The dovetail is the backbone of your telescope setup. It does two jobs: it locks your telescope to your mount, and it lets you build outward by adding guide scopes, cameras, and accessories to your main rig. Farpoint machines the complete dovetail system in the USA in both standards: D-size (Losmandy) and V-size (Vixen).
What a Dovetail System Does
A dovetail is a precision rail-and-clamp system. A bar (or plate) with angled edges slides into a matching saddle and locks with a secure clamping mechanism — solid, repeatable, and tool-free. It serves two distinct purposes:
Mount your telescope: A dovetail bar bolts to the optical tube while the matching saddle is fixed to the mount. Slide them together, lock the clamp, and the scope is mounted. This is the single most important mechanical joint in the setup — its stiffness determines how sharp your views are, how round your stars image, and how fast vibration settles after every touch or gust.
Build out your rig: The dovetail also lets you attach a guide scope, camera, finder, or piggyback rig. Many telescopes carry a second accessory bar along the top, where adapter plates clamp on to carry piggyback adapters, guide scope rings, cameras, and more.
D-size vs V-size: Which Dovetail?
Telescope dovetails come in two widths and are not interchangeable — each size fits its matching saddle.
V-size (Vixen): About an inch and a half wide at the base. Ideal for small refractors, grab-and-go, and visual use, or any mount that only takes a Vixen clamp.
D-size (Losmandy): About three inches wide. A wider clamping footprint better resists flexure and twist — the preferred connection whenever your mount accepts a D-size saddle, even for lighter imaging refractors that benefit from rounder stars and faster settle time.
Many premium mounts ship with a dual saddle that accepts both standards.
Shop the Complete System
Browse the full Farpoint dovetail line at Ontario Telescope and Accessories — SCT dovetail kits, dovetail saddles, universal plates, adapter plates, guide scope rings, counterweights, and specialty plates, in both Losmandy and Vixen standards.
