indeed glow nicely...

But, it's just...ok.

Meh.

Is it worth the radiation? No...but good thing the urge to pass on my DNA is low.

Next.....


The hold down bolt is just slight wobbly near the top, as was the original one...

But clear tubing that called out to me...and slipped tightly over the threads, making a nice fit. I also dabbed some of the space age Dow Corning lubricant on the threads...

And with that...this part of the 2011 C11 rehab is done...and a good job I must say.