Thanks!  Constructing the rings as we speak.  I should have the tripod this will go in in around 2 weeks.  Just in time for nice dark new-moon sky 

How did I miss this thread lol. 
 
My equipment:
Celestron C11 on CGEM DX Mount (Pier mounted)
Orion ED80CF on Celestron AVX Mount [Portable set-up]
ASI120MC (Planetary Imaging)
Nikon D800 (never really use this for astro)
Canon T2i (DSO Imaging)
Bunch of eyepieces 
 
I'll take pics later of the equipment. 
 
Just took these a couple of days ago (both single exposures on C11 with F6.3 focal reducer):
 

 

 
These were taken over the course of the last 4 years, some of my better pics:
 

Lol I roughtly got into the hobby about four years ago. Honestly I was much better at imaging a couple of years ago, I gotta get back to how I was. 
 
The top set of images were taken with my C9.25(sold), moon/sun with ED80CF, and the rest were taken with my C11. 
 
I need to buy a ring set that will allow me to mount my ED80CF on top of my C11 so I can do autoguiding. Then I should be able to take better pics. 
 
The ones I took were all unguided, probably max was 10 second exposures. I think I actually still have some of the raw files for the ring and dumbell nebula on a external hdd somewhere. 
 
Your 14" should provide an amazing size of Jupiter. The closer it is to us the bigger it will be but seeing is everything. The atmospheric conditions greatly affect how the quality will be. 
 
Luckily seeing isn't an issue for DSO imaging, just need good transparency and no moon at night. 
 
I live in a bortle class 8 city and can only imagine how things would look in a less light polluted sky. 
 
Some pics from a less light polluted sky about 1 1/2 hrs away:
 
Tried to get the milky way:
 

 
Many more stars visible here:
 

 
Solar eclipse on my bday lol:
 

Happy new year everyone!
 
Got a decent setup for the rings going on:


 
debating on cutting off the ends of the leftover pieces, or add additional side bracing.  I will brace between the 2 rings going along the length of the tube, so it has some lateral stiffness.  I could mount the spotting scope dovetail to said excess arm area's as well.  
 
More to follow.

Here is where I mostly observe from:
http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/JennyJumpkey.html?1
The recent 10 day stint of almost single digit temps, the sky's have been relatively clear.  But its just too damn cold to sit out there all night.  Once I get a full go-to mount I can sit in the warm car while the telescope does its thing :) 
 
Scope rings/dovetail are done.  Its as solid as I can get it.  Scope, dovetail, and this clamping apparatus weigh in @ 40 lbs (without that rear counterweight, or camera)
 

(high res: https://i.imgur.com/qgQdzDG.jpg)

I still find the sky here to be less than desirable.  Its NJ after all.  Only an hour away from NYC's bleached white sky.  While technically in the Appalachians, any pictures I take facing the east, you see the horizon is still bleached.... like this:

 

Already planning a lightweight all metal build:

https://i.imgur.com/5iS4Pkx.jpg
 
Going with 4 1/2" thick aluminum mating rings, a 26 gauge steel body, riveted in 24 positions per mating ring, aluminum clamps separately bolted to the mating rings that clamp onto the stainless steel 1" OD tubes.  Same wooden (resin coated) mirror retaining ring with aluminum spider from the current build.  The nice thing is working with known materials is I can get a realistic weight before even making anything.  
 
The initial problem is finding 18 x 18 x 0.5" thick Aluminum sheets.  The cheapest I have found on Ebay were $100 each.  So thats already $400  At least the steel sheets are inexpensive and the shower poles are $6.00 each.  
 
The owner of the mount currently has the flu... so I am just waiting for him to get better to finally acquire it.  Then an actual test of the current wood/cardboard tube. 

heh... you would be surprised how easy this is to build.  The plan is to cut a steel sheet, and curl it slightly enough to go inside, and drill through the sheet, and the small holes and rivet it in place.  
 
Like I said, I can't stomach the cost of for $100 x 4 for the aluminum sections.  The steel is somewhere around $30.  That I can stomach.  I can't justify $400 since I already have a 
"working" prototype.  By working I mean the cardboard version so far works.  I mean I can always save up cause I always like to build stuff... but I will keep my eyes out at various scrap metal places for sheets 18 x 18 x 0.5"  Doesn't even have to be pretty.  What really irks me is that so much of the sheet will be wasted because I only need the outer edges and a 16" diameter circle gets cut out of it.

I thought about it for half a moment and initially dismissed it figuring plastics would bend and not offer much rigidity.  The square structures that the poles are running through are aluminum, not steel.  I calculated their volume to be 16.7542 cubic inches, so made out of aluminum that gives me a rough weight of 1.44 lbs.  However after your suggestion, and practically dismissing the build due to the over $400 price tag I sat down and gave a far more open minded approach to plastics.  
 
