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Late last year I bought a used Paramount MX. After a long delay I am finally getting it going.
I reckon I am going to need an additional counterweight or to get an extension to the counterweight arm.
Has anyone some unused or unloved MX counterweights they want to sell?
I needed an extra weight for my Meade.
An old metal paint can, a kitchen stove and some scrap lead worked wonders. A wooden stick, well soaked in water, made a central hole which needed only slight tidying before the weight went over the shaft. No fastening screw so it is held between two of the original weights which can be fixed in position.
Acquiring scrap lead is not that difficult.
Cost me nothing but a bit of butane for the stove and 30 minutes of my time. I even found the can discarded on a building site.
Yeah, I noticed someone on Cloudy Nights took that approach. But its 50 years since I messed about with molten lead. Will give that some thought.
I saw a Software Bisque weight on line at £401. Eek!
Tempted to get a weightlifting weight (2″ bore) and try to put a mild steel collar of some sort in that – even I could run one up on a lathe.
My options appear to be:
1, additional counterweights – £400 for 9kg
2, replace the cradle for one lighter (its very robust) – $560
3, modify stainless steel 10kg Olympic weights – ~£300
4, extension shaft for counterweight arm/rod – £135I know which one I’m gravitating toward…
5, Make your own. < £20.
If you don’t fancy the idea of pouring lead I’d make one for you but you are in the UK and I am not.
Paul
P.S. Concrete would work as well. Messier, not as dense as lead and takes longer to solidify, but not as hot when wet.
Get some old weightlifting weights and get a friend or local machine shop to bore them out to the correct hole size. My Paramount has two Paramount weights and a weight lifting weight, works a treat at a fraction of the cost.
Peter
Finally! After so long, I’ve found someone who knows about astronomy. Well done, Dr Paul! A true astronomy enthusiast solves minor problems with his own hands. I also needed a counterweight. I got some pieces of lead pipe from a plumber and then melted them in a tuna tin. The result is shown in the pictures. Minimal space required, zero cost. With 400 cucuzze, it’s worth inviting a beautiful lady to dinner!
Melting should be done outdoors, away from flammable materials. Be careful not to boil the lead, it explodes! I didn’t know the trick of using a wet stick to make the hole; I struggled quite a bit to do it gradually with my drill. Gym weights or concrete casting are also excellent solutions.
Congratulations to everyone.Ciao
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
I picked up a couple of cheap dumbbells in the Aldi middle isle a good while back. They did nothing for my pecs but two of the weights have been on my EQ6 for over 15 years now. (The hole is oversize but clamping between two standard weight with sticky backed velcro has held them in place.)
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ARGOS ?
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I have to say the leadwork looks really nice. Very neat – and probably even better after Hammerite. The sort of thing I would have rushed to do as a teenager. 🙂
Am kind of leaning toward the Olympic weights though. I wondered about stainless versions but they are more expensive – as you might expect. So something cast iron seems the best bet with an extra coating of paint and possibly one of these (see below) araldited to the inside to avoid it shaking about + velcro as Robin suggested.
A shame that no astro engineering company offers lathed rings to allow the conversion of weights for Paramounts and other makes.
Grant, if you already have two Paramount weights you can trap your weightling weight between them, therefore no need for velcro or any other type of fixing.
Peter
Yes, I have 2 weights and a 5kg – a conversion job.
The fun is that I want to use it with a 1980s C14, which is hefty and… its got a somewhat over engineered (15kg) cradle holding it. So, with focuser we’re looking at >35.5kg load. I know its on the edge for balance but certainly will be if I add something like a filter wheel and OAG. I have to say I’m tempted to stay with the current counterweights and extend the counterweight arm – though playing with molten lead again would be fun.
As for all this talk of molten metals: don’t try this at home kids.
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<p class=”wp-dark-mode-bg-image”>As for all this talk of molten metals: don’t try this at home kids.The important word here is “kids”.
I very much doubt that anyone here is a kid,
Oh, I don’t know. I think I joined for the first time when I was 12.
Lead counterweights were quite common then. My 4″ Newtonian had one.
I’m really not sure when I grew up enough to assess risks accurately and mitigate them. Brain development is supposed to stop at about 24 isn’t it? 🙂
I very much doubt that anyone here is a kid,
You never know who is eavesdropping though. Google has already indexed this thread
(I see the forum software has attributed the quote to the wrong person for some reason)
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I thought that in the advanced field of information technology, where remote observation reigns supreme, I was the only DIY enthusiast still using manual tools such as lead melting (melted in the garden!), tuna cans, hand drills, etc.
This discussion excites me because it takes me back in time to the distant 1960s, when I was still a teenager and made mirrors from scrap glass from the glazier and frames from materials salvaged from scrap yards and scrap metal dealers in my town.
Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in this conversation.
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