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I have two of these bases and I guess it's a matter of you get what you pay for - and we didn't pay that much, really - certainly not the price of a well-machined precision optical device and mount.
So many of us end up fiddling around. Away you go - add plates, put bolts right through the particle board etc.
I see that Bintel add an extra sheet of notes, including advice to watch the staples working up above the surface of the teflon. I purchased some new pads and they came with screws and countersunk holes in the teflon. You might try replacing staples with screws, if the staples persist in misbehaving.
I've already swapped the springs upside down on my 8" having seen them this way in a Zhumell manual I saw on the web. (I think Zhumell is a beanding of GSOs in the USA.) That meant some new bolts (stainless) added. By this I mean the spring is fixed to the base and I put them up onto the OTA. (Remembering to put my foot on the base first or the whole lot lifts off the ground!
I don't have a problem with lateral movement on the Alt bearings on my 8", but I know the previous owner observed it on the 12". He had added digital encoders to the axes, so it was a bit of a problem. It may be flexing of the larger 12" base. I've been thinking of how to add a brace between the top two corners of the base, after the OTA has been put into place. Might even put a nice eyepiece rack on that brace!
Magnets covered in felt - yes, I use those for balance. Neat, because you can just reach down and slide it up and down a bit as you change eyepieces or elevation. However, a bit of dew and too much elevation and the magnet takes off. No worse sound then a brief swish, followed by clunk and thunk as the magnet slides down, hits the primary mirror flange and falls off into the dirt!
Have fun - make it better!
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