Sawing a dovetail bar?

[Space Oddities]

Hello everyone

So, I'm quite inexperienced in DIY, so it might be a dumb question.

I have this dovetail bar, the standard one sold by Celestron, Sky-Watcher, etc. It's really too long for my setup, and therefore I'd like to saw it and use the 2nd part for something else.

I don't have any tool at home, apart from a hammer and a screwdriver... Which won't work, obviously! 

What kind of tool/method would you recommend for sawing this dovetail bar properly? I'm not sure what it's made of. Do I need a fancy electric metal saw, or would a simple handsaw be enough? 😕 

Thanks a lot for your DIY expertise!

Edited November 1, 2019 by Space Oddities

[fozzybear]

If I was you I would keep it at the length you received it you never know if you add equipment to your scope and you need to offset the balance they are made of aluminium so a good hacksaw with a steel blade would do the job but keep it at the length you got it they are cheap anyway if you need another dovetail bar

[Relpet]

A simple hacksaw did the job for me.  Mine was painted black so rounded off the new sharp edges with a flat file then painted over the raw end with black paint.  I wanted to fit a non-standard OTA on a Celestron 4se mount and the spare dovetail to hand wouldn't permit full movement.  I've still got the waste end somewhere "in case it comes in handy".

[johninderby]

Probably easier to just buy a new one and sell the old one if it’s in reasonable condition.

However if you want to shorten yours a junior hacksaw is all you need and will make a neater cut than a regular full size hacksaw. A black permanent marker will colour the cut end nicely.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/magnusson-junior-hacksaw-6/6187v

Edited November 1, 2019 by johninderby

[Space Oddities]

Thanks everyone! I'll look into it   

8 hours ago, fozzybear said:

If I was you I would keep it at the length you received it you never know if you add equipment to your scope and you need to offset the balance they are made of aluminium so a good hacksaw with a steel blade would do the job but keep it at the length you got it they are cheap anyway if you need another dovetail bar

Actually the plate is a custom one made to work with my Samyang 135mm and 3D printed rings, and I'm not sure I could mount it on another bar. But I could definitely use the sawed half for another lens  

[Astro-Geek]

I've shortened several vixen dovetail bars for my equipment.

All of the ones I've encountered are aluminum, so nice and soft to cut with a metal cutting hacksaw blade.

The trick is to make a nice straight cut, if neatness is a concern (it is for me ! 🤓), although it is not essential.

As the cross section of the bar is fairly solid and large, it's very easy for the cut to slant away at an angle.

The trick is it mark it all round very carefully with tape, and then saw to a depth of about 5mm all of the way around the bar, turning it as you go, before attempting to cut right through.  The partial depth cut will then guide the blade neatly at exactly right angles to the bar.

I would use a full size hacksaw rather than a junior hacksaw, as the blade is twice as long and stiffer, and much easier to guide in a straight cut.

The more difficult part is to then drill and/or tap any new holes that are required in the shortened bar.  They can also be achieved very neatly but not without a fixed pillar drill and screw taps (and the standard threads are often UNC, not Metric !)

[quaoar]

Aluminium cuts very easily clamped on any wood cutting  mitre saw using any common tungsten tipped saw blade. You can even cut your own dovetail plates to any size on them using aluminium flat bar. u

Edited November 2, 2019 by quaoar