8x10 Deardorf Base Plate Screw Hole too deep

[RawheaD]

Hi, I just got my first Deardorf 8x10 (woohoo) and immediately noticed that the screw hole on the base plate, which has a normal 1/4in female screw, is recessed too far and none of my tripod quick release plates can be used; i.e., the screws just won't reach the female threads at all, not even a single turn's worth.

I've tried many tripods, and the amount of protrusion above the plate surface tends to be more or less uniform, so it seems the base plate / screw hole is the issue. Question: what is a good way around it? Is it pretty easy to get a longer screw from tripod/head manufactures?

I want to use this with my Manfrotto....

Thanks for any advice.

[Kevin Crisp]

Go to a real hardware store and get a small bolt with the right thread. It is a really common size. 1/4 x 20 or something like that.

[RawheaD]

Go to a real hardware store and get a small bolt with the right thread. It is a really common size. 1/4 x 20 or something like that.

Sweet, exactly what I wanted to hear :D Off to the HW Store tomorrow :D Thanks!

[Keith Fleming]

RawheaD,

You may also find, as I did, that a quick release plate and tripod head that worked fine on my 4X5 was not strong enough for the weight of my Deardorff 8X10. There was enough "give" present that I bought a tripod head made for an 8X10.

Keith

[Tin Can]

Look for Grade 5 or Grade 8, which have 3 or 6 marks on the top. Do not settle for the cheapest.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/steel-bolts-sae-grades-d_1426.html

My factory had to replace nearly every bolt that somebody got from the low cost supplier, the factory was a million sq ft.

[Roger Thoms]

I had the same problem with a Burke & James 5x7 and a Berlebach QR plate. Berlebach made me a longer screw for 10€ including shipping, which was a very elegant solution. Perhaps the manufacture of the QR Plate can supply you with a longer screw.

Now if Berlebach had been willing to make a longer screw for me then the hardware store would have been my next stop. I could have ground the head down on a 1/4"x20 bolt and made it work.

Roger

[Jac@stafford.net]

Hi, I just got my first Deardorf 8x10 (woohoo) and immediately noticed that the screw hole on the base plate, which has a normal 1/4in female screw, is recessed too far and none of my tripod quick release plates can be used; i.e., the screws just won't reach the female threads at all, not even a single turn's worth.

I drilled and tapped mine to 3/8 x 16.

Soon you will learn how to spell Deardorff. :)


I could have ground the head down on a 1/4"x20 bolt and made it work.

It is easier to buy just a 1/4 x 20 stud.

[RawheaD]

RawheaD,

You may also find, as I did, that a quick release plate and tripod head that worked fine on my 4X5 was not strong enough for the weight of my Deardorff 8X10. There was enough "give" present that I bought a tripod head made for an 8X10.

Keith

Actually, I'm already thinking this would be the case; but one thing at a time, I'm already bleeding heavily from the purchases I've made recently :D I'd need to buy a sturdier tripod, too. 2014 :)

[RawheaD]

Look for Grade 5 or Grade 8, which have 3 or 6 marks on the top. Do not settle for the cheapest.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/steel-bolts-sae-grades-d_1426.html

My factory had to replace nearly every bolt that somebody got from the low cost supplier, the factory was a million sq ft.



WOW, this is some cool stuff, never knew about these markings!! Thanks for the info!

[RawheaD]

I had the same problem with a Burke & James 5x7 and a Berlebach QR plate. Berlebach made me a longer screw for 10€ including shipping, which was a very elegant solution. Perhaps the manufacture of the QR Plate can supply you with a longer screw.

Now if Berlebach had been willing to make a longer screw for me then the hardware store would have been my next stop. I could have ground the head down on a 1/4"x20 bolt and made it work.

Roger



I will ask Manfrotto :) It would be nice to have an "official" solution.

[RawheaD]

I drilled and tapped mine to 3/8 x 16.

Soon you will learn how to spell Deardorff. :)

It is easier to buy just a 1/4 x 20 stud.


DOH LOL. Deardorff. Deardorff. I got my spellchecker to learn that spelling :) Making it 3/8 sounds like a really nice & stable solution. I love all these suggestions. Thanks guys. Deardorff.

[E. von Hoegh]

DOH LOL. Deardorff. Deardorff. I got my spellchecker to learn that spelling :) Making it 3/8 sounds like a really nice & stable solution. I love all these suggestions. Thanks guys. Deardorff.

Deardorff = 2 effs; Linhof = 1 eff. The easiest way to remember this is to get one of each.
As for the tripod, I'd not use a QR of any sort. My V8 is an early FS and did not have a baseplate; when I reglued the bed I added a baseplate, but left the original bushing - I tapped the threads in the baseplate so that a long screw would thread through the baseplate and into the bushing. My tripod has a roughly 5"x7" mounting plate with a 1/4-20 screw, the camera mounts very securely.

Welcome to the club, I've been using mine since the late 1980s and am still utterly happy with it!

[Jonathan Barlow]

Is your V8 an early model with just an insert in the center of the 4-piece wooden base, or does it have the large round cast aluminum plate with the Deardorff name?




Hi, I just got my first Deardorf 8x10 (woohoo) and immediately noticed that the screw hole on the base plate, which has a normal 1/4in female screw, is recessed too far and none of my tripod quick release plates can be used; i.e., the screws just won't reach the female threads at all, not even a single turn's worth.

I've tried many tripods, and the amount of protrusion above the plate surface tends to be more or less uniform, so it seems the base plate / screw hole is the issue. Question: what is a good way around it? Is it pretty easy to get a longer screw from tripod/head manufactures?

I want to use this with my Manfrotto....

Thanks for any advice.

[RawheaD]

Is your V8 an early model with just an insert in the center of the 4-piece wooden base, or does it have the large round cast aluminum plate with the Deardorff name?

Is has the large round plate ;)

[starvingartist]

Just to let everyone know. I contacted Ries Tripod and purchased a new baseplate for my Deardorff 8X10. Thew screw hole is made from stainless steel and is not recessed like the old style. Also, they sold me a new custom camera screw that gives me a full inch of hold down. Definitely better than re-threading the old plate.

[Luis-F-S]

I've re-threaded two of my V8 base plates from 1/4-20 to 3/8-16. My two V5's already had the 3/8" plates. I think the Ries plate is really neat, and since I already have three Ries tripods, the Ries screws reach the DD's base plate with no issues! Great products. L

[Jim Jones]

Burke & James was another maker that recessed some of their tripod screw sockets too deep. Their tripods had a screw that was too long for some modern small cameras. The ASA standard of 1952 recommended 1/4 inch tripod sockets of light cameras to be 0.197 inch deep and heavy cameras 0.375 inch deep. The maximum recommended protrusion of the tripod screw for light cameras was 0.175 inch and for heavy cameras 0.340 inch. The spec sheet doesn't define light or heavy cameras. Perhaps the Deardorff and B&J cameras cited above were made before that ASA standard was published.