What size bolts for LX200 Forks

Hi all,

I'm trying to pull the OTA from my 10" LX200 forks, but I don't know
what size Allen wrench I need to get to loosen the fork arm.

I know that others up here have done this, but I can't find any concrete
info on it.

Davoud, has the start of a web page on the procedure but no thing beyond
the fact that he will finish the page at some time in the future.

Thanks

Craig

Craig M. Bobchin wrote:
I'm trying to pull the OTA from my 10" LX200 forks, but I don't know
what size Allen wrench I need to get to loosen the fork arm.

I know that others up here have done this, but I can't find any concrete
info on it.

Davoud, has the start of a web page on the procedure but no thing beyond
the fact that he will finish the page at some time in the future.

Hello,

I just returned from Company Seven, where I examined a 10" LX200. (I
was planning to e-mail you, but this will serve.)

The process for the 10" is not the same as for the 8". On the 10" the
six hex (Allen) bolts to which you refer (three each on two flanges)
are -- or appear to be -- accesible with no additional dissasembly of
the fork. Remove these bolts and you should be able to carefully slide
the OTA out. If you are worried about marring the OTA, put some masking
tape on it before you begin working

In this regard your 10" is very different from the 8", which requires
the removal of the declination gear assembly from the west fork arm,
the removal of the declination shaft from the east fork arm, and
loosening or removal of the east fork arm, as the Allen bolts are
inaccesible between the fork and the OTA until the arms are separated.

Just get a set of Allen wrenches and you'll have what you need. Pay a
couple of $ more for premium-grade wrenches, as the cheap ones are made
of soft steel, and Allen wrenches need to be made of hard steel.

I /strongly/ urge you to have a capable assistant at your side when you
do this work; the OTA isn't terribly heavy, but removing it is a
two-person job.

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

In article , says...
Hello,

I just returned from Company Seven, where I examined a 10" LX200. (I
was planning to e-mail you, but this will serve.)

Thanks.

The process for the 10" is not the same as for the 8". On the 10" the
six hex (Allen) bolts to which you refer (three each on two flanges)
are -- or appear to be -- accesible with no additional dissasembly of
the fork. Remove these bolts and you should be able to carefully slide
the OTA out. If you are worried about marring the OTA, put some masking
tape on it before you begin working

I was able to take these off no problem.

In this regard your 10" is very different from the 8", which requires
the removal of the declination gear assembly from the west fork arm,
the removal of the declination shaft from the east fork arm, and
loosening or removal of the east fork arm, as the Allen bolts are
inaccesible between the fork and the OTA until the arms are separated.

Actually I can just loosen the arm on the GPS side and not remove it. I
just need to loosen it 1/4" or so.

Just get a set of Allen wrenches and you'll have what you need. Pay a
couple of $ more for premium-grade wrenches, as the cheap ones are made
of soft steel, and Allen wrenches need to be made of hard steel.

I agree, but I was wondering if you knew what size I needed for the 4
fork arm bolts. I presume they are USA and not metric.


I /strongly/ urge you to have a capable assistant at your side when you
do this work; the OTA isn't terribly heavy, but removing it is a
two-person job.


I do have an assistant helping me.

Davoud wrote:
Just get a set of Allen wrenches and you'll have what you need. Pay a
couple of $ more for premium-grade wrenches, as the cheap ones are made
of soft steel, and Allen wrenches need to be made of hard steel.

Craig M. Bobchin wrote:

I agree, but I was wondering if you knew what size I needed for the 4
fork arm bolts. I presume they are USA and not metric.

OK, now that you have let the whole world know what a slacker I am*, I
have put some pages up on this matter. They are at
http://www.davidillig.com/losmandy1.shtml,
http://www.davidillig.com/losmandy2.shtml, and
http://www.davidillig.com/losmandy3.shtml.

The latter ~losmandy3.shtml will likely be of most interest to you.

The bolts take a 3/8" hex driver on my 8", and probably on your 10" as
well. This will not be a regular "L"-shaped Allen wrench, but a
/driver/ with a longish shaft and a plastic screwdriver-type handle, as
these bolts are tightly seated and you are going to have to tap the
driver with a hammer to "break" the lock of those bolts before you can
turn them by hand.

Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way.

Davoud

* Just kidding. The whole world has known what a slacker I am for years
now.

