In praise of the "Lifesaver" Bolt!

[Macavity]

Hardly "DIY Astronomy" and I'm sure far from being original, but yesterday
I was pondering / praising a *Lifesaver Bolt*. You might use them too? 

Modern, precision-made Mount Saddles are a GREAT thing (I love ADM!)
but I am reminded how a MAK 127 "slipped out" (from another make). 
Being a MAK127, it survived impact with chipboard floor (and retained
collimation! lol) But I still recall that sickening THUMP behind my back...

As a get old(er) and feeble(r) I need a bit of help holding the scope while
I screw up to the saddle knobs! "Hooking over" the above helps a lot!
(It can of course be retained by either a dedicated NUT or a Scope Ring)

[parallaxerr]

That's a great idea. I have found fitting my scope to my new HEQ5 a bit sketchy due to the height it sits at on the pier extension, basically eye level. Think I'll be adding one of these for peace of mind, at least.

[xtreemchaos]

great minds think alike, got safety bolts on all my dove tails since allowing my 200p to slip off, my foot saved the day but ive leant my lession. charl.

[ronl]

That's a really good idea, thanks for the tip, that will be done as soon as the rain ☔ stops.

[Merlin66]

I use Losmandy sized dovetails and highly recommend the safety clamp....this allows you to safely slide the dovetail into the saddle where the clamp takes the load.

Highly recommended.

(I think it was AstroDevelopments who sold them:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270977887187?rmvSB=true)

 

[Alien 13]

I still use a few diy lanyards on my mount made from things I find in the "pound shop" and of course the bolt on the dovetail.

Alan

[brantuk]

Yup - I use safety bolts on all my dovetails too. Or I bolt on a mini clamp under the top end of the dovetail bar. Great advice MacC!