Dovetail Plates

More Information  · Images of Some Features Price $50.00 Weight 13.6 oz. Warranty 2 years

The Astro-Tech universal dovetail is designed primarily to hold the mounting rings of long focal length Astro-Tech, TeleVue, Parks, Takahashi, and Meade refractors, plus those of the larger Astro-Tech, Questar, Meade, and Celestron catadioptric optical tubes.

The dovetail has two unthreaded 6.9mm diameter mounting holes at the ends of the dovetail and two 0.25" wide x 6.1" long slots on the plate’s centerline for attaching rings and other accessories using 1/4"-20 or metric bolts. The configuration of the slots and mounting holes is shown in the engineering drawing in the feature image below. This combination of mounting holes and slots allows you to install virtually any configuration of mounting rings.

The underside of the dovetail is routed out to a depth of 10mm so that the mounting holes and slots are all effectively countersunk into the underside of the dovetail. This assures that the heads of the bolts holding the mounting rings will not protrude and keep the dovetail plate from sliding back and forth in the mount saddle for balancing.

There is also a 1/4"-20 thread hole at each end of the plate. This lets you install 1/4"-20 bolts in the holes to act as safety stops. These will keep the dovetail from sliding out of the mount saddle unexpectedly should the mount’s locking knob loosen accidentally.

The 5/8" thick dovetail is precision-machined of aluminum stock. It measures 15" long x 42mm wide at its widest point (36mm wide across the top ring mounting surface) and is anodized a handsome dark forest green for good looks and durability. It weighs 13.6 ounces.