Accessory rail for Nexstar 8i SE
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:31 am
Last week, I discovered that the plastic mount for the sighting scope on my 8i SE had broken off and disappeared. I thought it best to install a better rail, anchored to both castings, which will allow me to stick better or different optics, lasers, or cameras in the future.
This is what I came up with-
I mounted a section of Picatinny rail on top, which lets me use short firearms optics. In the image, I have a cheap reflex scope that was in my drawer.
The mounts to the front and rear castings were milled to match the radius of the castings, and the rail is parallel to the tube within 1/1000" in the length of the rail. I used two existing threaded holes in the back casting, and an existing hole in the front, which was not centered on the back two. The little offset bolt in the front is there to keep the front mount from rotating. I did a jeweled finish and waxed it, as it would show fingerprints easily if polished. If I decide I like it, I will probably anodize it when I am anodizing a more important project.
M
This is what I came up with-
The mounts to the front and rear castings were milled to match the radius of the castings, and the rail is parallel to the tube within 1/1000" in the length of the rail. I used two existing threaded holes in the back casting, and an existing hole in the front, which was not centered on the back two. The little offset bolt in the front is there to keep the front mount from rotating. I did a jeweled finish and waxed it, as it would show fingerprints easily if polished. If I decide I like it, I will probably anodize it when I am anodizing a more important project.
M