cut the tube be done with it!
take your 50 bucks to either bintel/andrews depending on which one is cheaper get yourself a new 70mm secondary. get some silicone, take the old secondary off, stick the new secondary on. don't be scared
i just pulled mine off for the second time and re collimated the whole kit from complete pull down within 5 minutes
.
win win bigger full illumination, giving you fainter nebulosity from the center out to the edge
nice and cheap uni student style!