Celestron-Vixen C6 primary cell removal?

Just picked up an old Celestron C6, I assume made by Vixen for Celestron, maybe 20 years old. I decided I'd learn to get along with the sled focuser for the quality of the mirror. But f5 is pretty fast to try getting along without a center spot. No sweat, I figured.

I figured wrong. Looks like the screws that attach the primary cell to the OTA are actually bolts, and there are nuts on the inside!

Anybody dealt with this situation before?

(And maybe NOW I'll learn my lesson and stop fooling around with commercial newtonians.....)

Paul Bailey

Hi Paul. There are 6 push/pull screws used to collimate the scope at the bottom of the OTA. Three of the screws actually hold the mirror cell to the bottom of the OTA so you can just unscrew those and the mirror cell will fall out into your hands. I turned the OTA upside down and removed the screws...then slowly tilted the tube back up right until the mirror cell gently fell into my hand.

Check this old post for a pic.

http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=668000&poll_id=&news_id=&page=5

Cheers,
Mike