Preventing center column pivoting/motion

[Dustin Moore]

I have some heads that I like but the older aluminum manfrotto tripods
I have for them are letting me down when I tilt. Both tripods have a center
column and when I tilt, the column pivots about the set-screw that holds
the column in place. I could get a nice motion out of the head if the column it
was resting on didn't relax into some other position after I released pressure.

I really don't need the ability to lift the column. Is there a way to remove the column
and replace it with something stiffer/better mounted?

[Don Bloom]

Depends. What model number are the legs? Head model number would be helpful also.

[Alastair Traill]

Hi Dustin,

Without knowing all the details my first thought is to investigate one of the “Loctite” products. These come as a liquid that hardens in the absence of oxygen and in the presence of metal, in this country there are sold by bearing suppliers and engineering supply companies. They come in a range of strengths and viscosities for different applications. The more viscous products are used in larger gaps and the thinnest are used to retain adjusting screws etc. Undoing the bond can be achieved by heating to ~ 150 degrees C - a temperature that may damage some components.

In short have a talk to a supplier or user.

[Chris Soucy]

Much as I hate stating the bleeding obvious here (to me, anyway) why not put the pair up for sale on "you know where" and buy decent video tripods with half bowl receivers and video heads with half ball bases?

Too easy?

You're obviously using still photography sticks to shoot video, why?

Never designed for it and will never do the job you want them to do, so get shot of them unless you're shooting stills, which, apparently, you're not.

There comes a time when you simply have to bite the bullet and admit you're using equipment way past it's design limitations and simply jetsion it, that time has come for you, do it.

There's no way in Hell you're going to make stills sticks work like Video sticks, so save yourself the trouble and just go for it.

Just my (reasonably) uninformed take on the situation.


CS

[Dustin Moore]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Depends. What model number are the legs? Head model number would be helpful also.

I think they are the old bogen 3001 legs and the version that is like the 3001 but with the
twist locks as opposed to the snaps. The heads are the old style 501 that is apparently
(I read) better than the later 501s. They work well enough for me if I could put then on
just a bare tripod.

I will look into the loctite products. I could imagine that working if I put it in just the right
place (unclear where that would be just yet).

[Don Bloom]

I kinda figured they were either the 3011 or something similar. Frankly in this case you are far better off foolowing Chris's advice. Sell them off (take what you can get) and invest in a proper set of legs made for video. By the time you fiddle around trying to "McGyver" the legs to work correctly, you would have already invested more than they are worth. Sorry.