TheSkySearchers

No, the plywood goes on the bottom. If you put a ring of silicon window caulk on each piece of mouse pad, near the outside edge, and stack them up, the caulk pushes up the padding a little. This forms a bit of a cup that the tip of the tripod leg can fit into. I round off the upper edges of the plywood to about a quarter inch radius or a little more. I found this keeps the sole of my shoes from catching on the block, when I bump them with my foot. Before rounding the plywood, I have kicked a pad completely out from under the tripod without the tripod actually moving from side to side. With the rounded edge, that does not seem to happen. If I put the plywood on top, I think it would be easier to kick. With a hole in the middle of the plywood to hold the tip of the tripod leg, there would be quite a shock on the system and the whole rig would move a lot.

So far, the light tripods of an Infinity 60 and an EclipseView 76 need three pad pieces. The Polaris reflectors and an LX 85 6R OTA on a CG 4 mount need four. I do not know about my LX 70 8R on the mount and tripod that came with it, which weighs at least 20 lb more than the CG4 rig. I have not tested it yet. With the CG4 mount, using their 6 volt drive system, the pads help get rid of bits of vibration that shows at high magnification.

I am trying to attach a picture of my Polaris 114 that I was testing for three, four, and five layer anti-vibration pads. The five layer was too wobbly, and the three layer did not diminish vibrations as fast as four. I also have weight added to my eyepiece tray. I will probably add that weight inside the lower legs in the form of cold roll steel or BB's.

Good to know. Four more days of rain forecast so still not getting the gear out.