Deben Hawke Tripod.

[wymberley]

Just picked up one of these and was fitting a couple of split rings with cable ties so I could use a 'sling' when the 20 watt bulb I have for a brain started to flicker. I was quite impressed with it - just had to tweak the 3 hinge bolts to get rid of a bit of play - so thought it was the effort. The head on these is detachable (the attachment bolt is captive which is handy) and the bolt suits the standard optics mounting threads. Took the head off and found that the brass thread insert was proud of the face which was soon fixed with a couple of strokes with a file. Found a penny (repair) washer and polished it both sides with emery paper. Re-assembled with the washer under the head and just nipped the bolt. Swivelled the head until it moved smoothly and repeated a couple of times slightly tweaking the bolt each time until I was happy. The soft head material would wear with use exposing the brass insert so coated the upper half of the washer with a smear of Araldite and re-assembled leaving it for about 1/2 an hour. Dismantled and greased the top of the tripod head and re-assembled using thread lock just nipping the bolt and left for another 1/2 hour. The head now swivels smoothly with no hint of any play and it's now left for the adhesives to cure. Sorted.