Dovetails on a Cassegrain

[PhobosPhil]

Hi all,

I've mentioned this in other posts so I thought i'd put it in its own post;

I have an 8" LX200 Classic. I plan to put in on a HEQ5 and have seen various dovetails and pictures on the net but not much in the way of how to's. It looks straightforward enough but I have 1 question;

Are the Radius Blocks needed or will a 8-32 screw at each end hold the weight plus a guide scope (Meade APO 80) when I eventually get an autoguider?

I have the 330mm Dovetail from Altair Astro (no radius blocks though) and UNC HT Steel button head screws from Modelfixings of 5/8ths of an inch and 3/4 of an inch.

Will that hold it or do I need different bolts and radius blocks so its attached to the Lx with 2 at each end rather than 1?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Phil

[Merlin66]

I'd definately go for the radius blocks and two holes if you possibly can, it's a far more rigid arrangement. The SW dovetail is pretty narrow and I've also seen solutions where the SW dovetail is bolted to a ADM bar on dovetails..

My 2c