Split Mirror Box?

As a solution to the weight of my mirror box (15" Dob, 2" thick Swayze Mirror)and the problem of thermal equilibrium, I have toyed with the idea of a "latitudinal" split of my mirror box aprox 1/3 of the way up from the mirror cell. This could be accomplished with a clean cut around the preimeter, appropriate bracing of the corners, toolbox/cabinet latches - as in on a guitar case - and a pin in hole mechanism to allow fixed positioning. The advantage here would be a more secure means of transporting the primary - less weight and bulk - and the option of setting this smaller mirror box (which would contain the mirror in its cell) aside for cooling etc. I am surprised that this has not been done - or has it. Any thoughts?
Joe

Joe, that's exactly the setup I have on my circa 1984 13" Dob. When I get a better shot of it I'll post it.

Here's a not so good shot, but you can see one of the latches that hold the cell on, and where the split is (about six inches up from the bottom). The main reason I did this was because the scope had to fit into the Dodge Omni I had at the time I built it. It was the only way to make the tube short enough to fit in the car. I got my inspiration from Richard Berry's plywood tube 20" that he had built back then. In his both the mirror cell and secondary cage were removable.

Sounds like a good idea to me!

Doug

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Well, I for one can see no downside to splitting it. You might just make it sort of a removable mirror cell? Just the very lower part could be split off so that the mirror surface was close to the top for cleaning purposes?
You could use dowel pins or something easy to guide and position it and some of those nice military type clamps for connecting them. Like in this picture of a case I have.
Let us know what you do and how it comes out.
Floyd

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