Farpoint Vixen Dovetail Plate - Armored Strip - Celestron 9.25 Inch SCT (pre 2008)

Product Overview

This is the Farpoint Vixen-style dovetail kit for the pre-2008 Celestron 9.25″ SCT, built with a stainless steel armored strip along the clamping face. The bar is 19″ long, machined from aluminum with a black anodized finish, and ships with radius blocks and mounting screws matched to the 9.25″ tube. It is CNC-machined in the USA and published at 1.813 lb. Apart from the armored strip, it is the same bar as the regular Farpoint Vixen dovetail for this tube.

Who It's For

This is a good match if you…

• own a pre-2008 Celestron 9.25″ SCT and are fitting or replacing its dovetail bar
• mount on a V-size (Vixen-style) saddle
• use a saddle or accessories that clamp with a set screw and want hardened steel where the screw bites
• have seen grooves or pitting develop on a bare aluminum dovetail and want to avoid a repeat

Key Features & Design

• Stainless steel armored strip: a hardened strip runs along the dovetail where set screws clamp, taking the bite instead of the aluminum.
• 19″ bar length: a long V-size bar sized for the 9.25″ tube; the product drawing gives the full layout.
• V-size (Vixen-style) profile: the narrower of the two common dovetail standards.
• Radius blocks included: blocks matched to the curvature of the 9.25″ tube, plus the mounting screws.
• Black anodized aluminum: machined from sturdy aluminum with a black anodized finish.
• Made in the USA: CNC-machined in the USA.

Mechanical Design

Many V-size saddles and accessories clamp by driving a set screw against the side of the dovetail. The screw tip concentrates the entire clamping load on a point of bare aluminum, which mars and pits the edge; once grooves are cut, the bar settles into the old grooves on every remount and the joint develops slop. The armored strip places stainless steel at exactly that contact line, so the set screw presses on a surface hard enough to resist it. Underneath, the radius blocks give the flat bar a curved interface matched to the 9.25″ tube, spreading the mounting load across the tube wall rather than loading the attachment bosses alone.

Recommended Uses

• Fitting a pre-2008 Celestron 9.25″ SCT to a Vixen-style mount saddle.
• Replacing an original dovetail bar that has been grooved by set screws.
• Rigs where the tube is mounted and dismounted often and the clamp position needs to repeat.
• Setups where accessories such as guide scope mounts also clamp to the bar with set screws.

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

• Telescope: Celestron 9.25″ SCT optical tube assemblies, older models produced before 2008.
• 2008-and-newer tubes: Farpoint publishes a separate post-2008 armored kit for those; the attachment differs between the two generations.
• Dovetail standard: V-size (Vixen-style), which suits most small and mid-size equatorial and alt-az mount saddles.
• D-size mounts: a heavier mount with a D-size (Losmandy-style) saddle is served by the D-size SCT kits in the same line.
• Armor or not: where every saddle in the rig clamps with a full clamping bar rather than a set screw, the regular unarmoured version of this bar covers the same job for less.

Tell us your telescope serial number and mount and we’ll confirm which generation of kit fits.

Good to Know Before You Order

• Generation matters. This kit is cut for pre-2008 9.25″ tubes; the post-2008 tubes take the other version.
• The telescope is separate. The kit is the bar, radius blocks and screws.
• V-size only. The bar is the narrower Vixen profile and sits loose in a D-size saddle.
• The armor is only useful against set screws. Clamping-bar saddles press flat on the dovetail and do not mar it either way.
• Published weight is 1.813 lb. Shipping is calculated at 2 lb, the next whole pound.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the armored strip do?

It is a stainless steel strip along the dovetail where set screws clamp. Set screws mar and pit bare aluminum, cutting grooves that eventually make the connection sloppy; the hardened strip takes the bite without damage.

Is it difficult to install?

It is a bolt-on kit. The radius blocks and supplied screws fasten the bar to the tube's existing attachment points, and the bar then drops into the mount's Vixen saddle. No drilling or modification of the telescope is involved.

Do I actually need the armor?

It matters where a saddle or accessory clamps with a set screw. Saddles that use a clamping bar press flat against the dovetail and leave it unmarked, and the regular version does the same job in that case.

What mounts will this work with?

Any mount with a Vixen-style (V-size) saddle — the smaller of the two common dovetail standards, found on most small and mid-size equatorial and alt-az mounts.

Bottom Line

In short: a 19″ Vixen-style dovetail bar for the pre-2008 Celestron 9.25″ SCT, with a stainless steel armored strip where set screws clamp, radius blocks and screws included, published at 1.813 lb.