I called them, and talked to the guy's wife, and she sent me a catalog for nothing.
I am going to either buy some components from them, or send them the $2.00 that they say the catalog costs in the S&T ad.
This catalog is paperback book sized, and is 58 pages long. Crammed with useful information, dimensions, materials, and 50 or 60 photographs of mounts, clock drives, and piers.
Top notch.
I don't want this guy to get flooded with requests for the catalog and have to shell out a pile of money to send them, so please, if you want one, send the guy $2.00 it's really worth it.
He is:
Opti-Craft Machining 33918 Macomb Farmington, Michigan 48335 (810) 476-5893 (It's his home. He's home after 7:00 PM, and weekends)
His mounts are all German Equatorial, 9 different models.
Models 1 and 2 are machined pipe fittings.
Models 3 - 9 are ball bearing pillow block designs on both axis.
Model Shaft Weight of mount Price 1 2.0 40 # $290 2 2.437 52 # $350 3 1.0 60 # $550 4 1.5 95 # $710 5 2.0 162 # $1250 6 2.5 210 # $1695 7 3.0 280 # $2700 8 3.5 596 # $3635 9 4.0 720 # $4780
Now mounts #1 and 2 just don't turn me on since they are 1.5 Inch diameter pipe fittings. These are not your ordinary pipe fittings with the threads as the bearing surfaces, they are machined, and have proper polar and declination shafts. Mount #2 can be outfitted with thrust bearings for $85
Mount #3 is the first in the 3-9 series that uses pillow block bearings and steel plates. Nice, Nice, Nice.
I'll tell you a bit more about #3:
The polar axis has two pillow block bearings 12 Inches apart, and the end of the shaft has a 4 Inch diameter end plate 1.5 Inches thick. The polar shaft is 1.0 Inches diameter, and 24 Inches long.
The declination axis has two pillow block bearings 12 Inches apart on a 40 Inch long 1.0 Inch diameter shaft. There is a collar connecting two 1 Inch diameter shafts, The upper shaft is 22 Inches long, and the lower one is 18 Inches long. The lower shaft is where you add your counterweights, and does not need to be kept at 18 Inches long.
He also makes clock-drive assemblies 5.6 Inch to 24 Inch in diameter. These worm wheels, and gears meet A.G.M.A Class 15 standards.
I looked in a PIC design catlog, and they get $200 for a Class 10 5.6 Inch diameter worm wheel ALONE! So I think the drives are a steal.
So to make a killer mount, buy mount #3 for $550, Two clock drive units one for RA and one for DEC at $360 EACH and a wedge for $150 That's a mere $1420. (If you don't gulp here, you're too rich)
The cheapest mount (#1 $290 + RA motor $360 is $650)
I think I'll buy one or two drives, and build the rest since I have access to machining, and bearings for cheap.
So, go earn that money, and get a great mount.
(Or build a Dobson mount if that's your thing)
-Alan Kilian