THE FIRMAMENT - Lx200 Home Made Counter Weight Balance Rail

Because I frequently piggyback [heavy] optics on top of my LX200 I have made a Balance Rail underneath the OTA, where I can put a counter weight.
This page "http://www.starizona.com/basics/balfork.html" inspired me to make the Balance Rail, but this webpage seems not to exist any more ...

I made the Balance Rail from material which I bought in my local hardware store:

2 aluminium handles (used for drawers etc.)
Note: make sure they are not of cast aluminium, because these will break when you try to bend them.
1 metre aluminium U-shaped bar
1 metre M8 threaded rod
1 M8 self locking nut (which has plastic inside)
5 M8 washers
1 fitness weight of 1 kg
4 M8 wing nuts
4 smaller bolts and nuts

I bent the drawer handles so that they followed the curve of the OTA so that I could bolt them to the OTA using the original LX200 bolts.

First I exactly measured the distance between the bolts on the OTA (10,2 mm if I remember correctly)
Then to the hardware stores, armed with a calliper
Searching ... searching till I found 2 handles with the correct price, the correct (bendable !!!) material and the holes already more or less where I wanted them
I took a piece of paper and the front cap of the OTA to draw a half circle which I could use to compare my bending progress
I bent the handle by hand: clamped them in my Workmate and used a piece of metal tube to apply the appropriate force
After that: checked with the circle on paper till I got it right (the OTA cap I had put back where it belongs)
Then with the calliper I set out the 10.2 mm and drilled/widened holes for the OTA bolts
Then tried it out on the OTA: a perfect match the first time! Happy !

With a hacksaw I cut the U-shaped bar into 2 pieces matching the length of the OTA.
In the picture you can see that I installed the U-shaped bars with the 'open' side of the U facing each other.
I drilled matching holes in the U-shaped bars and in the handle bars and I made sure that the opening between the 2 U-shaped bars was 8,5 millimetres, so that the M8 threaded rod could nicely slide in the opening.
The threaded rod was shortened so that it would not collide with the base of the forks.
Next the threaded rod was completed with wingnuts, washers, weight etc: see below.

the following sequence of components: I start with the item closest to the OTA:
- wing nut
- washer
top of the U-shaped bar
- self locking nut
- washer
bottom of the U-shaped bar
- washer
- wingnut
and a bit lower (adjustable !!!)
- wingnut
- washer
- counter weight
- washer
- wingnut

The following pictures show what I already tried to explain in words:

Full view of the Balance Rail [because of the weather the pictures were taken with the roof closed].
You see the handle bars and the 2 pieces of U-shaped bar facing each other with the completed threaded rod in between.
The threaded rod can be moved back/front along the U-shaped bars and the weight can be moved up/down.

Details of the threaded rod, starting from the OTA:
- wing nut
- washer
top of the U-shaped bars
- self locking nut
- washer
bottom of the U-shaped bars
- washer
- wingnut
and a bit lower (adjustable !!!)
- wingnut
- washer
- counter weight
- washer
- wingnut

With my William Optics Zenithstar 80 ED II APO plus ATK16IC Monochrome Camera riding piggy back on my LX200 I had to add some extra counter weights.
Please note the additional weight at the bottom right side of the fork: this serves to compensate the weight of the DEC motor assembly at the other side of the fork.
It was intended as a temporary solution, but I would not be surprised if it would be a keeper ....

Here follows a list of all my Home Made LX200 based Piggy Back Rails:
Base Piggy Back Model
Heavy duty Piggy Back Rail
Piggy Back for WO ZS 80 ED APO
Piggy Back for Filterwheel + SLR Photolens

More about balancing:
How to balance your telescope

	Full view of the Balance Rail [because of the weather the pictures were taken with the roof closed]. You see the handle bars and the 2 pieces of U-shaped bar facing each other with the completed threaded rod in between. The threaded rod can be moved back/front along the U-shaped bars and the weight can be moved up/down.
	Details of the threaded rod, starting from the OTA: - wing nut - washer top of the U-shaped bars - self locking nut - washer bottom of the U-shaped bars - washer - wingnut and a bit lower (adjustable !!!) - wingnut - washer - counter weight - washer - wingnut
	With my William Optics Zenithstar 80 ED II APO plus ATK16IC Monochrome Camera riding piggy back on my LX200 I had to add some extra counter weights. Please note the additional weight at the bottom right side of the fork: this serves to compensate the weight of the DEC motor assembly at the other side of the fork. It was intended as a temporary solution, but I would not be surprised if it would be a keeper ....