I spent about an hour looking through various Plastics and some of them cost wise are on par, if not more expensive then Aluminum.  One glaring exception is HDPE (High Density Polyethylene).  
It is similar to cutting board material.  For starters, its around 1/2 the density, so the same structure would weigh 0.51 lbs, reducing the overall weight of 5.7544 lbs (4 aluminum) to weigh 2.0256 lbs combined.  That saves 3.7288 lbs right there... which I can shift from structural weight into a counterweight hanging off the tail end of the scope and still be well within the goal weight.
 
Here is a closer look at what I call mating rings:

I added about 3 cubic inches in volume in some spots now to account for what I thought to be weaker portions which I wasn't concerned with as an aluminum structure
 
 
So here are the figures so far:
Mating rings: (16.3551 in^3 each) 0.5613 lbs x 4 = 2.2452 LBS
Shower pole struts: (7.6in^3 each) 2.1691 lbs x 4=  8.6764 LBS
Clamps (0.9694 in^3 each) 0.1 lbs x 8 = 0.8 LBS
Rear steel tube (12.0467 in^3) = 3.5 LBS
Front steel tube (8.0324 in^3) = 2.2925 lbs
Primary Mirror = 14 LBS
Wooden Ring = 2.41 LBS
 
Rounding up that weighs in at 34.25 Lbs.  
 
This still doesn't account for other items like the focuser, the camera, a spotting scope (which can be removed once the scope is dialed in) and the rivets binding the steel tubular shape to the mating rings.  Do those items weigh 6 lbs?  I doubt it, but it falls within the 40 lbs goal weight... but still no counter weights.  Also paint adds additional weight.  I can reduce the weight some by switching the shower poles (0.04" thick steel) to aluminum ones, but 4 $6.00 shower poles, vs $60 each for high strength 0.06" wall thickness 2024 aluminum.  Just not worth that extra $240 dollars.  I can reduce the thickness of the clamps which would cut the clamp weights down from 0.8 to 0.4lbs.  Going with aluminum rivets also would save some weight over steel rivets.
 
I guess in summation to this wall of text, High Density Polyethylene can work as a substitute for aluminum... and I just may experiment with it.

The HDPE is worth experimenting with.  I altered the design further to account for a smaller diameter steel tube.  That will actually reduce the overall weight, AND will result in no need to cut the interior steel sheet.  Since the sheets usually come 2'x 4', i can customize the interior so the 48" length can slightly overlap on the inside without having to cut along the length.  Saves me a cut.  Not sure if you know what I am referring to: grab a 4' long steel sheet and curl it up, insert it in the hole and let it expand.  It should overlap just enough.  Then I will drill into the now oval sections and rivet (1/8" aluminum rivets) from the inside, allowing the rivet to expand in the oval section:

 
May use steel rivets to avoid a galvanic reaction from dissimilar metals.  I guess it depends on how much 48 steel rivets weigh, and if the violent riveting process cracks the plastic or not.  I am positive aluminum wont, which is why I am leaning towards aluminum.  Hopefully a coat of paint over it will slow down any reactions to nothing.   
 
Overall increase in weight with this new design.  Each ring will weigh 0.77 lbs now.  1 lbs increase over all.  meh.  could be worst.
 
So damn you bill, I just bought 2 sheets to experiment with.  :P 
Now I am practically committed to this build.
 

cant see the latest pic bud

I have always wanted to get into this, but with all the hobbies I already have would be too much.
Maybe one day, just not today.
I have the same crappy light issue here, although I am close to the country, time and $$$$
Sometimes going out to look at the meteor showers you can see some shooting stars. It's pretty cool thing to do.

nateman_doo
And one of my favorite objects to see:

Can anyone guess what it is?  
 

Venus during transit?

Try midweststeelsupply.com I just looked and half inch thick by 18" square is around 57 bucks for 6061 aluminum

drkxrider
Try midweststeelsupply.com I just looked and half inch thick by 18" square is around 57 bucks for 6061 aluminum

SEE?? THIS is why I want people to login and say hello!

Let me see how this High Density Polyethylene works out.  It should be arriving today.  I made some changes to make all the webbing a bit thicker  Still falls in way under the weight of a thinner aluminum one.  The way I see it, there are 16 corners in total supporting the entire weight of the structure.  So 40 lbs distributed by 16 corners is 2.5 lbs of stress per corner.  Looking at it that way, the HDPE should be just fine.  Just 2.5 lbs of pressure on a corner of a 1/2" cutting board.  If anyone has one at home id welcome the experiment to see if it flexes at all.

 
The aluminum mating with steel had me uneasy in terms of galvanic reactions, so I have high hopes for the plastic.  But if the plastic isn't rigid enough, then I have no choice but to deal with the reactions.  I am hoping a coat of paint will slow down any oxygen getting to the joint and that should slow it down to last many many years anyway.  Either way... I will be buying aluminum there from now on.  Great  find!  Hopefully shipping wont be all that bad??
 
On a side note, I just checked to see if they had any kind of exotic knife steels.  Nope.  
 
¶e???C Where do you live that the sky is so bad?  Can't be worst then Jersey can it?  NYC is the biggest brightest city on earth and I am only an hour west of it.  There are many parts of the midwest that are as dark as Siberia.  We gotta work on a better name for you btw...