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How to remove Manfrotto 128 RC tripod head (2 Viewers)

...when I get a new pod and head...

One of the nice things about Manfrotto/Bogen is that they have replacement parts for everything (in my experience, even for most discontinued models). If you otherwise like your tripod, you should be able to get a new complete center column assembly, to which you can attach a new head if the old one can't be fixed. I don't follow your description of the slotted center screw, so maybe the following isn't relevant, but if you are trying to take off the top plate and head together for some reason, the top plate on the center column of many models attaches via a hex nut that is reached with a very long socket extension through the length of the center column. If that doesn't work, you could saw off the top inch of so of the center column and go from there. Also, keep in mind that you may be able to get replacement parts for your broken head. I just had the cast metal part that clamps the handle on my 700RC2 head fail (it cracked in half on a cold day when I tried to quickly fold my scope downward for carrying). The replacement part is $6 direct from Bogen/Manfrotto. Wish this bit were made with cold forging or machining (I ordered an extra replacement for future use).

--AP
 
Thanks Alexis, my "observation" about the nut on top of the head was irrelevant, I thought it came straight up through from the centre column:-O. Today I went to the store in Dublin and bought a replacement head (128RC). The salesman there insisted that the head should come off the tripod...he tried but couldn't budge it, but advised me to take it home, WD40 it again, and have another go, rather than try to sell me a new tripod. I've given up now, but your advice re. Manfrotto is very gratefully received, I went to their website and asked about a new centre column. Presumably they'll respond shortly. Many thanks!:t:
 
I really don't understand. All the heads I have seen attach with the three screws. The silver part here
http://www.manfrotto.com/webdav/sit..._and_Telephotos/1112398127_250x250_fig-10.jpg
has the screws going up to the black part.

Yours doesn't?
Yes, Tero, the three screws go up through the silver part, into the black part, but I've removed the last one, and the head won't budge. It pans beautifully, but that's the problem, no matter how hard I tighten the nut on top of the head, when I try to jolt the head anti-clockwise, it pans instead of unscrewing from the centre-column plate. It's as if the centre-column plate and the head plate have fused together over the years. When I look up through the centre-column I can see the hex-nut that Alexis mention, but even if I could get to it, I still can't turn the head without the panning action kicking in.
 
There are in fact two silver plates. This is the bottom of a head, and a big screw from the base goes into it. The three screws only prevent the two plates from moving apart once attached.

You need to take a plumber's wrench and turn one of the silver plates. You can take the three screws completely out before that.
 

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You need to take a plumber's wrench and turn one of the silver plates. You can take the three screws completely out before that.
Unfortunately of the two plates, the one I really need to turn is the one that's inside the head, with only a millimetre or two protruding beneath it, not enough to get any purchase on with any of the mediocre tools I have to hand. But you've given me a great idea, thanks Tero.....my local Bike Mechanic is also a Plumber....if he can't separate the two plates, I'll give up and buy a new tripod!
 
Sancho, I had the opposite problem to you as the head on my Opticron tripod kept working loose. I tightened it properly recently by wrapping masking tape round the two parts to protect them and using a couple of wrenches to nip it tighter. So far so good.

I may be well off track as I don't know your head but is there any possibility of trickling hot water from a kettle over the section containing the female thread to expand it before trying to unscrew it?

Ron
 
Sancho, my safety catch broke off in 1993...

never been a problem - i just use the quick realease plate as normal - do you have an extra problem? Is it jammed tight or something?

Tim
 
Sancho, my safety catch broke off in 1993...

never been a problem - i just use the quick realease plate as normal - do you have an extra problem? Is it jammed tight or something?

Tim
NoSpringChicken...that's genius! I'll try that!

Tim....Amazing....no, it's not jammed tight. I just reckoned that if the safety catch doesn't work, my beloved ED82 might take a drop. I can jam the (now springless) safety-catch in so that it's tight, but I don't have much confidence in its staying put. Mind you, if yours has lasted that long...
 
Sancho's Amazing Solution

Those of you who haven't died of boredom reading me whinge about my tripod-head might be interested to know that I finally got the head off! I had an idea...I took an electric drill, and using a metal-drilling bit made a hole through the tripod head, perpendicular to direction of the pod-legs. This made a hole through the black exterior (that actually rotates) and into the plate on the interior (that doesn't turn). I then inserted a concrete-drilling bit into the hole, so that it stuck into the plate and prevented plate and exterior from separating. On the first attempt, when I tried to jerk the panning-handle, it broke off! (That's how fused together the two plates were!)Then I took Lucy Lump-Hammer and hit the drill-bit a few whacks to turn the head in an anti-clockwise direction, and lo and behold, it dislodged the head from the tripod's central-column plate and off it came! There you have it, folks, a drastic DIY solution to frozen heads. Thanks to all who offered advice and help!
(P.S. - the new head is now installed, with plates and threads well-greased).
 
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You should have made a video of your recent antics Sancho,it would have been a best seller,well it really made me laugh anyway,keepup the good work(DIY)
 
Darn, now you don't have an excuse to get that new tripod!
Aaaargh! So proud of myself was I at having solved the problem, that I completely forgot about the prospect of a new CF one!!! Let's see....I'll just have to "wait" for the legs to break....where did I leave Lucy.....
 
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(P.S. - the new head is now installed, with plates and threads well-greased).
As you may have discovered by now, the two parts that are screwed together don't need to be super tight. The three screws, provided not all three fall out, keep it from unwinding.
 
As you may have discovered by now, the two parts that are screwed together don't need to be super tight. The three screws, provided not all three fall out, keep it from unwinding.
Yeah, thanks Tero, I've figured it all now with your help and that of an Electric Drill and Lucy! I'll also take it apart occasionally just to make sure. Interesting point on the leaflet that came with the new head (relating to another thread some time ago): it says one shouldn't carry the scope attached to the tripod, for fear it falls off! Don't think I can obey that particular instruction...
 
..it says one shouldn't carry the scope attached to the tripod,
The lawyers made them put that in. Everybody carries the scope that way. I may take it off in the car as it is quick to reassemble.
 
The lawyers made them put that in. Everybody carries the scope that way. I may take it off in the car as it is quick to reassemble.
Yeah, I couldn´t be bothered taking it off every time I move on. Here are some photos of my solution, just in case anyone has the same problem, i.e. a Tripod Head that won´t come off the tripod (you just drill the hole, insert the bit, and whack it a few times; you can see where the panning-handle broke off on the first attempt):
 
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I see you have been sent to the play room to play with your drills and stuff. Tv, stuffed toy and part of a kid in the back ground.
 
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