Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
#3007517 - 03/27/09 10:02 AM
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I'm trying to "dress" my soon to arrive Mach 1 and also streamline/reduce the nightmare of different plates and saddles I've accumulated to mount different scopes on different mounts over the years. One of my plans is to now "standardize" things a bit by going with 13.5" Losmandy plates for my 105 and 140 (and retiring my DOVE08).
I realize an 8" saddle (such as the one AP sells) will handle the 13.5" and give me room to slide things back and forth for balance. However, I want to eliminate the possibility of flexure as much as possible (esp. with the 140 beast) and a 12" Robin Casady seems like it might be ideal in this regard (AP makes an 8 & 16 but no 12). I'll certainly have room to slide the OTA within the rings and it looks like the Casady plate can also be mounted off-center to help with balance if necessary.
So - any thoughts? Would I be making a mistake going with a 12" saddle or am I just making too much of this? Hard to imagine that a 13.5" plate is going to flex much in an 8" saddle.
BTW, I already own 3 8" Casady saddles (used in a tandem bar arrangement) so I don't plan to buy another 8" in any event so I guess I could always swap out the 12" saddle for some set-ups. My impression is that the Casady saddles are a little nicer and beefier than APs - would anyone disagree with that claim?
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LLEEGE
True Blue
Reged: 03/03/05
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: Doug D.]
#3007601 - 03/27/09 10:40 AM
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I have been using my 140 with the 8" AP saddle.
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RAKing
Postmaster
Reged: 12/28/07
Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: Doug D.]
#3007620 - 03/27/09 10:51 AM
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Doug,
I have a 12 inch Casady saddle and it's a great piece of gear. It can be offset, if needed.
I cannot imagine you needing anything longer than an 8 inch for your scope. A 13 inch dovetail is going to have little overhang and I just don't see a 140 causing that to flex.
But if you want to swap for one of your 8 inchers, let me know. 
My .02,
Ron
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Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: RAKing]
#3010524 - 03/28/09 07:28 PM
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Thanks Luke and Ron - I will get the mount with the AP 8" saddle and use it with the 13.5" plates.
Ron, I might take you up on that offer to trade the 8 Casady for your 12, but I'll try living with the 8 for a while and see what I think.... BTW, which part of cloudsville VA do you live in? I'm in cloudsville/c'ville and man, hasn't that been the truth for the past couple of weeks !!??
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DeanS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/12/05
Loc: Central Kentucky
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: Doug D.]
#3010765 - 03/28/09 09:34 PM
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12" cassady on both my Mach1 and 1200. I like that they are both tilt in aswell.
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RAKing
Postmaster
Reged: 12/28/07
Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: Doug D.]
#3011285 - 03/29/09 08:39 AM
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Doug,
I'm up in Gainesville. This month started off great, but has been terrible since. I feel sorry for the Messier Marathon guys in my club. This is the second year in a row they have been defeated by weather. 
I have downsized my scopes and could get by with the 8 incher, but I prefer the Casady saddle over anything else and will keep it for now. 
Ron
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Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: DeanS]
#3011420 - 03/29/09 10:05 AM
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Quote:
12" cassady on both my Mach1 and 1200. I like that they are both tilt in aswell.
I've not seen an AP saddle for Losmandy D series - I assume it is tilt in as well, no? My DOVE8 is tilt in for sliding bars. Or maybe "drop in" is a better description.
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mnaf
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/03/06
Loc: Bay Area, CA
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: Doug D.]
#3013930 - 03/30/09 12:39 PM
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I'll chime in, although it appears you've made your decision. I was faced with the same question - what saddle to use on the arriving Mach1. I'm starting from scratch w/o exisitng plates so I chose AP's new DOVELM162. With a 13.5" plate there's not much if any sliding room for balance, however, the saddle offers a varitey of mounting positions to compensate. It's remarkably light - I think lighter than the 14" DMM I plan to use for short f/l scopes! It might even work with a 7" plate with one clamp tightened (with a hex). I plan to use it with a 24" plate for a reflector, too.
I was worried about flex as well - a call to the great folks at AP convinced me that the 16" saddle was best for my reflector and a 14" DMM with Los. clamps should work well for refractors.
And..it's a really beautiful piece of work! 
My 2 cents...
P.S. It's tilt-in as well and it uses wide blocks to clamp the plates as opposed to the 8"'s pins. I'm not familiar w/ Cassidy saddles...
Edited by mnaf (03/30/09 12:41 PM)
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LLEEGE
True Blue
Reged: 03/03/05
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: mnaf]
#3013941 - 03/30/09 12:44 PM
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The AP 8" is a tip in.
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NHRob
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/27/04
Loc: New Hampshire
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: LLEEGE]
#3014126 - 03/30/09 02:33 PM
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Hmmm ... similar question for me ... I have a TEC140 coming, to mount on an altaz. I could go either the AP Dove8 direction or a Cassidy saddle. Is there any difference in rigidity/stability?
Thanks,
Rob
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Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: NHRob]
#3014597 - 03/30/09 06:34 PM
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I have 3 Casady 8" saddles, they are very nice and certainly up to AP standards. I must confess though, I'm not as thrilled with the idea of the brass pins (as opposed to a clamp) on the AP version. I do have a DOVE8 for the 7" AP sliding bar which uses an "angled" brass pin and I must admit it works just fine.
The individual clamps on the Casady dovetail have 2 steel guide pins each, captive knobs and are "springed" - all nice touches, IMO.
The Casady 8" is more expensive than the AP version.
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Tom and Beth
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/08/07
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Re: Dovetail plates and saddles advice for Mach 1?
[Re: Doug D.]
#3014959 - 03/30/09 09:55 PM
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If this helps, I have the AP 8 inch on my AP600, all of which handles my TEC 140 with no problems, and I've piggybacked a TV76. The pins work very well, and the tip in feature is smooth and effortless.
The only difference is that I'm using the TEC 12 inch plates (Losmandy compatable).
Tom
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