2" shaft mounting Pt.63 It's all weighing me down.

Here is the original component weight list from an earlier post.
All weights are approximate.

                                    Lbs   

Dec Hse + PA shaft.....62.0   
Bare dec shaft.............28.0
PA hse.........................28.0
Saddle...........................3.5

RA wormwheel..............8.5
2 Worms + bush............6.0
Dec wormwheel............5.0

2 x worm plates............5.0
                                   ___      
Total........................~146.0

Fork............................25.0
Counterweights..........45.0
OTA...........................40.0

New Total................~256 lbs !!

Plus front plate and turnbuckle. Then there is still the weight of the two, 10mm plates for worm support to be added. Plus the stepper motors, pulleys and drive belts.

I also weighed my now-resurrected folded refractor at ~35lbs without finder or the full length, slip-over dewshield. I removed one solid, stainless steel handle from the objective's bayonet plate to improve the rather nose-heavy balance. A finder somewhere near the focuser will also help improve the balance point. A shorter tail on any refractor reduces the arc of movement at the eyepiece when swinging from vertical to horizontal.

I shall fit the folded refractor as the first test of the new mounting. Hopefully usable from a seated position when  pointing overhead and using a star diagonal. So high was the folded refractor on the MkIV on its tall pier that I needed a stepladder to mount the OTA and to observe!

By sitting on a suitable object and using a tape measure I have discovered that I need a minimum eyepiece height of 120cm at the eyepiece. This is with the 2" star diagonal fitted and the OTA pointing overhead.

The bare mounting's declination axis is 55cm above the ground when horizontal and the saddle to the east or west of the polar axis. The folded refractor is 85cm from the eyepiece to its center of gravity. Which would place the eyepiece 30cm below the ground on the bare mounting. 55-85 = -30cm. By adding 30 cm to 120cm the pier needs to be 150cm high to bring the eyepiece to 120cm. To double check: 150 + 55 = 205.  205 - 85 = 120. ✔ Which is the required eyepiece height. [i.e. When the OTA is vertical, the star diagonal is fitted and the telescope is focused at infinity.]

This pier height seems rather high considering the MkIV's pier is 160cm high and the MkIV mounting much more squat than the big new mounting. I was hoping to avoid climbing ladders to mount the OTA. Albeit in the [hopefully] short term until I have built the observing platform. The answer is to put the folded refractor back on the MkIV to check my calculations match reality.

I thought I'd make a slotted steel angle, pyramidal pier to use as a test stand. The broad base can be covered in thick plywood and loaded with paving slabs to ensure total stability. I don't want the heavy mounting toppling! One "drop test" is more than enough!

The distance of the counterweights from the Polar Axis are not very different from the distance to the axis of both refractors. So any similar OTA would require quite similar counterweights to their own weight to balance. 
 
I have been using a digital luggage scale to weigh the individual parts and it seems close enough.

After an overnight frost the temperature has risen to 42F. With my being in the workshop and breathing out moisture, every metal, glass and plastic surface is covered in visible dew! The rain and high humidity don't help.  

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