The baby Vixen, finally at a useable height - DIY bracket

[JOC]

Regular SGLer's will be aware that for some time I've looked at mounting options to put that 'baby' 1980's era Vixen 80S that I picked up 2nd hand a couple of years ago at a convenient useable height.  I'd tried the scope out on a camera tripod - a bit wobbly and difficult to smoothly shift the direction and been pleasantly surprised at its performance, even on things like the giant planets, and based on that I wanted to try it on something that would make following the planets and stars around in sky a lot easier.  The trouble was I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on a solution given that I hadn't paid a lot for the telescope.  I'd looked at several second hand systems and asked questions, but hadn't found anything fitting all my criteria.  The telescope had a limitation in the angle it had to sit on the mount - a fixed flat plate on it's base and an immovable finder scope location very much dictated the angle it could be held at on a mount - in short, it needed to sit on a mount bolt upright on its little plate which was just fitted with a single M6 thread hole (it's only a light telescope).

Enter @emadmoussa a few weeks ago with an upbranded tripod and mount inc. some dinky slow-mo turnable knobs and the needed top - a flat plate full of useable looking holes.  For £30 it had to be worth a punt and duly became mine.  Now, what I needed was a plate to attach between the telescope and the mount.  For this I deployed a 'tame' engineering type brother with kit to saw metal and drill holes, £4.30 bit of aluminium from ebay and about £2.50 of nuts and bolts from my local ironmongers who sell such things individually.   Pictures below of the final solution,  NB.  That isn't a gap between the plates the mount has a black flocked bar on each side to cradle a different scope which my bit of ali. sits on top of - the nylok nuts nicely fill this.

So what do you think of my sub £40 solution? 

I'm dead chuffed - the telescope is held firmly, securely and with those neat slow-mo control wheels should be eminently more useable and at a better height that it ever could have been on my camera tripod.  I just need to undo the wing nuts to take it off the tripod and I can probably store it with the new plate still attached.  Also nothing is absolutely permanent that prevents all it's original gear being used if it was ever sold.  I don't know if perhaps some would say it's now over-mounted LOL!  However, I reckon it's getting close to grab-and-go astronomy and I think it looks really neat and tidy. 

Anyhow I just thought I'd share and thanks @emadmoussa for the chance for a solution.

[emadmoussa]

Aww, it's like your scope found its other half. That's a wonderful job indeed. 

[Alan White]

Nice one JOC, that looks like it was meant to be.

[Stu]

Excellent job! Looks very nice and will be much more useable now.

[JOC]

I've actually just discovered that there is just enough clearance in the nuts to do away with the small middle plate so it looks even neater!

[GraemeC]

Well done, that's really tidy and you will enjoy and relax with your stargazing.