Sachtler ENG 75/2 legs falling apart

[Bill Heslip]

I bought this tripod several years ago as part of system FBS6. Very happy with the head and legs until recently. Note that this unit has been used very sparingly and handled with care (still looks brand new).

So, I'm on a shoot, and while extending the bottom stage of one leg, it comes completely out of the tube and onto the floor. Nothing more than gravity was in play here. I was able to stuff the parts back together long enough to finish the shoot, but the leg stop is no longer functional, so I must be careful not to fully extend the leg or it will all spill out again.

Anyone have an idea how to get to and repair the leg stop other than shipping it off? I've searched and searched the web for a schematic but nothing comes up.

I've used Sachtlers all my life and have never had this happen.

[Bo Sundvall]

Hi

Sorry to hear that you have problems with your tripod. As a matter of fact I've had the same problem with my ENG75/2 for about two years ago. Seems to me that these legs aren't quite as good as Sachtler reputation will state.

I succeeded to glue the fallen parts together without dismounting the legs. Don't exactly remeber how but remember it was a little bit tricky to do it. The leg pipe has some kind of stop pressed (glued?) into the pipe end that is hidden inside the larger pipe. I remeber the tricky part was to line up the pipe with the plug, as there is a slot that has to fit. Hard to describe, but if you extend the bottom pipe you will se a slot and the plug has a similar slot that must fit. Also remeber to put the screw and the other stuff back in place before gluing as it will be impossible to put it back once the pipe is in place.

I also had a mail conversation with Barbara Jaumann at Vitec and she was willing to take the tripod to service, but I tried to glue it together myself.

I'm careful now whenever I extend the legs as I guess they can fall apart again. I also use my tripod seldom and I'm really carefull with my things, so I was really surprised when the tripod leg fell apart.

Good luck.

Regards,

/Bo

[Chris Soucy]

Hi, Bill..............

Sorry to hear of your sad Sachtler, seems to be a lot of it about of late, for some reason.

As far as I know, Sachtlers' are not, unlike Vintens', designed for field repair.

Your best bet is to fire a mail to Barbara.Jaumann@VitecGroup.com - she's the Product Manager for Sachtler, based in Munich, from memory.

She should be able to sort somewhere for their rehabilitation and, who knows, they may not even charge you, though no promises on that score.

Best I can do, I'm afraid.


CS

[Bill Heslip]

Thank you Bo and Chris for your informative replies.

I have spent hours trying to determine how I might repair the leg, only to give up in frustration. Will try again with the glue fix in mind but have a feeling I will ultimately be contacting Barbara. I am somewhat handy but this is one tricky leg assembly.

Will keep you posted as to how things go.

Thanks again,
Bill

[Alastair Traill]

Hi Bill,

If you are going down the “gluing” line can I suggest investigating using a “Loctite” type product. They come in a range of strengths and viscosities and are a serious and proven engineering product. They cure in the presence of a metal and in the absence of oxygen although some surfaces like anodized aluminium and stainless steel require the presence of a primer as well. They can be undone using heat at around 120 deg C which may be a problem if the objects being Loctited have plastic components.

[Bill Heslip]

The repaired legs just arrived and my tripod is whole again! Turnaround was about 3 weeks but no critical shoots were scheduled anyway. Kudos to Barbara and Randy at Vitec Group for making this easy.

Buying a Sachtler was the best money I've ever spent for my kit and it will never be obsolete.