DIY Do it yourself.
On the flashpoint gimbal I unscrewed the rear knob and put in a plastic BB from a pellet gun. When you tighten the metal screw down you have plastic against aluminum so it will not damage it. This should work with any aluminum gimbal. A good source of different size plastic is from the part that holds small pieces for model car kits etc. Just cut off a short piece. You may need to take the gimbal apart and carefully file the aluminum so it is smooth again. Now that knob can be used to apply tension without damaging the swivel.
Sounds like you are on to something.
St3v3M wrote:
Sounds like you are on to something.
Thanks. I know you can't put hard metal up against aluminum or any other soft metal and expect it to stand up.
I assume; Why did you do this? What prompted you?
Simple knowledge in physics, Aluminum is soft and steel is not.
Apply pressure from a steel object onto any aluminum surface and you ultimately scour it until unusable.
The use of a plastic 'tampon' between the two is ok but it compromises the strength of the assembly. As a short term solution to an existing wear and tear? It certainly will work. As a prevention? I am not so sure.
In any case, a good idea but the plastic part will need to be replaced often as it is way too soft to resist the pressure and friction between the two pieces of metal.
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Rongnongno wrote:
Simple knowledge in physics, Aluminum is soft and steel is not.
Apply pressure from a steel object onto any aluminum surface and you ultimately scour it until unusable.
The use of a plastic 'tampon' between the two is ok but it compromises the strength of the assembly. As a short term solution to an existing wear and tear? It certainly will work. As a prevention? I am not so sure.
In any case, a good idea but the plastic part will need to be replaced often as it is way too soft to resist the pressure and friction between the two pieces of metal.
Simple knowledge in physics, Aluminum is soft and... (
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I'm glad someone understands. It's not meant to put a lot of pressure on the aluminum. It's just a cheap easy fix and the plastic BB can be replaced. I'm not sure if brass is softer than aluminum. Copper may work.
Brass is stronger than copper so stronger than aluminum...
A surprising solution but not so much so if you consider metallurgy, leather is the best bet. It compresses well, does not deteriorate as fast as plastic and shapes itself nicely between two different pieces of metal.
It also prevents slippage and this is why it was used until recently and pushed out because of being too expensive...
(Hint)
Bill MN wrote:
On the flashpoint gimbal I unscrewed the rear knob and put in a plastic BB from a pellet gun. When you tighten the metal screw down you have plastic against aluminum so it will not damage it. This should work with any aluminum gimbal. A good source of different size plastic is from the part that holds small pieces for model car kits etc. Just cut off a short piece. You may need to take the gimbal apart and carefully file the aluminum so it is smooth again. Now that knob can be used to apply tension without damaging the swivel.
On the flashpoint gimbal I unscrewed the rear knob... (
show quote)
Clever idea. And that will still hold securely?
jerryc41 wrote:
Clever idea. And that will still hold securely?
Thanks Jerry. It works good to tighten knob down when attaching gimbal to or removing from tripod or other mounts. That's what I use it mostly for.
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