Hi Mark,

I don't know the specific answers to your questions, but you might want to
contact John McCubbin (mccubbin@...). His Halfmoon Observatory
(http://www.usit.com/mccubbin/astronomy.html) looks great and has some nice
design ideas. John is very helpful.

His metal pier/concrete deadman design has several neat features. First,
different hollow metal tube piers can be interchanged easily (with some
grunting). Second, it looks really massive (Le Seur's AstroPiers suggests
using much less concrete, which is probably unwise for an observatory,
particularly if you ever want to do imaging). I'd tend to err on the side of
using too much concrete placed too deeply. Third, the base of the tube that
mates with the ring (that bolts to the metal atop the concrete deadman) is
reinforced w/metal ribs (gussets?).

If you go this route, and if you use a wood floor instead of a concrete
slab, John's design makes it easy to remove the pier and cover the deadman
with wood flooring (you have to make sure that the bolts coming out of the
deadman are below the level of the bottom of the wood floor). If your
observatory is designed with flexibility in mind, it can be used as a garden
tool storage shed or a kid's playhouse by whoever buys your house (i.e. the
structure will ADD to the value of your home).

I'm in the next to final design stage for my own backyard observatory. I'd
love to toss some ideas around, if you like.


Best,
John Kasianowicz