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A COVER FOR YOUR DIAGONAL
Sometimes the obvious eludes us. For
years I covered the diagonals in my scopes with plastic baggies. They'd
blow away, get lost, rip, you name it. Finally, one day it occurred to
me while holding an empty tin can that such a can of just the right size
could be used to slip over a round diagonal holder and keep the dust and
dirt off the mirror. Unlike a bag it wouldn't blow away or rip and would
be substantial enough to remain around for a while. I rooted around and
found an old straight sided plastic bottle just a bit larger than the diagonal
holder for my 2.18" secondary mirror. Thirty seconds with the band saw
and the top was cut off making a plastic version of the tin can. I got
out some 1/16" black felt and found that by lining the interior of the
bottle with two layers (held on with double sided tape) it would just slide
over the holder and stay put. The bottle was spray painted green (I had
some green spray paint hanging around) and voila! - a super
little diagonal cover. I have another one made out of a 2" diameter fruit
juice can. Cost for this project, $0.00. A final wrinkle might be placing
some desiccant in a bag at the bottom end of the can so after closing up
for the night any moisture on the diagonal will be absorbed and the surface
kept dry.
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