My answer was this coupler plate. Not only does it do provide the proper hole pattern, it's much easier to level, and much more stable than just the three small bolts. It is constructed of two 12"x12" 3/4" thick aluminum plates, seperated by four 1/2" x 5" bolts. Nuts are used to level the top plate.

This is what I started with. To level, I had to raise or lower the nuts under the wedge. It wasn't easy to do. Functional, yet it wasn't as stable as it could have been, even with an 8" scope on it. Once bumped, it took almost 30 seconds for the scope to stabilize enough for astrophotography.

Remove the scope and wedge.

Here's the bottom plate. Notice I chose to orient a 12"x12" plate in a diamond fashion rather than the typical square. This allows more left-right mobility, even better than if I had used a 14"x14" plate and put the bolts in the corners. There are no nuts under this, it is completely flush against the top of the pier, providing a much more stable foundation.

Here's the top plate with the proper orientation. The holes are drilled properly (and tapped with threads, rather than having to worry about nuts & bolts). The hole towards the top corner is for the fine azimuth adjuster.

And here it is! The left photo is before, the right is after. Even my 8" LX-50 looks like a monster on this SuperWedge! That's Zach and Libby in the left photo, the reason for my existence!

Someone on MAPUG asked for plans. Since I don't really have plans, I put this together.

I purchased two 12"x12"x3/4" aluminum plates, then drew pencil X's diagonally, came in 1 1/2" in from each corner, drilled a 1/2" hole (some prefer 5/8") on each corner, then use the top plate as a jig for the bottom plate (use a drill press for best acuracy). For the pier holes, the bottom is to match whatever pattern you have on your pier, and for the top, I simply centered the base of the superwedge diagonally on the pier plate. Trace the holes of the superwedge onto the top plate, find the center of each of those holes, and drill. The trickiest part was the hole for the azimuth adjuster, since it's movable. I drilled a slot rather than a hole. This results in a little play, but it doesn't seem to affect the performance at all.

Sorry, that's about as detailed as I have.

One word of advice- try this with plywood BEFORE you drill your aluminum. It saved me from having to spend another $100 on aluminum plates (my first design was to go square with the plate, rather than on a diagonal)-- it wouldn't have fit..

Also, my scope is a 10". I didn't get all scientific or anything, but I explained my situation to the aluminum company, and they said that 3/4" will withstand several hundred pounds without flexure. You could also try 1/4" plate steel, but it's much harder to drill.

Here's how they measure up next to each other. As I understand it, the standard wedge for the 10" LX50 and LX200 is the same size as the 8" versions.

This is a close-up of the Standard Wedge fine azimuth adjuster (left-right). Note that it is a much finer adjustment, however, unless you incorporated something like this into your pier, it's useless.

This is the SuperWedge fine azimuth adjuster (left-right). The threads are much more coarse, but it has much more travel. With the large knobs, making this adjustment, even with a heavy fork arm and OTA, it's a snap.

This is the WORST design they could possibly have come up with for a latitude adjuster (up-down). This little tiny thing, when adjusted with the fork arm & ota mounted, will twist the whole wedge, since it's only on one side. I've had a hell of a time getting the thing to work properly. I simply gave up, and bought this (next slide, please)...

Jordan Blessing's "real latitude adjuster". This is how a latitude adjuster should be for a standard wedge. It prevents the wedge from twisting, while adjusting, and with the large bolt, you can make adjustments, even with the load of the fork arms & OTA.

This is the SuperWedge latitude adjuster. Much more stable, a snap to adjust, and the bolts on the side will tighten without the wedge twisting out of whack- a problem with the lighter standard wedge.

I have learned the hard way, that it's always better to do it right the first time. I knew of the plate coupler concept, and thought it would be cheaper. I knew of the SuperWedge when I built my pier, but I just used the standard wedge. In retrospect, I would've saved myself a LOT of aggrivation and time had I just done it this way from the start.

The SuperWedge is much more solid and easier to adjust. The plate coupler allows leveling and provides a MUCH more solid foundation for the wedge. The way it was before, if I tapped on the scope, it took 20-30 seconds to dampen the vibrations. Now, it takes less than 2-3 seconds.

Gotta give 'props' to the people of MAPUG (Meade Advanced Product User Group) for their help and advice. I also must credit Bert Katzung, whose design I 'borrowed'. His web page is here.