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

Thanks Davoud. Got the tube off last night, and mounted on the G-11. I
did not have to take the dec arms apart, just loosened a bout 1/4 " and
the OTA slipped out.

I do have two followup questions. When I installed the Losmandy DM-10
dovetail I was only able to bolt the bracckets in with one bolt in the
center of each (front and Back) bracket. Did you run into the same
problem? If not then I guess I have to call Scott @ Losmandy and figure
this out. It seemes stable enough but I expected to be able to bolt it
on with 2 bolts per bracket.

2nd, Before I knew about loosening the fork bolts we attempted to slide
the OTA out and of course scuffed the paint. Pretty badly. Any
suggestions of how best to touch up the paint on the OTA?

Thanks

Craig

In article , says...
Davoud wrote:
OK, now that you have let the whole world know what a slacker I am*, I
have put some pages up on this matter. They are at
http://www.davidillig.com/losmandy1.shtml,
http://www.davidillig.com/losmandy2.shtml, and
http://www.davidillig.com/losmandy3.shtml.

The latter ~losmandy3.shtml will likely be of most interest to you.

The bolts take a 3/8" hex driver on my 8", and probably on your 10" as
well. This will not be a regular "L"-shaped Allen wrench, but a
/driver/ with a longish shaft and a plastic screwdriver-type handle, as
these bolts are tightly seated and you are going to have to tap the
driver with a hammer to "break" the lock of those bolts before you can
turn them by hand.

Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way.

Davoud

* Just kidding. The whole world has known what a slacker I am for years
now.

Craig M. Bobchin wrote:
Thanks Davoud. Got the tube off last night, and mounted on the G-11. I
did not have to take the dec arms apart, just loosened a bout 1/4 " and
the OTA slipped out.

I do have two followup questions. When I installed the Losmandy DM-10
dovetail I was only able to bolt the bracckets in with one bolt in the
center of each (front and Back) bracket. Did you run into the same
problem? If not then I guess I have to call Scott @ Losmandy and figure
this out. It seemes stable enough but I expected to be able to bolt it
on with 2 bolts per bracket.

You should be using two bolts on each end of the dovetail. Re-examine
the OTA. I can only think that you have removed the wrong bolts from
both the front and back of the OTA. I seem to recall that I did that
when I put a dovetail on the top of my OTA shortly after buying it.

2nd, Before I knew about loosening the fork bolts we attempted to slide
the OTA out and of course scuffed the paint. Pretty badly. Any
suggestions of how best to touch up the paint on the OTA?

The only way to do a good job is to spray it, and I don't think you
want to get into that. Even the best good masking job may allow a bit
of paint to get into the wrong place. And you'll never match the color;
you would have to re-paint the entire OTA, taking extreme care in
masking the lettering. Leave it. Call it patina.

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

In article , says...
You should be using two bolts on each end of the dovetail. Re-examine
the OTA. I can only think that you have removed the wrong bolts from
both the front and back of the OTA. I seem to recall that I did that
when I put a dovetail on the top of my OTA shortly after buying it.

I've tried it every which way and I can only get the center bolt in the
brackets. I spooke with Scott @ Losmandy and I'm going to send the rear
bracket in for him to examine. Hell, I may just drive up there so he can
see for himself. I don't live that far away.

The only way to do a good job is to spray it, and I don't think you
want to get into that. Even the best good masking job may allow a bit
of paint to get into the wrong place. And you'll never match the color;
you would have to re-paint the entire OTA, taking extreme care in
masking the lettering. Leave it. Call it patina.

Actually Matching the ccolor is not that hard. A search of the Yahoo
LX200 groups came up with a very close match for the Meade blue. I'm
less concerned about the Decals for the letters. I have a good friend in
the sign business that can duplicate them without too much problem.

I agree that spray is the only way and it would be a tough problem. I'll
have to see what waxing does for it. Hmmm Maybe that color back auto wax
would help. i'll have to try it.

Craig

Craig M. Bobchin wrote:
I agree that spray is the only way and it would be a tough problem. I'll
have to see what waxing does for it. Hmmm Maybe that color back auto wax
would help. i'll have to try it.

But remember that if you wax it and that does not do the job, and you
decide to paint it, you will have to /completely/ remove the wax first.

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com