Farpoint Dovetail Plate - Meade 8 Inch SCT

Product Overview

The Farpoint FDM8 is a complete kit for putting a Meade 8″ f/10 SCT onto a D-size (Losmandy-style) saddle. It comprises a 13.5″ dovetail bar, radius blocks machined to the curve of the 8″ tube, and the mounting screws that hold the assembly together. The parts are CNC-machined in the USA from aluminum with a black anodized finish, at a published weight of 1.875 lb.

Who It's For

This is a good match if you…

• own a Meade 8″ f/10 SCT and are moving it onto a D-size saddle.
• want the bar, blocks, and hardware as one kit rather than sourcing them separately.
• are stepping up from a V-size bar to the wider Losmandy standard for a heavier imaging train.
• are replacing a factory bar with something machined to the tube's curve.

Key Features & Design

• 13.5″ bar length: matched to the Meade 8″ tube, giving a clamping run long enough to shift the tube fore and aft for balance.
• D-size profile: cut to the Losmandy-style dovetail standard, the wider of the two common standards.
• Radius blocks matched to the 8″ tube: machined to the tube's curve rather than left flat.
• Mounting screws included: the kit ships with the hardware that attaches bar to tube.
• Black anodized aluminum: a non-reflective finish over machined aluminum.
• CNC-machined in the USA: produced by Farpoint in the United States.

Mechanical Design

The radius blocks are the reason this is a kit rather than a bare bar. Bolting a flat bar directly to a round tube gives two lines of contact at the bolt holes, and the clamping force concentrates there — on a thin-walled SCT tube that is where flexure and, over time, distortion start. Each block is machined to the exact curve of the 8″ tube, so it seats against the contour and spreads the clamping load across the whole contact surface instead of pinching at two points. The bar above them is cut to the D-size profile, which is wider than the Vixen standard and gives a saddle more clamping area and a longer moment arm to resist twist — useful once a camera, filter wheel, and off-axis guider are hanging off the back of an 8″ SCT. The 13.5″ length then determines how much fore-and-aft travel is available to rebalance the tube as that imaging train changes.

Recommended Uses

• Mounting a Meade 8″ f/10 SCT on a Losmandy or other D-size-compatible saddle.
• Deep-sky imaging where a camera and accessories shift the tube's balance point rearward.
• Planetary and lunar work where a stiff tube-to-mount connection keeps a long focal length steady.
• Rebalancing the tube along the bar after adding or removing a diagonal, camera, or focal reducer.
• Setups where the tube comes off the mount between sessions and the bar stays on the tube.

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

The bar is cut to the D-size (Losmandy-style) standard and seats in any mount with a D-size saddle — Losmandy mounts and the many others that accept the wider standard. The radius blocks and hole pattern are machined for the Meade 8″ f/10 SCT optical tube assembly, so the kit is specific to that tube. A mount with a Vixen-only saddle takes a V-size bar instead; Farpoint's Vixen line covers the same Meade 8″ tube with a 13.5″ V-size bar, offered with or without a stainless steel armored strip. Accessories that bolt to a D-size plate — guide scope rings, side-by-side tandem bars, and similar — share the same standard. If you are unsure whether your mount's saddle takes a D-size bar, we are glad to check — your mount model is all we need.

Good to Know Before You Order

• This kit is specific to the Meade 8″ f/10 SCT. The radius blocks are machined to that tube's diameter, and other Meade models have their own kits.
• D-size only. The bar clamps into a Losmandy-style saddle; a Vixen-only saddle takes the V-size version.
• The kit is bar, blocks, and screws. No mount, saddle, or rings are included.
• Published weight is 1.875 lb. That figure counts toward the mount's payload along with the tube and imaging train.
• Bare aluminum at the clamping face. A saddle that holds the bar with a set screw marks aluminum over time; the armored-strip versions in Farpoint's Vixen line address that case, and D-size saddles with a flat clamping bar leave the dovetail unmarked.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the kit?

The 13.5″ D-size dovetail bar, radius blocks machined to match the Meade 8″ tube, and the mounting screws — everything needed to attach the bar to the optical tube.

What mounts will this work with?

Any mount with a D-size (Losmandy-style) saddle, which includes Losmandy mounts and the many others that accept the wider D standard.

Why radius blocks instead of bolting the bar straight on?

The blocks are machined to the curve of the 8″ tube, so clamping load spreads across the contact surface rather than concentrating at the bolt holes.

Is it difficult to install?

The blocks seat between bar and tube at the tube's existing mounting holes, and the supplied screws draw the assembly down. It is a hand-tool job with hex keys, done once, and the bar can then stay on the tube between sessions.

Does it fit the Meade 10″ SCT as well?

No — the radius blocks are cut for the 8″ tube diameter. Farpoint makes a separate kit for the 10″ tube.

Bottom Line

In short: a complete 13.5″ D-size dovetail kit — bar, tube-matched radius blocks, and screws — that puts a Meade 8″ f/10 SCT on a Losmandy-style saddle, machined in the USA at a published 1.875 lb.