Belt modifying an NEQ-6 pro astrophotographic mount - Part 4

[@gansri4819]

Excellent videos Bill. You mentioned that the worm gears were still resisting but smooth. I wonder if the bearings need greasing before installation ( as per Astrobaby ) even though they are sealed.

[@OpticsCentralAustralia]

Yes, I probably should have changed the main bearings when I did the work, but getting the shim widths right was more complicated than I wanted to get. After speaking with an expert though, I've changed my mind about sticky unclutched axes. They're not really a problem while guiding because they're clutched. They take a bit of balancing though, and even then, you're never really sure how good your balance is. With my scope's very short 560mm focal length, super accurate guiding isn't quite so important, so "your mileage may vary".

[@talakerman5997]

Great series ! Did you grease the shaft itself ? Can you please describe all part that you greased except the brass worm-gear , the worm, and the bearings ? I had very hard time extracting the brass worm-gear, I'm afraid there will be issues replacing it back.

[@OpticsCentralAustralia]

Basically I greased everything that was going to be moving, including parts that would only need it during the installation process. So yes, I greased the shafts in preparation for installing them into the bearings that were in place already. Installing the shaft was tricky, because the tolerances are very small. If you get the shaft crooked inside a bearing it sticks very tightly. I think you can grease pretty much everything. If it's not actually required, it won't hurt. It's not a dusty environment inside the mount, so the grease will remain pretty stable.

[@ergio1]

Very nice 👍 thanks for sharing

[@OpticsCentralAustralia]

Thanks! I hope this series of videos will be of use to people trying this common modification.

[@TheZ3roCool]

Great vido series....did you put the 2 bearings back in under the Caps either end?

[@OpticsCentralAustralia]

Yes, you can see the new bearings in their packaging on the workbench at about 3:30 in this part. There's a better diagrammatic explanation of how the worm shaft is re-installed in part 5 starting at about 7:30. The bearings go back with one on each end of the shaft.