----- Original Message -----
From: "Jay Freeman" <Jay.Freeman@No-Spam>
To: <sf-bay-tac@No-Spam>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:59 PM
Subject: [TAC] Lead poisoning (no, not by getting shot)
> I have a lead counterweight that I attach to the aft end of the
> OTA of my six-inch f/8 Astro-Physics refractor, to move the
> center of gravity that way and reduce eyepiece travel during
> use. (Christen triplets are heavy -- without the weight, the
> tube balances closer to the sky end than to the focuser).
>
> I made it by casting 15 pounds of lead ingots into a small-size
> bread tin. I left the cast lead in the tin -- it just about
> filled it -- and cut a piece of plywood to fit over the top
> of the tin. The plywood is caulked in place, and 1/4-inch
> bolts go through the lead and attach to a spare tube ring
> I had handy. The result is a nice, compact, heavy lead
> counterweight with no lead exposed.
I've seen Jay's counterweight and can attest to its simplicity,
effectiveness and novelty. It is really cool.
I had a similar problem due to all the imaging gear hanging off the back of
mine and kludged a counter weight arrangement out of a bunch of junk in the
garage including some old free weights.
Pictures can be seen at:
http://www.rdcrisp.darkhorizons.org/images/P007359_small.jpg
