12 inch Dob Counterbalance

Just bought a HOC 12" dob and have learned that it will not balance with normal eyepiece. Plus I will be adding more weight with a large 90 degree finder, paracorr, etc. Any advice/information for building a counterweight system will be greatly appreciated.

There are LOTS of different types. Some of the more common ones:

Long velcro strip on the OTA, attach ankle weights along the length of it using the other side of the velcro. This approach is nice for a few reasons, one is that you have "softer" weights that won't scratch things. Two is that you can vary the amount of counterbalance by moving the weights.

For a more permanant balance, go to a tire shop and ask for a few lead tire weights. Attach these to your mirror cell. Then you could use less weight for the eyepieces in a counterbalance system.

If your tube is metal, you can use magnets covered in cloth. A few of those round magnets, inside of a sock work well.

I'm sure other people on here have more creative ideas.

You have a steel tube, and magnets will stick to it. You might look for magnets that you could use and then put felt on the magnets to stop the scratches.