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5/26/2007 - The Secondary Cage "Hat Box"

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When in storage and transit, the mirror box and rocker protect the primary mirror. The Secondary Cage is open on both ends and its sides are made of thin, flexible Kydex....definately not a good container for the secondary mirror. So, to protect the ENTIRE Secondary Cage and mirror we constructed a "hat box" made of a piece of 30 inch concrete form tube (otherwise known as Sono-tube), some styrofoam, felt, and a couple of plywood disks. I'd like to thank Wayne Alderman for providing me with the concrete form tube, he definately saved my a lot of effort, not to mention the cost. Thanks Wayne!

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My brother routers out the 3/8" exterior grade plywood for the lid and bottom. Your truly drilling holes for the nails that will hold the bottom in while the glue dries. Why pilot nail holes? Nailing without pilot holes into the EDGE of 3/8" exterior grade plywood will most likely split the laminated sheets. Snug as a bug in a rug....not quite. The 30 inch diameter concrete form provides enough room for the finder plate and focuser. In the bottom half you can see where I added felt-lined styrofoam "L" supports to keep the Secondary Cage centered and also keep it from sitting on the pole seats. Hat box with lid. All I need to do now is spray with Thompson's Water Seal and add some handles.

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