Always do this......

[pyrasanth]

Gravity is your friend & enemy. I was adjusting the Celestron RASA on the mount to balance in declination. I got into the habit of always fitting the safety screws at the top & bottom of the tube. I do this automatically whenever I mount an OTA. I loosened the main locks on the Paramount to move the OTA....and slip at high speed the tube shot down the losmandy fitting like a lifeboat down a ramp. If the safety bolts had not been in place the OTA would have been in bits on the ground. As they say.......one small step.....saved me from disaster!

Hope sharing this experience with you makes you as cautious as me.