Farpoint Dovetail Plate - Celestron 14 Inch SCT

Product Overview

The Farpoint FDC14 is a complete D-size (Losmandy-style) dovetail kit for the Celestron 14″ SCT. A 23.75″ bar pairs with radius blocks machined to the curve of the 14″ tube, and the mounting screws are supplied. Bar and blocks are machined from aluminum with a black anodized finish. Farpoint gives the shipping weight as 4.433 lb, and the parts are CNC-machined in the United States.

Who It’s For

• This is a good match if you are putting a Celestron 14″ SCT onto a mount with a D-size saddle.
• This is a good match if you want the bar, the matched radius blocks and the hardware as one kit rather than sourcing blocks separately.
• This is a good match if visual work and general observatory duty, rather than a fully automated imaging rig, are what the tube does most nights.

Key Features & Design

• 23.75″ D-size bar: the full Losmandy dovetail profile, run long to give a big saddle a wide clamping span under a 14″ tube.
• Radius blocks matched to the 14″ tube: machined to the tube’s curve so the bar beds against the OTA instead of bridging it.
• Mounting screws included: the hardware that attaches the assembly to the tube ships with the kit.
• Black anodized aluminum: bar and blocks are machined from aluminum and anodized black.
• Published weight 4.433 lb: a real figure for the payload budget, on top of the C14 tube and whatever is hanging off the back.
• CNC-machined in the USA: Farpoint machines the bar and blocks in the United States.

Mechanical Design

A Celestron 14 is a long, heavy tube, and everything it weighs passes through the dovetail joint. Two lengths matter here. The radius blocks set how the bar meets the tube: cut to the curve of the 14″ OTA, they give a bearing surface along the bar rather than contact at the fastener holes, which keeps the clamping load off two small patches of tube wall. The 23.75″ bar length sets how the assembly meets the mount, giving a D-size saddle a long span to clamp and a long run for balancing a tube whose centre of gravity moves as cameras and focusers go on and come off. Farpoint also publishes a heavy-duty C14 plate at 1.5″ thick for rigs where bar stiffness is the limiting factor rather than the saddle joint.

Recommended Uses

• Carrying a Celestron 14″ SCT on a Losmandy, or on any mount with a D-size saddle rated for the load.
• Visual observatory work where the tube stays on the mount and is balanced once.
• General-duty imaging where a long clamping span keeps the tube from rocking in the saddle.
• Replacing a dovetail that is short or narrow for the mass of a C14.

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

• Telescope: Celestron 14″ SCT optical tube assembly.
• Dovetail standard: D-size (Losmandy). It seats in D-size saddles; a narrower V-size (Vixen) saddle takes the Vixen profile instead.
• Bar length: 23.75″.
• Kit contents: 23.75″ dovetail bar, radius blocks matched to the 14″ tube, mounting screws.
• Material and finish: black anodized aluminum.
• Origin: CNC-machined in the United States.

Tell us your scope and mount and we’ll confirm the fit.

Good to Know Before You Order

• The telescope is not included. The kit is the 23.75″ bar, the radius blocks and the mounting screws.
• A heavier plate exists for imaging rigs. Farpoint’s heavy-duty C14 plate is 1.5″ thick and considerably stiffer, which is the option where vibration settling time and auto-guider workload are the concern.
• This is a D-size bar. A mount whose saddle is V-size (Vixen) takes the narrower profile, so a saddle conversion or a Vixen bar is the route there.
• Published weight is 4.433 lb. Shipping is calculated on a rounded 5 lb, and the bar adds that mass to what the mount carries.
• The radius blocks are specific to the 14″ tube diameter. They are cut for the C14 and are not the blocks used on the 8″, 9.25″ or 11″ kits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it difficult to install?

It is a bolt-on job. The radius blocks locate against the curve of the tube, the bar lies across them, and the supplied screws draw the stack together with a hex key. No machining or drilling is part of it. A C14 is heavy enough that a second pair of hands, or a cradle to rest the tube in, makes the work easier.

What is in the kit?

The 23.75″ D-size dovetail bar, the radius blocks machined to match the Celestron 14″ tube, and the mounting screws — everything needed to attach the bar to the optical tube.

This kit or the heavy-duty C14 plate?

This standard kit suits visual use and general duty. The heavy-duty plate is 1.5″ thick and many times stiffer, which pays off on automated imaging rigs by cutting vibration, settling time and the work the auto-guider has to do.

Which mounts take this bar?

Any mount with a D-size (Losmandy-style) saddle — Losmandy’s own mounts and the many others that accept the wider D standard. Where a mount still carries a small Vixen saddle, a D-size saddle conversion opens it up to this bar.

Bottom Line

In short: the complete Losmandy D-size mounting kit for a Celestron 14″ SCT — a 23.75″ anodized aluminum bar, radius blocks cut to the 14″ tube, and the screws to bolt it down, at a published 4.433 lb.