Meade DS-90 Tripod Clamp Lever and Friction Pad Replacement Parts

thingiverse

These were some parts I needed to replace while fixing up an old Meade DS-90 EC reflector telescope. The tripod for these scopes were notorious for having bad clamps that don't hold their extension at all. I've seen various ways of repairing these, but I've found that replacing the rubber on the clamp's push plate using stronger glue and a thicker, higher friction rubber pad really does the trick. However, the tripod I'm working on was missing the push plate and the clamp lever for one of its legs. ## The Lever The reference model for the lever has more smooth curves and has better accuracy in some of its angles, but after a little bit of sanding, my model fit nicely. Your mileage may vary. I've been trying to learn how to use CAD Sketcher in Blender, but I haven't really figured out how to constrain bevels in the sketch without messing up the whole model. I only had limited time to finish servicing this scope, though, so I left the model in Good Enough™ status. There's usually enough wiggle room in the fit of these parts anyway (part of the problem), so the design as is might give you enough pressure on the push plate that you don't need to replace the rubber friction pad. ## The Push Plate The lever has a triangular point that squeezes the push plate between the lever and the sliding tripod leg. It's a pretty straightforward part. The rectangular inset is where you need to put the rubber friction pad. Depending on the thickness of pad you can find, you may want to scale the thickness of the plate to get your fit tight enough to keep the legs from sliding when locked.