tripod mount: where to start?

[csalem]

I've been messing around with this big ugly B&J 8x10 for a couple of weeks. There are two ways to affix the thing to the tripod. One is a sort of wooden tripod plate that the base of the camera slides into. It stays in place through the tension on two aluminum "clamps" on the side of the plate. By "stay in place" I mean, it doesn't slide off the tripod. Very sketchy, very wobbley.

The other way to affix the camera is two 1/8" 20 threaded holes in the bottom of the base plate. Actually, there are two hole but only one has a threaded metal... uh... receiver. The other is an empty wooden hole.

What I want to do is attach a long Best Stuff(RRS) quick release plate to the base of the camera, but I want to have those two connection points to attach to. The question is, where do I get such a thing(threaded receiver), and maybe more importantly, what do I call it?

This post looks really confusing without pictures, but maybe someone knows exactly what I'm looking for.

[keith schreiber]

Not sure without pictures, but it sounds like you are talking about the same thing that I recently had to replace on my old 7x17 Korona. It's sort of like a T-nut ...

http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/30146-01-200.jpg

... but with a flange that is fastened to the base with tiny screws or nails, rather than simply hammering it in.

I had to countersink mine since I couldn't find one with a barrel long enough for the thickness of the base. It would be helpful to have (or have access to) a drill press to do this safely.

I can't find a picture of exactly what I used, but I found it at the local Ace Hardware.

~ Keith

[keith schreiber]

This looks almost exactly like what I used:

http://images1.mcmaster.com/Contents/gfx/large/90611a350p1l.png

McMaster-Carr calls it a "weld nut with holes". The one I found at Ace had a slightly longer barrel.

[csalem]

yes! thanks, keith

[dsphotog]

The sliding block mount is a very nice thing to have. They allow fore & aft balancing.
I'd try to fix that also. A bit of straightening of the side clamps should tighten the wobble.

[Scott --]

I've used threaded inserts (http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=44203&cat=3,43576,61994&ap=1) before with great success. Usually the zinc ones, though I'm not sure the brass ones would be any less robust.

That said, I'll likely use what Keith pointed out above in the future.

[Leigh]

The other way to affix the camera is two 1/8" 20 threaded holes...
I think you mean 1/4"-20 thread.

A 1/8"-20 thread would be quite an odd-ball.

- Leigh