14-24 D700 combo Making Pistol Grip Tripod Head "Droop" Solved: My Pistol Grip Tripod Heads are ok in landscape format, with the mass of camera lens combo more or less (6 inches on the...

Abo

My Pistol Grip Tripod Heads are ok in landscape format, with
the mass of camera lens combo more or less (6 inches on the Slik unit) directly above the ball.

However when you lean it over 90 degrees into portrait mode the
grip of the ball has to fight the weight of the combo multiplied
by roughly six inches of leverage... and loses.

I made the below out of aluminium plate that I had kicking
around the storage shed... for a total cost of zero dollars,
which is mighty groovy, as I could have paid up to $400 plus
for a heavy duty ball head.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on a remedy
in the thread I created "Any Suggestions For A Pistol Grip Tripod Head... or head that aims quickly" https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-711538-1.html ]
as the comments you guys made inspired
the epiphany I had... to create what you see below:
Particularly Robertjerl and Gene51

Anyway, when deployed in portrait mode now
the center of gravity of the camera and lens
is exactly above the ball and the combo
is locked effortlessly in place.

Here's the chunk of aly I shaped and *tapped *(for the 1/4 whitworth thread for the QR plate):

I cut the diameter of the thread slightly undersize for maximum thread engagement with zero play to eliminate the possibility of the thread stripping in the "commercial" grade alloy.

(Download)

I gave it a coat of textured stealth black enamel to smarten it up. The screw is only in the thread for the QR plate so it doesn't get lost. That screw goes into the other face to fasten the camera to the plate.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Abo wrote:

My Pistol Grip Tripod Heads are ok in landscape fo... (show quote)

Now for your next challenge.
Explain the meaning of life in 10 words or less

or just give us your favorite recipe

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

Abo wrote:

My Pistol Grip Tripod Heads are ok in landscape fo... (show quote)

Good job! Nice to have a shop and the tools to be able to do it yourself. I bought mine a couple of years ago from Lazada for PHP417 ( about $4.50 USD); it works fine! No need to pay the terribly outlandish prices asked by some photo equipment suppliers!!! It has slots rather than individual holes, so it's easy to adjust for different lenses (and cameras).

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Abo wrote:

My Pistol Grip Tripod Heads are ok in landscape fo... (show quote)

Nice job on the L bracket! You guys still use Whitworth? I had a 65 Triumph Bonneville that had all three - American Standard, Metric and Whitworth. What a nightmare!

Nice job on the L bracket!

Abo

Gene51 wrote:

Nice job on the L bracket! You guys still use Whitworth? I had a 65 Triumph Bonneville that had all three - American Standard, Metric and Whitworth. What a nightmare!

Nice job on the L bracket!

No Gene, the thread in the bottom of your camera is 1/4 Whitworth...
so the thread tapped into the bracket I fabricated had to be Whitworth
to accept the QR plate

(nominal diameter of 1/4 inch with 20 threads per inch and .032 deep.)

Apart from that, often threaded rod (called "all thread by some)
is BSW... which is pretty universal... including in the good ol' USA.

The beauty of some of the older English threads is the valleys and even
the peaks of some, had a radius contributing to the strength of the
fastner.

I always loved the look of Bonnies of that generation... I reckon
they look a million percent better than the current Hinkley Bonnievilles too.

Abo

robertjerl wrote:

Now for your next challenge.
Explain the meaning of life in 10 words or less

or just give us your favorite recipe

:-)

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Abo wrote:

My Pistol Grip Tripod Heads are ok in landscape fo... (show quote)

Now, just sit back and collect. Cool invention ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Abo

joecichjr wrote:

Now, just sit back and collect. Cool invention ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If only it were so easy.

I'm calling it a Z bracket; that
defines its shape/geometry... and
hopefully photographers
wont confuse it with an "L" bracket.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Abo wrote:

If only it were so easy.

I'm calling it a Z bracket; that
defines its shape/geometry... and
hopefully photographers
wont confuse it with an "L" bracket.

Don't be surprised if someone starts selling them.
I knew an old guy who said his dad built a small cabin on the back of his truck in the early 30's and had a hoist to take it off in a barn. People tried to get him to make and sell them, maybe even get a patent, but he didn't think they would sell well enough to be worth the effort.

Let's see, even at only one cent each for every camper on a pickup truck over the last 80 years or so = A LOT OF MONEY!

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Epic Concept; Design; Fabrication and Finish...
Loving the textured stealth black enamel! Looks absolutely stellar...

Thanks so much for sharing your innovative D700 camera support system artistry Abo

Abo

Thomas902 wrote:

Epic Concept; Design; Fabrication and Finish...
Loving the textured stealth black enamel! Looks absolutely stellar...

Thanks so much for sharing your innovative D700 camera support system artistry Abo

:-)

When I wore a younger mans clothes,
I made a NACA vent out of "recycled"
aluminium Fosters cans... in the bonnet of my Charger...
to feed cold air to the oil cooler.

From the outside it looked like any old NACA vent
as the paint of the car disguised the fact that
the sheet metal was cut from Fosters cans, but
when the bonnet (hood) was open you could see
that the metal was indeed from good ol'
Fosters Lager cans... which raised a few smiles
from the scrutineers.

image shamelessly lifted off the interweb

Quixdraw Loc: x

Abo wrote:

:-) br br When I wore a younger mans clothes, br ... (show quote)

Always impressed by your skill set! Fosters flashes me back to other times and wicked companions. Will have to see if I can get hold of a few, haven't had one for must be 20 years - I recall Big cans!

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Really great job on that L-bracket!

I love to see photographers using their ingenuity and skills to make their own brackets, adaptations and problem-solving solutions. There is stuff you just can't buy or perhaps are disproportionately expensive that can be crafted with a few simple tools and some good old improvisation.

I have been making my own specialized flash brackets and other adaptation for years. Besides, it's FUN! If you have a drill and a 1/4 x 20 tap, you can work wonders. I like to heat up aluminum bar stock with a propane torch and easily bend it to all kinds of angles and shapes. Then I take it to a shop that does anodizing.

I also noticed Abo's jars of hardware. Gotta love it!

I buy the jam, just for the jars. I purchased my tap set in 1962- still have it!

Abo

quixdraw wrote:

Always impressed by your skill set! Fosters flashes me back to other times and wicked companions. Will have to see if I can get hold of a few, haven't had one for must be 20 years - I recall Big cans!

It was first brewed here in my home city of Melbourne by American immigrants;
the Foster brothers in 1888. And it continued to be brewed here up until 1981
when it went international, and was brewed in many different countries
under licence... It was the only beer my father would drink... apart from the home
brew he made from time to time.

Victoria Bitter comes/came out of the same brewery and that is preferred
by the vast majority of locals. Affectionately known as VB, which according
to the beer connoisseurs stands for Very Bad lol Having said that, I think
that VB sales are greater than any other beer Australia wide.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

E.L.. Shapiro wrote:

Really great job on that L-bracket! br br I lov... (show quote)

Excellent 🍀🍀🍀