Re: ATM Best Counterweight Material

[Frank Di Marzio <frank@trinity.unimelb.edu.au>]

>Iridium is even denser.
>Around 1420.
>Platinum may be the way to go, if you are on a budget though.

If you've got a largish telescope and need fairly big counterweights, the
cheapest (and quite effective) material is discarded engine flywheels. You
can cut and chip off the gear ring, remove any surface rust (and perhaps
even repaint them) leaving a nice "counterweight". Brake and clutch places
are usually happy to give them to you for nothing as long as you are
prepared to haul it out of their garages.  

Apparently these flywheels can also be used as bar weights for a bench press.

Cheers,
Frank