Rebuilding | Week 1 | Week 2/3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 10 | Misc Thoughts

Sunday, February 23, 2003

Today I began the re-rebuilding of my table. I had decided that I needed to shift some of the weight from under the inner tubes to above as well as add a canopy to the top to prevent air drafts from causing problems.  With those goals in mind I took the table apart.

Here's the the table, stripped down to the the four cinder block supports.  There are four carpet strips and two layers of thin bubble-wrap used as an insulator between the supports and the plywood.

Now I've got the first layer of plywood down with Sorbothane spheres on top.

Now the inner tubes with the extensions that allow me to inflate and deflate the tubes without taking the table apart.

It was about this point that I decided that merely shifting the weight wasn't going to be enough.  What I really needed to do was add more weight.  My third table (more than a decade ago, this new table you see here is technically my sixth) had a top that was composed of cinder blocks bound together with threaded rod.  That table worked quite well and I decided to duplicate it here.

Monday, February 24, 2003

Off I went to the hardware store to purchase 14 8x8" cinder blocks and two 10' lengths of 1/2" threaded rod along with washers and nuts for the ends.

Here's the new top.  I estimate that it weighs about 180lbs.  That's one reason that I've changed the orientation of the table.  I'm not sure how much weight the I-beam supports in the floor will hold so I've rotated the table so that more supports are being used.

A side view of the table sandwich.

Preparing the end caps.  I had intended to fill the center of the blocks with insulating foam but the foam I'd chosen doesn't expand the way I thought it would.  Because of that, I ended up just putting the foam in between each block.

Bolted together and drying.

Three layers of bubble-wrap.

This is the final particle board sandwich topped with 1/4" steel.  I've "glued" the layers together with roofing tar although I may dump the particle board in favor of epoxying the steel right on top of the cinder blocks.

Tuesday, February 24, 2003

Here's the canopy nearly completed.  The frame is simply screwed onto the end caps and the plastic held in place with bolts.

I've got two magnets that I use to hold the plastic open while working on the table.  The light at the left is the output from the interferometer setup.

Setting up to shoot Snoopy.

Rebuilding | Week 1 | Week 2/3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 10 | Misc Thoughts