Setup setup setup

In order to be able to take long exposure photographs (anything up to 10 mins for some objects), the Polar alignment of the scope needs to be as close to perfect as possible.  I found setup was taking a LOT of time each night (upwards of 2 hrs) so decided to put in a permanent pier.  That would allow me to perform an accurate polar alignment and not need to redo it each night.  That and the fact that kicking the tripod legs halfway through an imaging run was turning the night air blue with expletives.


Digging a 3 ft cubed hole in the ground showed me I'm not as fit as I used to be. 

The concrete delivery (minimum 1 cubic metre) looked like it was a LOT more than I needed, I had calculated that I'd need approx 0.92 cubic metres. So got going and would decide what to do if it looked like I was way over. Filled 6" of concrete, set in the first of 3 rebar cages I'd made, more concrete rebar concrete rebar until ground level reached, my daughter was a great help on poker duty.

When I reached ground level, placed the pier form I'd pre-made (245mm O/D unlined piling tube from EssexTubes) to a height of 2 foot 6 inches. Filled the pier (rebar rods to the base of the footing used for extra support).

Finishing off

You may have noticed that its no longer square. Given that it's easier to get rid of soil than concrete, the length was widened a little down to a depth of 6 inches on either side which was enough for the remaining concrete.

Lastly some cover to keep the frost at bay while it cures

Last piece of the puzzle was a custom made pier top.

And here it is, my finished pier.  Ignore the white circular thing in the background, someone told me it'd improve my golf swing but it never did :-)