Wood legs and cold temps....

Just a warning to those in cold climes that are considering the wood
alternative to the typical aluminum CG series tripod legs....

Last night I took my older Vixen GP mount with the old Vixen standard wood
tripod and a 127mm F6.5 refractor out for a spin on the driveway. Inside the
garage it was around 40F and everything was nice and secure, outside 20F and
dropping. After about an hour, things loosened up and one of the legs
collapsed (the center piece slid up between the two outer pieces).

I'm rethinking the goodness factor of these legs now.... fortunately nothing
got damaged because I was on hand, and it was me that got the ball rolling
by putting a little downward pressure on the mount. Still, having the scope
start to spill over made it a hairy moment. I'm now concerned about this
behavior occuring all on its own, while unattended some cold, cold night.

At a minimum, give a crank on the fasteners from time to time.

"Stephen Paul" wrote in message
...
Just a warning to those in cold climes that are considering the wood
alternative to the typical aluminum CG series tripod legs....

Last night I took my older Vixen GP mount with the old Vixen standard
wood tripod and a 127mm F6.5 refractor out for a spin on the driveway.
Inside the garage it was around 40F and everything was nice and secure,
outside 20F and dropping. After about an hour, things loosened up and one
of the legs collapsed (the center piece slid up between the two outer
pieces).

I'm rethinking the goodness factor of these legs now.... fortunately
nothing got damaged because I was on hand, and it was me that got the
ball rolling by putting a little downward pressure on the mount. Still,
having the scope start to spill over made it a hairy moment. I'm now
concerned about this behavior occuring all on its own, while unattended
some cold, cold night.

At a minimum, give a crank on the fasteners from time to time.

Hi Stephen. Hardwood usually has a certain percentage of moisture - up to
10%, in some species. Perhaps you could set your tripod outside in the
cold before using it. That way, it will cool down before you use it, and
you will be less likely to have this problem. Just a thought.

george

Stephen Paul wrote:
Just a warning to those in cold climes that are considering the wood
alternative to the typical aluminum CG series tripod legs....

Last night I took my older Vixen GP mount with the old Vixen standard wood
tripod and a 127mm F6.5 refractor out for a spin on the driveway. Inside the
garage it was around 40F and everything was nice and secure, outside 20F and
dropping. After about an hour, things loosened up and one of the legs
collapsed (the center piece slid up between the two outer pieces).

I'm rethinking the goodness factor of these legs now.... fortunately nothing
got damaged because I was on hand, and it was me that got the ball rolling
by putting a little downward pressure on the mount. Still, having the scope
start to spill over made it a hairy moment. I'm now concerned about this
behavior occuring all on its own, while unattended some cold, cold night.

At a minimum, give a crank on the fasteners from time to time.


Bad night for tripod legs. As I was setting up my refractor I realized
the clamp that holds the extended center piece of the leg was broken.
The bolt of the hand screw bears on a friction plate that then clamps
the leg. Apparently the bolt punched through the friction plate.
Engineered (Ha!) a temp fix with a piece of cat food can. :-)
After overcoming this adversity I was rewarded with a crystalline sky
and perfect seeing...Not!
Got smoked out by all the local wood stoves :-(

Shawn