Overview
I took delivery of my Milburn Deluxe Wedge in May 2005,after a wait of about 7 months.
But it was worth the wait.
The wedge itself is enormous. I went for the black anodised version, - to match my scope. The base plate is 12" square and 1" thick.
The whole thing is very solid. The side arms are joined to the base via 6 large Allan bolts. I don't think there's going to be much flex is this thing.
(All the images are thumbnails - click on them for a full size view)
It has a latitude range of from about 40° to 65°. The latitude adjustment can be seen in the photograph.
The azimuth adjustment is via a threaded rod which moves a copper block with a locator pin which pushes against a bracket that is fitted to the tripod (or pier). Both adjustments appear to move very smoothly.
The base plate has 3 bolt holes to attach the wedge to the tripod/pier and a central hole that, in my case, locates on the pin at the centre of my Celestron tripod. It is attached with 3 Allan bolts. In the bottom left you can see the edge of the bubble level - a nice touch.
The tilt plate again has 2 holes and a slot. This helps getting the scope onto the wedge - you only have to attach one bolt to the scope base and then slide the bolt down the slot.
The wedge come supplied with instructions -mainly aimed at Meade scopes, but easily interpreted for Celestron, which are straightforward and comprehensive.
It also comes with the 3 Allan wrenches that you need to tighten all the bolts - a nice touch.
Fit and finish of the wedge is excellent and oozes craftsmanship - admiration to Ken Milburn.
Fitting
Firstly, make a cup of tea/coffee and read Ken's instructions thoroughly.
Then go out to your scope and read them again, while looking at your tripod/pier and scope - just get familiar with all the bits
There are 3 simple steps to fitting the wedge:-
1. Attach the Azimuth bracket
On the Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS, you can only attach the bracket to the tripod between the tripod legs. This involves drilling two 4mm holes for the bolts.
NOTE -the bracket goes on the south facing part of the tripod. Then its a simple matter of bolting the bracket to the tripod.
2. Attaching the Wedge
REMEMBER, this thing is heavy!
This is just a matter of lifting the wedge onto the tripod and locating the centre hole in the base plate onto the locator pin at the centre of the tripod AND making sure that the locator pin for the azimuth adjuster is located safely into the slot in the bracket.
Then use the smaller bolts of the sets provided, (with washers) to bolt the wedge to the tripod.
In case you ever need replacement bolts:-
From the Celestron knowledge base-
What are the most common bolt sizes for Celestron single and double arm (fork) mount bases and wedges?
Answer A great number of old and new Celestron single and double arm (fork) mounts, tripods and wedges are attached to one another using just two sizes of bolts.
Most mounts are attached to the tripods by use of 3/8 – 16 bolts.
Most wedges are attached to tripods by use of 5/16 – 18 bolts.
Since most mounts are tapped for the 3/8 -16 bolts, most mounts attach to wedges by use of the same bolts. The top “hole” on the wedge plate is usually a slot for easy positioning and tightening of the three bolts.
DO NOT fully tighten at this point - you'll need a little slack to adjust the azimuth
3. Fitting the Scope
REMEMBER, the NS 11 is a very heavy scope.
At this point, the wedge, on the tripod has a height somewhere between waist and shoulder height. To get to the top of the tilt plate and the scope has to be lifted to the top in order to slide the mounting bolts down the slot in the tilt plate.
If possible - GET SOME HELP
If you've never seen the bottom of an NS 11 - here's 2 photos , one with a bolt attached:- (Spot the deliberate mistake - the bolts actually thread into the inner set of holes). I only found this one out after lifting the scope into place - I had to remove it and do it again - only recommended if you like weight lifting!
So, partially thread one bolt into one of the holes, don't forget that this will be the high point of the scope when you lift.
Lift the scope onto the wedge and slide the bolt down the slot in the tilt plate.
You can then thread in the other bolts and tighten all 3.
Job done - go and have a rest - by this time you'll be sweating - both from the physical exertion of lifting the scope and the stress of not dropping it!
