I'm thinking of disassembling my Bogen 3066 head and gving it a clean-up and lube job. Now that my old, heavy (15lbs +) camera is gone, and I'm looking forward to getting an XL-2, I have to address a stiffness issue. Yes, it has lasted more than 24 hours, and no, I haven't consulted a doctor.

Panning is no pain, but tilting has gotten pretty stiff this past year. I've had this since new in 1999. It was getting too stiff even for the old camera, and in subfreezing weather, the tilt lock became redundant. In fact, while tilting the camera one cold morning, the entire 100mm ball base shifted!

The head seems to be a sandwich held at the top by four concealed bolts. I suppose if I'm careful I can pry the decorative caps off the bolts...

Never mind. I could only get the left side open, where the adjustment knob is. The right side is sealed under the label, so forget that.

I've decided to sell it and get a 503 head instead.

If you're still curious, I had a 3066 on a screw and the pan section popped off. Well, the pan part stayed on the legs, whereas the res of the head slid off. If you completely remove the pan knob, a little force and alot of viscous goo and bam. I remember seeing a 3066 being dissasembled by a worker once. You remove the resistance knob, locking knob, stop knob, the qr plate (duh). Some special expanding wrench and ...twah dah. I wouldnt reccomend ever dissaembling the head, any head. Fluid gets everywhere...and then it's just gross.