114GT Go-to Mount for Tak & Mini-Dob for Friends

I bought one of the Nexstar 114GT's at Costco for a go-to mount for my Takahashi FS-78. The mount looks like it's working out great.

I was a little suprised at the quality of the views in the 114GT OTA. So I made a mini-Dob out of the OTA. It will primarily be my loaner scope for friends (the Tak is not loaned). The wood is made from cutting boards from Big Lots (a discount store).

It turned out to be one of the better $160 I've ever spent.

Attached Image:

Great idea Steven. Looks like you did a great job. Do you find the accuracy of the mount to be okay for your needs. I hear really bad things about this mount and then someone will post that it works great. What's the truth? I'd like to use one the same way you did for my new ED80 but hesitate because I'm not sure about the mount accuracy. -Kurt Horsley

Steven,

I also bought one of the 114GT's for the mount only (to use with a Stellarvue AT1010), and was thinking of doing something very similar for the OTA and giving it to my grandson. It looks like you're using the original ring for the OTA -- what did you use for the altitude bearing? Did you use the typical Ebony Star and Teflon on the base for az movement?

Jim