[davewaldo]

Hi Everyone,

Well I've decided to build a pier in my backyard. However I won't be able to leave the eq mount out there all the time so I want to have a top plate for my pier which allows me to remove the eq mount head, and re-attach it without losing eq alignment (as much as possible anyways). I'm doing all this as my time that I can dedicate to this hobby is very limited, so when I have a good night I want to be able to setup quickly. (Or just for a quick visual obs).

So I've come up with the design below. This system incorporates the usual two plate system to level the top of the pier, but then has a third plate which screws down on 1.5 inch (or bigger if needed) stainless steel balls which are recessed into both the top plates (sit in 3/4" holes). The top plate would stay permanently attached to the eq mount head and would come away with it when detached from the pier.

The balls would act to automatically centre the top plate into the same position it was in last time it was installed (as long as the top knob bolts are screwed down relatively evenly).

So call me crazy if you think its all a bit silly, but do you think it will work?

This drawing is not to scale, its just to give an idea of what I'm on about.

Cheers,

David.