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One of the final things to do is to attach the
bearings. Place them against the side of the mirror box where they
should go, set up the scope, and
figure out if it balances. I used 1 1/2" screws for this
attachment. If it is not correct, move the
bearings. Try it with the lightest setup you will use (no eyepiece) and
the heaviest eyepiece that you have. Be sure to do this with the
finder and baffling in place.
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Place a series of plastic washers around the center nylon bolt
going through the rocker box and ground board. These are
generally cut out of milk jugs. You want most, but not all, of
the telescopes weight to sit on these washers, creating a bearing with
a small moment arm. This makes the telescope turn very easily in
the azimuth direction.
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You may need to put some Teflon spray
on the bearings. WD-40 also seems to work.
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You may want to cut down the
bearings, by removing portions of the arc that are never used. This is
done by pointing the scope straight up, then
another 10 degrees, and marking where the Teflon touches the
primary bearings. Then, place the scope horizontal, and once
again mark where the Teflon bearings touch. Cut the excess
material off of the bearings. Round the bearings with the sander.
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