Fabricating Low Latitude Wedges for Equatorial Mount

[joecool1211]

I've been considering getting an equatorial mount as a replacement for my Alt-Az mount.

It seems like some of the mounts like the EQ6-R can't reach our 1 deg north latitude and a custom built wedge will be required.

Would anyone have advice on where to fabricate such a custom built wedge if the manufacturer doesn't produce one?

Thanks!

[SebastianTai]

I do offer service of designing wedge using CNC plates, normally for EQ6-R I do offer wedge as package with purchase

[orly_andico]

I had a CGEM once and had a machining company in Malaysia make me the wedge. It cost over $300.

There are some local companies in SG that can also make you a wedge, but expect similar pricing.

I have a Tak EM-11 that can't reach 1 degree, I used to deal with this by shortening one tripod leg but it looked dangerously unstable. So something I will try soon is to 3D print a wedge. The plastics used in 3D printing are pretty strong in compression (particularly at 40% infill or higher) and my EM-11 will not carry more than a 4-5kg telescope, so worth trying.

An EQ6 is a different story. That said, I once made a wedge out of two chopping boards and some pine wood from Home Fix. Worked fine on an AP600 with over 15kg of payload.

[joecool1211]

Thanks for your suggestions. 3D printing is an interesting idea.