The rocker box is complete, pretty much following the original design for it. Instead of cutting a concave semi-circle for the bearing supports, as seems to be the common practice, I mounted Teflon pads on a 22.5 degree angle to support each bearing at two points. With my toolkit and skill level this was more foolproof and, in my opinion, just as effective. I also used Teflon pads against the outer sides of the bearings (see photo set for images) to hold the mirror box steady horizontally. I discovered a flaw in my design - the front two struts will not fit onto the mounting bolts because the bearing is too close to the mounting bracket. I'll need to cut a channel for the mounting boltso that the strut can slide into the bracket from the top.

Dissatisfied with the original lid, which was made from Masonite and hinges that I had on hand at the time, I built a new one with quarter-inch sandply and more attractive cabinet door hinges.

Images documenting my progress building v.2 can be found in this Flickr photo set.

The altitude bearings are complete and attached to the mirror box. I used a bit more of the aluminum stock here to put decorative caps on the ends of the bearings, and also to space the bearings 1/8" from the mirror box to allow some 'slop' in the movement without rubbing between the mirror box and the rocker box. The next order of business is to design and build the rocker box, then cut the struts. Images of telescope v.2 are in this photo set.