I have a Crain tripod with a shoe that keeps coming loose.
The wood fits inside the metal shoe which doesn't expand or shrink.
The bolts that fit into the nuts that are buried in the wood are now just turning the nut instead of tightening. The wood appears to have split and won't hold the bolts tight anymore.
Any suggestions?
(I was going to fill the shoe with silicon, resassemble it, and let it harden.)
Tie the shoe laces tighter...
OR...I wonder if JB Weld would work...
I have been using Alex Plus 35 year crystal clear caulk (caulk gun size about $3.00) during a house remodel over the last couple of years. I have been amazed at the strength that the bond makes between wood, concrete, metal etc. all the while remaining somewhat flexible. I caulked together a couple of 1x4s and could not separate them. The only way to separate the boards was to cut them apart. If it was me trying to stick a foot back on a tripod, I would definitely use this. Give the wood and inside of the footing a liberal coat of the caulk and then give it several days to cure and you probably could not get it back off. This stuff has 10 times the holding power of silicone.
You should be able to purchase just the part that is damaged. I had a tripod that got hit, and it broke the lower portion of the leg. I examined it, and was able to order just that portion that was damaged.
I'd go with epoxy.
I would agree with BL & JB...
Repairs (rebuilds) of this type although not [usually] particularly difficult, ARE often rather time consuming (to do right). Silicone and related products that are VERY good at adhesion, are generally poor choices for something like this, simply BECAUSE they remain somewhat flexible.
Something along the lines of J-B Weld or other outdoor rated epoxies have excellent adhesion qualities, AND cure to a very hard final product. This IS important when you are trying to get nuts to stop spinning in wood.
I would probably pull the “cracked” piece of wood out, remove the nut and elongate the “hole” a little so that the epoxy will not just spin in the wood like the nut all ready does. Fixing the cracked wood (will probably need to be clamped), AND “welding” the NUT in the proper place WITHOUT getting any epoxy in the threads (or hole for the bolt) will be the trickiest part. There are several “tricks” to doing things like this (like using butter on those thing that you do NOT want bonded), but most “handy men” could give you specific pointers if you showed then the part/problem.
Loyal
You can always thread a regular bolt into the nut while epoxying to keep any epoxy out of the threads until it hardens.
BL
YES...BUT coating the threads of the bolt with butter will keep the epoxy OUT of the bott-nut and really save yer butt!
🙂
Loyal
Try Gorilla Glue - Give it at least a day to dry and
"Move no more - rain or shine"
I took two tripods each with a broken part and made myself one good tripod last night.
these are older Sokkia tripods which are all bolt together so it wasn't too difficult.
1. you must have some old tripods lying around......if not, maybe someone else in your area does. A spare leg would be the easiest solution.
2. Crain sells new tripods for less than $300.00.......if one leg has gone, can the others be far behind?
A new tripod would be my first choice. Gorilla Glue would be option #2.
We Provide OEM replacement parts from CRAIN. I could send you a schematic of the tripod (presuming you know what one you have)you tell me what you need, and we will price it for you. Done new tripod. James Flack Baseline Equipment Company 877-844-3101
tripod fixing
A light coating of just about any greasy product (including butter) will keep epoxy from adhering to it. That's why most epoxies tell you to make sure the parts to be bonded are free from any grease or oils. I've got a whole host of different epoxy ideas. Technically, with JB Weld, you could throw away the nut, coat your screw with butter, WD40, 10W-30, (you name it), and pack the JBweld right around the screw itself, depending on the bolt diameter and thread pitch. Something with a 1/4-20 thread would work nicely with JBweld.
However, since we all know that surveyors tend to abuse their equipment daily, you might as well keep the metal nut in the wood, and pack something runny like Gorrilla Glue, polyester or epoxy resin down the hole... Runny epoxies will make better adhesion than a thick epoxy.
Loyal's advice is great. Don't fool around with caulk. It has no structure. Epoxy is excellent choice for repair, especially if you have time but no money. If you've got money, buy parts or even a new tripod.