Skywatcher/Celestron Eyepiece Tray Modification

[Geoff Lister]

I have found that the eyepiece holder/tripod leg locking tray supplied with the cheaper Skywatcher and Celestron tripods does not make for easy use in the dark. The photo shows my modification, and the tools (+ electric drill) that I used to add a few holes to keep my eyepieces in order, and reduce the risk of knocking them off. You can get 3 holes for 1.25" eyepieces on each side and still clear the three cross-braces.

My rotary saw gave me a hole of about 30mm diameter, and then, using an eyepiece for trial fit, I used the Stanley knife, file and sandpaper to enlarge the hole to give clearance for a comfortable fit without the eyepiece falling through.

The extra ventilation does not seem to affect the rigidity of the tray.

Now I can keep my eyepieces in rank order, and, as a bonus, I now have 6 plastic washers about 30mm OD / 7 mm ID.

Geoff

[laudropb]

Very nice piece of DIY

[Astro Imp]

Clever, well done.

[Woolnut]

Nice work, have considered doing something similar to the tray for my EQ3-2 Mount! Unfortunately the size of it doesn't really give the tray much purpose other than to add a little more stability to the mount...   At least doing something like this makes it useful!