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Congrats Steve with your new scope..I have one of these beauties and done a few mods to it as well..
I sealed all the exposed particleboard edges of the base assembly with a smear of silicone and allow to dry before putting it all together.
Use a good quality car wax and give the white laminate surface a go over..it wouldn't hurt to give the white enamal on the optical tube the same treatment!!
The side bearings didn't give me any trouble with squeaks..but you could try rubbing a candle on them and buff off after.
The secondary mirror adjustment screws..(4mm x 20mm allen head grub screws)..started to burr after the first attempt to collimate and were replaced with better quality ones from the local bolt supplier..(about $7.00 for 20).
The focuser rack-and-pinion drive was de-greased and replaced with high-temp bearing grease..the focuser sleeve was removed and given a very light buff with a dry soft cloth...after careful assembly and adjustment it performs very smoothly!!
I found a small cooling fan from a computer..made a bracket from a sheet of 3-ply with a few spacers..(about 10mm)..to make some room between the fan and mirror cell..power the fan with a small 9 volt battery will last about 2 hours.
Once collimated..(which is a delight to do!)..I find it holds it's collimation quite well even after long trips and requires a minor tweek!
I used the original packing moulds halves cut down to size and glued into the original box to make an insert for the carboot to transport the optical tube which is held in place with a pair of occky straps.
I too like to tinker..so I built another mount..(motorized)..which I mainly use and kept the original to store the scope on.
Finally..wishing you many years of viewing pleasure!
Cheers!
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