ALMIRA  OBSERVATORY |
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A suburban observatory in Worcestershire, UK based on a metal garden shed |
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| Construction 7 - Building the Roof Carriage |
| The observatory roof consists of the original shed roof mounted on a wooden frame, to which are attached the roof wheels and the roof securing bolts. This whole structure then runs back and forth along the top of the two 4.5 metre (15 foot) long roof rails that make up the top of the wooden frame. I decided to go with the opinion of one clear roof panel for part of the north-facing part of the roof in order to let light into the observatory during the day. | ||
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First I put together the basic skeleton of the roof. This
gave me an idea of how the whole thing went together and allowed me to work out
the exact dimensions for the roof carriage.
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Next I built the basic roof carriage out of 75 mm x 25 mm (3 inch x 1 inch). timber. | |
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I'm afraid I cheated a bit on the joints on the roof
carriage. I used two 100mm screws and two brackets. I was
thinking of using lap joints, but I have doubts whether my carpentry skills are
up it Anyway, it all seems solid enough. The wheels are 50 mm
rubber wheels from Screwfix (item #94751).
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| I sanded down the tops of the roof rails to help the carriage run smoother and quieter. On the outside of each rail I screwed lengths of 15mm x 18mm planed wood to act as guide rails. |
.I then screwed on another four wheels and four mounting
blocks for the roof lockdown system (see later). The frame for
the roof was then screwed to the roof carriage.
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Last updated - 2nd September 2006
Copyright© 2006 Michael Morris