About our new shaft for the CGEM Mount it is 20" overall length with 2" of that being threaded leaving a little less than 18" protruding from the nut. The new shaft is made from 303SS and is 20mm dia.. The toe saver is the same as the one we use on the Atlas shaft.

As for the flexure question I and the beta tester have found it to be insignifigant, adding no addititional dampining time or vibration in normal sensible use.

As for weight, I have used the Atlas mount with the 18mm dia. 24" length prototype of the atlas shaft with my 12" f/8 newtonian and 44lbs of counterweights on it. Although it did bow slightly that had no effect on dampening time, ofcourse this is an extreme example.

The weakest point of any shaft that can be made for the CGEM is the M16x2 thread since it is the smallest diameter on the shaft and the only part of the equation that can't be changed. We did not use a thread relief (groove) on the new shafts in order to increase ridgidity of this critical end.

The 20" shafts for the CGEM Mounts are now available and are selling for $100.00 + S&H