Farpoint Vixen Dovetail Plate - Celestron 8 Inch SCT

Product Overview

The Farpoint FVC8 is a complete Vixen-style dovetail kit for the Celestron 8″ SCT. It supplies the V-size dovetail bar, the radius blocks machined to the 8″ tube curve, and the mounting screws that join them, so the tube gains a Vixen-style interface that drops into any V-size saddle. The parts are CNC-machined in the USA from aluminum with a black anodized finish, and the kit carries a published weight of 1.438 lb.

Who It's For

This is a good match if you have a Celestron 8″ SCT and a mount with a Vixen-style saddle, if you are moving the tube off a fork arm onto a German equatorial, or if the bar currently on the tube has been damaged and you want bar, blocks and screws as one set.

Key Features & Design

• Complete kit: dovetail bar, radius blocks and mounting screws ship together.
• V-size (Vixen-style) profile: the narrower of the two common dovetail standards, found on most small and mid-size equatorial and alt-az mounts.
• Tube-matched radius blocks: machined to the Celestron 8″ tube curve so clamping load spreads across the contact face.
• Black anodized aluminum: the anodized layer protects the surfaces where the bar and blocks meet the tube.
• Published weight 1.438 lb: a light addition to the moving mass on the mount.

Mechanical Design

The kit builds a two-part interface between a round tube and a flat saddle. The radius blocks carry the 8″ tube curve on their lower faces and present flat pads on top; the dovetail bar bolts across them through the tube's existing dovetail holes. With a block at each end, the load path runs through two separated contact patches instead of concentrating at the bolt holes, and the bar spans between them to resist flexure. The dovetail edge itself is the clamped surface, so the bar is what carries the whole tube once it is in the saddle.

Recommended Uses

• Mounting a Celestron 8″ SCT on a German equatorial with a Vixen-style saddle.
• Shifting the tube fore and aft in the saddle to rebalance after adding a diagonal, focuser or camera.
• Replacing a bar marked by saddle set screws.
• Moving one 8″ tube between several mounts that share the V-size standard.

Compatibility and Accessory Notes

The kit fits the Celestron 8″ SCT optical tube assembly and mates with any mount carrying a Vixen-style (V-size) saddle. Within the same Farpoint range, the Celestron 9.25″ kits use a 17.25″ bar for 2008-and-later tubes and a 19″ bar for pre-2008 tubes, and the Celestron 11″ kit uses a 17.25″ bar, so the bar length is tied to the tube rather than being interchangeable. An armored-strip version of this 8″ kit is also offered, carrying a stainless steel strip along the clamped edge — relevant where a saddle clamps with a set screw, since a point-loaded screw marks and pits bare aluminum over time and the resulting wear eventually introduces play. If you are unsure which saddle standard your mount uses, send us the model and we'll check the fit for you.

Good to Know Before You Order

• Tube-specific. The radius blocks are cut for the Celestron 8″ SCT; a 9.25″ or 11″ tube takes its own kit.
• Bare aluminum clamping edge. This kit has no stainless armored strip; the armored version covers saddles that clamp with set screws.
• Vixen standard only. A mount with a D-size (Losmandy-style) saddle takes a D-size bar, or a saddle that accepts both profiles.
• Published weight is 1.438 lb. Shipping weight is rounded up to 2 lb.
• Screws included. Mounting screws ship in the kit, so no separate hardware order is involved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it difficult to install?

The blocks and bar attach through the tube's existing dovetail holes with the supplied screws and ordinary hex keys — a few minutes of bench work with the tube on a soft surface.

What does this kit do?

It gives a Celestron 8″ SCT a Vixen-style (V-size) dovetail interface, so the tube drops into any V-size saddle.

How is the armored-strip version different?

It adds a stainless steel strip along the clamped edge of the bar, which suits saddles that clamp with a set screw rather than a broad jaw.

What mounts will this work with?

Any mount with a Vixen-style (V-size) saddle, which covers most small and mid-size equatorial and alt-az mounts.

Bottom Line

In short: the FVC8 is the complete V-size mounting kit for the Celestron 8″ SCT — anodized bar, tube-matched radius blocks and screws, 1.438 lb, machined in the USA.