Does anyone know of any after market dovetail plates for the C-11 SCT....I am using the orange alumininum standard base plate that come with the OTA but find due to the extra weight I have there is a fair bit of flex in the plate itself......
I have seen pictures of different base plates...but dont know where to purchase one...and yes it has to be solid....
I have asked OPT in the states and they have nothing...
Hi Tony,
make one.
I did, well not exactly, but bought some standard 100x12mm alloy bar stock, and also bought a 60 degree mill cutter. I knew a friendly machinist and got him to mill them for me. I have had a 10" Maksutov Newton on one, and not much flex (although the scope/rings etc was only 16 kilos).
E mail me privately if I can help, or Skype me gbealnz.
Gary
Should be no problem Striker. I'll just wait for mine to arrive so I can have a good look at it and sort out exactly what to do. I don't know how long that will be. I've waited a month so far and Lee (from Andrews Comm) says he's having trouble getting stock from the US, hopefully it will come in the next few weeks.
It will cost bugger all. Just the cost of material and postage. I'd reckon solid Aluminium would be strong enough (like what Gary's done). I'll ask around work for a rough estimate on how much the material is worth but I'll give you a price before I start. Unfortunately I haven't got any aluminium that size at work that could "go missing".
While Losmandy rails are freely available from the US (Astromart especially) I would still mill one locally if you can find the person to do it. (as it seems you have).
The rail can be anything from 6mm thick, to whatever your wallet and back, not to mention sanity, will stand. For some reason I settled on 12mm x 100mm but it could quite easily have been 9mm x 100. I made a couple of thin guidescope rails from 6mm x 80mm for the Losmandy guidescope rings, and this works well. For a lightweight refractor I would suggest 9mm, but given the requirements at the start of this thread, 12mm is where I would go.
Gary
Thanks Gary......I will take that on board...I'm sure Jonathon understands the strength needed...he will see the standard Dovetail on his OTA when he receives it and will see my point regarding flex.
Like you said just a solid piece of aluminium should do the job.
Tony,
just thinking a little more on this.
The rails I have had made have been flat on both sides, and this won't bode too well with your curved cells, where the rail will ultimately mount. In the rail I sorted for Robby (C9.25"), i made a rail, and then a set of radius blocks. If you buy the genuine Losmandy kit then these are standard, and if you are in the DIY league like me, you make them. In Rob's case I made them from polyethelene, or whatever it was called. I used a router, and "swung" it in an arc, with the radius the same as the tube radius. The blocks then fit between the rail, and the cell(s), giving a firm, solid fit.
Not rocket science, it is just me being miserable.
If you need a picture, ask Rob, as he has them now.
Gary
The rails I have had made have been flat on both sides, and this won't bode too well with your curved cells, where the rail will ultimately mount.
There won't be a problem making some radius seats for the tube to sit in. I have CNC machines and CAD/CAM software at my disposal. Just a matter of waiting for my OTA to arrive so I can measure it up.
