Mount Leveling using 3 Bubbles

Folks, Most nights I struggle to align my permanently scope in a reasonable amount of time and usually settle for "good enough". Last week, I noticed a laser alignment tool on a tripod at work. After taking a closer look, I saw that each leg had a built in bubble level with adjusting thumb screws. If that setup was good enough for a laser alignment, I figured why not try it on my C11 mount.

After a trip to Home Depot buying 3 cheap $2 bubble levels I placed them on my mount near each bolt. I was shocked to find the level way out! The first thing I did was to remove the mostly deteriorated rubber wafers under the top plate and the above the underneath bolt (these should never have been installed anyway). Originally, I leveled the top plate using a carpenters level then just attached the mount/scope but never checked the final level. While I could not get a wrench on the the 1 1/4" bolts which were mostly buried under all the metal, I was able to hit a screwdriver with a hammer to adjust the above bolts. Once exactly leveled, the underneath bolts were tightened and the level was still perfect.

I am hoping that this precise leveling will make polar alignment a snap. Of course I will need a clear night to check it which has been rare here in CT. Clear skies

Regards,
Steve

I don't understand what you are saying.....

You have a permanently mounted scope.

You adjust the mounting every night to make sure alignment is right.

You have found that you need three bubble levels to determine that in fact your pier top is not level.

IS that what you just said?

Sorry, I'm just not following.

Alex

Guys, didn't mean to stir everyone up on this one. Basically my top plate was never leveled well from the beginning and I attributed my usual nightly difficulty of polar alignment with this. Once aligned, the computer tracking is ok. Hopefully I will get a clear night this week and see if the top plate levelling helps

Regards,
Steve

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