The three pads of Teflon are nailed down with finishing nails. The finishing nails are driven down below the Teflon surface slightly. The Teflon pads are on the bottom so that dirt that might collect will fall away from the bearing surface. The taffy colored disk is an antique computer hard disk. In place of this disk you can use plywood that is laminated to Formica. This is available at Home Depot. I greased the pads with a bit of silicon grease. The farther the pads are from the center bolt the greater the friction. The friction of the altitude and the azimuth bearing should be about equal.

Note that the 'center' bolt is not in the center. This is because the stationary base is supposed to have three short legs to form a tripod. Two legs on the right and one on the left. This telescope uses four wheels but if that is not satisfactory you can still slip three bricks under the bottom to lift the wheels off the ground. The wheels make it possible to quickly pull the scope outside for a quick look at a comet on a cold night without missing the TV weather. During assembly the lag bolt is pulled snug then loosened a quarter turn.

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