I think some folks would be interested in this status report. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: *Brian Skiff* <bas@xxxxxxxxxx> Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2015 Subject: [AZ-Observing] Lowell Clark refurbishment and re-installation To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Folks have asked me about progess on the refurbishment of the Lowell Clark refractor. Thanks to the dry winter, and the fact that the telescope mechanical parts presented fewer problems than might have been found, things are progressing very well. Briefly, every metal part from very big to very small, has been gone over or re-made. To give you an idea of the scale, the RA and Dec axles are 1100 pounds each, and the housing on each are another 1100 pounds. Those counterweights at the end of the Dec axle are 400 pounds each (six of 'em). Many of the parts at the business end of the telescope have been made new to look like copies of the originals, but better. (This mainly done by Peter Rosenthal.) Big engineering parts have been refinished and reassembled with current-technology and modern lubrication (for instance) so that things will not oxidize etc. There are now CAD drawings of everything, so that when we do this again a hundred years from now, there'll be something to work from. (The Clarks supplied no drawings or instruction manual!) The dome has also been completely gone over to make it structurally sound, back into code as far as electrical etc, decent lighting installed (at last!), and much else. The whole thing is going to look _beautiful_ when it's put back together. Ralph Nye, who is in charge of all this, has scheduled a crane for March 16 to start moving the mount back into the dome, and by March 19 the idea is to reassemble the telescope. They're talking sometime in May to have the telescope back on-line and fully functional. \Brian -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.