Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: skimasks on March 18, 2018, 03:04:18 pm
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I was recently on set and I had to make a slight adjustment of the Arca Swiss clamp on my cube. The thing exploded like a friggin grenade... as there is no end stop on the lock. Worst design ever. I managed to crawl around and pick up the following pieces. I was wondering if anyone knew if I was missing anything, and if they had tips on reassembly?? I feel like I might be missing a washer or two...but it is hard to tell given the fact that it all flew in different directions at once on a dimly lit location set.
Parts I found:
both base clamp parts
2 springs
adjustment wheel/nut
clamp handle
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You are missing three small washers, shown below. Good news is it will still work without the washers, bad news is it will be harder to adjust that little wheel because it will be closer to the moving side of the clamp. if you find the washers, they go on the movable side of the post, between the moving clamp and the silver hand nut in that little slot.
(http://www.davechewphotography.com//temp_images/IMG_3321.jpg)
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You are missing three small washers, shown below. Good news is it will still work without the washers, bad news is it will be harder to adjust that little wheel because it will be closer to the moving side of the clamp. if you find the washers, they go on the movable side of the post, between the moving clamp and the silver hand nut in that little slot.
(http://www.davechewphotography.com//temp_images/IMG_3321.jpg)
Thanks so much for this Dave!! I really appreciate it! Just took a look at the stock photo of this..it looks like all three washers go in sequence (touching each other)? Just want to confirm this is true. Seems bizarre. If you happen to have calipers handy, would you mind checking thickness of the washers (individually..or as a collective) for me? Looks like these would be relatively easy to replace, as I have all the hard to manufacture parts.
Thanks again!
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Here is what it looks like back together. Your fingers have to be pretty dexterous in order to push everything together while placing the washers and nut then screwing it together. If you have a bench vice it goes much easier.
Dave
(http://www.davechewphotography.com//temp_images/IMG_3323.jpg)
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I don't have calipers here, but the three of them stacked together are ~ 1/16, so 0.02" - ish.
Dave
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Perfect! This should hold me until my replacement screw mount comes. Thanks again :)
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Actually, if yours was that close to coming apart with a little adjustment, you might start with two instead of three. That will give you a few more threads to play with before explosion.
One other tip: don’t leave the release lever unclamped when traveling. It can vibrate loose in the car and explode on its own. Ask me how I know.
Dave
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Instead of fixing it, why not take the opportunity to replace it with a better clamp, such as the RRS one?
Given that the current Arca-Swiss ones are glued on tight and no-one will remove it for you (I think it needs a combination of heat and force, applied without damaging the head itself), a clamp that's physically come apart and off the head is a rare opportunity to upgrade.
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.......snrf........giggle......sorry....... I resemble that explosion! That was my first day with the clamp....
I recovered all the little washers, but it took some patience to get it all back together. Actually, it took a short walk and some distraction to cool down and get the patience after my first fumbling attempt to reassemble while angry. The adjustment is very stiff when the clamp is new, leading to over-shoot and thus explosion. Once I got it together and then adjusted it at home to suit my Kirk L bracket and plates, I never adjusted it again. Not a stellar design, though I will say that the clamp is very secure. I will say that all of my OTHER clamps are SCREW mechanism clamps.....
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Instead of fixing it, why not take the opportunity to replace it with a better clamp, such as the RRS one?
Given that the current Arca-Swiss ones are glued on tight and no-one will remove it for you (I think it needs a combination of heat and force, applied without damaging the head itself), a clamp that's physically come apart and off the head is a rare opportunity to upgrade.
My arca swiss screw clamp arrived today (way faster than I expected). I have an old cube (before they started adding adhesive to the threads)..so all I had to do was simply unscrew and put in place (despite ArcaSwiss' insistence on it needing to be shipped to France) .
I'm glad that, thanks to Dave, I now can fix my old clamp. Although horribly unreliable (yes, someone likely left it unlocked during transport.).. it's good to have a backup in case things go wrong again. Why not RRS?.. the Arca system has an anti-rotational notch that seats into the head.. Not sure of how everyone else with RRS heads are dealing with this aspect.
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.......snrf........giggle......sorry....... I resemble that explosion! That was my first day with the clamp....
I recovered all the little washers, but it took some patience to get it all back together. Actually, it took a short walk and some distraction to cool down and get the patience after my first fumbling attempt to reassemble while angry. The adjustment is very stiff when the clamp is new, leading to over-shoot and thus explosion. Once I got it together and then adjusted it at home to suit my Kirk L bracket and plates, I never adjusted it again. Not a stellar design, though I will say that the clamp is very secure. I will say that all of my OTHER clamps are SCREW mechanism clamps.....
Right?! I'm just glad they chose for those washers to be painted/powder coated black so they'd be near impossible to find on a dark set/location. *eye rolls*
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Why not RRS?.. the Arca system has an anti-rotational notch that seats into the head.. Not sure of how everyone else with RRS heads are dealing with this aspect.
The RRS replacement has that notch in it too. You just need to order the B2 AS II.
BTW, I just found a fourth washer on the floor, so I guess there are four...
Dave
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My AS lever clamp exploded over a slate gray surface..... bringing an early "Swear like a Pirate" day. >:(
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Instead of fixing it, why not take the opportunity to replace it with a better clamp, such as the RRS one?
personally I prefer the Arca Swiss version with it’s double catch mechanism, I also have accidentally hooked things like coat sleeves on the RRS one, almost tipping over my entire setup.
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For a lever clamp, the Arca Swiss version is good except for the "explodes if over-adjusted" issue. I too like the two-stage release. I never tried the RRS. Other heads have screw clamps: Sunwayfoto disc clamp on Arca Swiss p0 (excellent), Hejnar clamp as part of Arca adapter kit for Manfrotto 410 geared head.