Make this Solid 60 mm Guide Scope Mount - Cheap!

For the "dovetail" track portion of this setup see the article on the sliding weight setup, this uses the same track. Owners of non 8" scopes see the special note in that article as well!

The CCD guide I scope I have is quite short ( see guide scope article ) so only 1 ring as above is all that was needed. If you are using a longer scope you will need to use two of the rings, with 3 adjustment screws in the center of each ring instead of on each end as I have done. For this project you will need the following items:

• The "dovetail" track as described previously.
• Either 1 or 2 "rings". These are simply a very large "pot metal" electrical conduit connector available in the electrical department of home stores.
• Six 1/4" "T" Nuts, these are a threaded insert with a flange, available at hardware or home stores.
• Six Wing Bolts (about 1" long). Good luck, seemed like everyone only had 5 of the same type (arggh!!) See Tip Below
• Some epoxy glue and black paint (for black paint I highly recommend "Krylon Semi Flat Black", it is simply the best!).
• Four or Six 1/4" SQUARE nuts, note they MUST be square, not hex nuts.
• Two 1/2" long 1/4" screws to fit the above nuts.

The conduit connector (from now on called "ring") has a portion where there is a place for 4 screws, this will be the bottom of the ring and will face the track. Drill a hole in the front and rear of this portion for the screws that will mount it to the track. Mark out either 3 or 6 holes for the adjustment screws depending on 1 or 2 ring setup. Drill the holes so the "T" nuts will fit nicely through them. The "T" nuts I bought were oval shaped and hugged the inside wall of the ring well, if you can only find the more popular round flanged "T" nuts you may have to grind a bit off each side to get them to "hug" the inside wall so there is plenty of adjustment room available. Epoxy the "T" nuts into the ring, use the epoxy sparingly and let dry completely. Paint the ring, insert the wing bolts and screw it onto the rail using the square nuts inside the rail to hold it. The ring(s) may be slid anywhere on the track and tightened there. I used 2 of the square nuts as standoffs (between the track and OTA) so the track is above the OTA enough to allow me to slide my dew heater under it. The setup is actually quite sturdy once it is all screwed down. If you have a long OTA you may want to rig a non marring brace or two between the track and the OTA to help eliminate twisting (square self-stick rubber feet of the proper thickness so that they are slightly compressed when the track is tightened down may work well). There isn't a whole lot of room between a 60mm scope OTA and this ring setup. There is plenty for adjustment, but not really enough to mount plastic protectors on the ends of the wing bolts. I just wrapped some black electrical tape around the scope tube to protect it from scratching (you can also smooth the bolt ends some on a grinder or with a file). If you are a real craftsman you can drill a hole in the end of each bolt and insert a piece of plastic rod as a protector. For CCD guiding you are probably better off with as solid a connection between the bolts and OTA as possible anyway. Be careful tightening those wingbolts, you can easily generate enough force to bend or dent the OTA if you're heavy handed. I have found this setup to work quite well on my 8" scope, differential flexure has not been a problem. Of course I have a fairly small and light guide scope. If you use a long scope mount each ring as close as possible to the ends of the track (near the mount screws) for the best support.

A tip from Ran Talbott: "As an alternative to wingbolts, you can get plastic caps that snap onto Allen screws. They give the same

effect as a knurled head screw. Home Depot has them but they're kinda pricey, Reid Tool sells them loose at a much saner price."

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