One thing that always bugged me about the Orion dovetail finder bracket available for either the 50mm or 60mm finders was the height of the bracket, it was just to tall. Extending a finder out too far away from a telescope tube makes balance more difficult and may make it difficult to fit a scope in it's case.
I decided to take matters into my own hands, or shall I say a hacksaw. See the attached photos which show an original bracket, one cut down 1/4" which still allows the original ring plate holes to be used, and one cut down 3/4" which mandated that a new hole be drilled and taped for the ring plate.
The job was relatively easy and the cut is completely hidden by the plate that the rings attach to. The mild cut reduces the bracket weight by about 0.7 oz, and the more drastic cut reduces weight by about 2 oz. The real benefit is that I can now get my scope with finder attached in it's case and getting the finder closer to the telescope long axis makes balance a bit easier. I think the low profile bracket looks nicer as well.
Note that the 60mm bracket with dovetail attachment and rings is still available at the Orion Clearance Center - part # 05041 at a price of $34.88
Barry Simon
I decided to take matters into my own hands, or shall I say a hacksaw. See the attached photos which show an original bracket, one cut down 1/4" which still allows the original ring plate holes to be used, and one cut down 3/4" which mandated that a new hole be drilled and taped for the ring plate.
The job was relatively easy and the cut is completely hidden by the plate that the rings attach to. The mild cut reduces the bracket weight by about 0.7 oz, and the more drastic cut reduces weight by about 2 oz. The real benefit is that I can now get my scope with finder attached in it's case and getting the finder closer to the telescope long axis makes balance a bit easier. I think the low profile bracket looks nicer as well.
Note that the 60mm bracket with dovetail attachment and rings is still available at the Orion Clearance Center - part # 05041 at a price of $34.88
Barry Simon
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