Fixing My G-11 Mount so that it Tracks!

I had been working all summer trying to get this mount polar aligned but no it would not happen.

The best I could do is get it within 20 minutes any closer and it would just bounce to some other distance anywhere between

10 to 40 minutes from when I had just locked it down :(   Having taken my telescope in to mount a 80mm refractor on it.

I decided to bring the mount inside to check out why I have been having so much trouble, being new to astronomy I though it was me.

I got out my dial indicator set it on the polar shaft and to my surprise it moved .015 inches. Well here was a good reason

I couldn't polar align the darn scope below are my fixes. The first thing I found was that instead of using a tapered bearing

it was using needle bearing shells without the hardened insert riding instead on the center less ground stainless shaft.

These bearing were the ones that were in the mount. The needle bearing on the right was slopping on the axis shaft.

This was made for a 1.250 shaft but the shaft was 1.248 and the there was a lot more than .002 slop!

The center picture is the bottom thrush bearings and when the clutch was tightened too much it make the mount cam.

(start stop motion)

These are the tapered roller bearing that I will support the top and bottom of the axis shafts.

I moved the bolts that held the top plate and made a new bearing cup to hold the new bearing.

On the right is the old bearing cub and the left is the one I made.

The polar axis with both bearing installed.

Now on to the dec axis and to the spring loaded worm gears and then with any luck there will be a lot less slop

 

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