Bipod maintenance

I'll try that, all three of my 2M gnss tripods need service. I use a dry wax lubricant that keeps them sliding, but they stick at the ends and are hard at release. Kerosene is old school and Climate Alarmist would hate me using it.  

Where the leg attaches to the top, and there is a screw holding the pivot, add superglue to the threads

Does this fix the issue of the legs getting loose and tending to want to slip?

Does this fix the issue of the legs getting loose and tending to want to slip?

You have 2 questions there.

1.) Does this fix the issue of the legs getting loose? YES.

2.) getting loose and tending to want to slip? YES.

And, I think unless there are damaged parts, that it works better than new.

Nate

Bipods are a necessary evil. No matter the brand it takes time to keep them in adjustment and care maintenance. Thanks for posting. I had taken an old beat up set and took them apart and cleaned them with break cleaner to get all the grime off then it was a process adding different lubes and always a battle. I never thought of kerosene and will have to try. I have tried a mixture of diesel/farm use and added a little olive oil mixed rubbed it down with my finger on the parts like springs and such. They were very beat up set and the springs were beat up. This will have to be tried for sure. Thanks Nate. 

Source for kerosene:

Most any hardware store.

Atwoods

Tsc

Lowes

Bldg supply

Home depot

But, you may have some in an old kerosene lamp.

N

Loctite works very well for threads.

The problem I have with bipods is that the plunger at the lower end is aluminum and the threaded rod is (usually) brass. Those dissimilar metals tend to corrode in short order and fuse - making adjustments impossible. I have used loctite on those threads which prevents the corrosion, but also prevents easy adjustments. I have also tried anti-seize lubricant, which seems to work almost too well and the plunger won't stay in place.

I have brought several bipods back to life with repair kits from SECO  - replacement  threaded rod, plunger, and spring. Not cheap but a lot less than a new bipod.     

I take mine apart and coat the threads with brake caliper grease (high temp silicone paste).  It stays put and slows down if not stops the corrosion with the added benefit of having the adjustment work.

I just bought 3 kits for about the price of one bi-pod.

Bipods are a necessary evil

So true.  I hate the damn things when I'm loaded up and carrying through the woods.  But they're needed. 

I usually take the stamping-in disks off since they don't work on soft ground with lots of grass, plants or roots, and they're always catching on things.  I just push them in with my hands.  Wish someone would have the bright idea and make them a foot up from the end

We use garage door lubricant. It works well.

It penetrates, has rust inhibitors, lubes with silicone, and coats with teflon.

Once a year treatment, or every 6 months if you work in the rain/snow/mud a lot.

Wish someone would have the bright idea and make them a foot up from the end

That's very do-able. There are bonding agents, to bond a large flat washer, anywhere you like, on the bipod leg. Chevrolet had glue on door hinges 25 yrs ago. I'd like some of that glue..... To bond the flat washer where I want.

Or, buy a 1 ft mini pole, and extend the bi-pod, as you see fit.

Now you got me to thinking. I'd like a smaller "big washer", and a longer spike, but maybe only an inch longer.....

Thanks!

N

@nate-the-surveyor 

I'm just the idea man.  I'll leave it for someone else to run with

But if we see Seco come up with that design soon, you all know where the idea came from, so I should expect to see royalties, right

@norman-oklahoma thanks for this video.  After all these decades, I just learned something new at -0:48 to -0:28 in the video.

Rock on!

Wish someone would have the bright idea and make them a foot up from the end

You might want to try swapping out the washers for 2-piece shaft collars (in acetal for lighter weight).

I have 8' vials on my rods.  SECO bipod legs seem to be adjustable in 13' increments.  Takes WAAAYAYYY longer to plumb the rod than get the shot    

Leica makes a GSR2 Dual-Strut Survey Bipod Support for Plumbing Poles that will last decades with little more than drying after getting wet. The legs use the same mechanism as their plumbing poles and they used to make a GST6 pole tripod with same locking design. After I bought the Leica pole bipod and pole tripod I haven't used my SECO bipod one day (you want it, free, you pay shipping). I do have a newer Dutch Hill carbon fiber bipod for using with a carbon fiber pole, ONLY because Leica doesn't produce anything to work with the larger carbon fiber poles. I have never had one of the Leica pole bipods/tripods apart and they have worked for years. I guess you truly do get what you pay for as their bipod version is around $450 currently.

SHG

Climate Alarmist would hate me using it.  

Jet fuel is alot like kerosene. It even smells like it. They dump tons of it into the ocean, and other places, when an overloaded airplane needs to get down fast.

There is also an volcano in South America, dumping millions of tons of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. Like a billion tv preacher's wives,  spraying hair spray, all at once.

Climate alarmists are mostly out of touch with reality.

Nate

@jph 

Those disks make it almost impossible to get a solid footing in vegetation.  LoInk makes a nice step replacement similar to a tripod's foot that I have threatened to get for years now.   

@nate-the-surveyor 

Hey, no politics. We all live on the same planet.

@oldpacer 

Climate change can be a scary concept, which can lead to productive conversations on the topic being shut down before they even begin.  There is a huge difference between alarm and alarmism.