Observatory: More handrails and red lghts.

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Tuesday: Grey, windy and wet. Made a larch threshold board for the main doors. Fitted a bolt to the outer door to hold it shut and then painted both doors with Safe-Way, mineral wood protection to darken them.

The Head Gardener has suggested I add a larch "skirting board" plinth[?] right around the outside bottom of the octagon. This will help to seal the bottoms of the plywood panels against intrusion by the local wildlife. Not to mention making it look smarter and more finished.

I'm still happy with the sage green of the dome. It changes constantly with the light, dew, frost and rain but always remains pleasant to my eyes. Even The Head Gardener approves.

Wednesday: Blustery with short showers. Wired up the red bulbs and then spent time making more handrails. They look more convincing when a whole row is visible. Only the two shortest ones nearest the shed to do now.

The red bulb inside the pier was superb. It gently lights the steps and the closed trapdoor. Confirming that the hatch was safely closed is a real breakthrough in confidence building. Exactly as needed but a direct view of the naked bulb still doesn't blind me.

Some red light also leaks out around the pier base where there is an isolation gap with the floor. Which is excellent for delineating the exact place of everything in the dark. Yet the the light is actually so dim that it doesn't register in the camera. My 'snaps' I took of the red light leakage were pointless. Nothing showed up!

Later, Mars was low to the south again. So I set up to have a look. Whereupon it soon clouded over. I need more light in the observatory for setting up without using a torch. I went out onto the veranda to see if the Moon was visible without having to turn the dome. To discover the light wood of the  handrails made it much easier to find my way around in the dark.

The channel section larch handrails have really increased the stiffness of the fencing. It feels really solid now. Rather than merely being amply strong enough for the job. So all the work in precision grooving the undersides to fit the doubled fence top bars, with a router, was well worthwhile. I still need to treat the handrails to prolong the life of the wood and then sand them well. The steel posts should really be bolted to the woodwork too. Yet another roundtoit. I ought to make a list.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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