[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

Originally Posted by raymo

If you have a Skywatcher Newt with a steel plate covering the back of
the primary mirror, you have probably never realised how heavy the plate
is. The plate on my 8" weighs 300gr, twice as heavy as my 9x50mm
finderscope. If you are operating your mount near it's max, it would be worth replacing the plate with a home made plastic one [ about 25gr].
ray

Hi Ray,

Sounds good in theory, but plastic has quite a lot of expansion and contraction with temperature change.
Not good for keeping collimation.

Cheers,

Justin.