About

This meeting is for those that have taken one or more BARN Metal Arts Machine Shop classes or are a member of the Battle Point Astronomical Association (BPAA).

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BPAA and Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) are collaborating to make improvements at the Battle Point Astronomical Association Observatory. We will be upgrading the Ritchie Telescope drive and control systems, repairing the observatory dome, and widening the dome aperture and shutter. 

Recently BPAA and BARN were awarded a Cultural Funding Grant of $20,000 by the City of Bainbridge Island (COBI) in support of this effort. The grant will cover the cost of materials. Labor will be provided by volunteers who take classes at BARN to learn things like machining, welding, woodworking, and electronics. With these skills, volunteers will continue work in open studio time to complete the parts and assemblies, then install them at the observatory.

We are going to be making parts from machine drawings (Parts from Prints) to upgrade the declination drive on the Ritchie Telescope at Battle Point. This is a great opportunity to work on intermediate level machine parts with the assistance of an instructor. 

Each team will take responsibility for developing the processes and procedures to make the parts from prints. Over several sessions, to be held at times agreeable to the teams, you will actually fabricate and inspect the parts. This will be an intermediate level series of classes and participants must have taken the Introduction to Milling and one of the lathe classes as a minimum. Former Metal Arts Open studio participation is a plus as most of these are not simple parts.

Contact: Peter Moseley at Metal.Lead@BainbridgeBARN.org