Attaching shades, etc., to Linhof front standard

[Mike Lewis]

I own a Linhof Technika V. Recently I purchased a Linhof compendium shade for this camera. The shade, and other accessories such as the wire frame viewfinder, attach to the front standard with two prongs that fit down into two holes on the top of the standard. Is one supposed to force the prongs down into the holes for a "snap fit" or does some knob need to be pushed/pulled/whatever? There is quite a bit of resistance to pushing the prongs in all the way and I'm hesitant to do so unless I know nothing else needs to be done. Please help.

Thanks.

[Julio Fernandez]

Michael: I'd place a 1/2 drop of light oil on the hole and the prongs and then try inserting the prongs. The are supposed to go in with a little push, no knobs.

[Jean-Louis Llech]

Don't worry, a Linhof is rock-solid and everything is "engineered" this way.
You just have to push the prongs in the holes all the way. There is inside these holes a small spring to maintain the prongs into place.

[Bob Salomon]

A V is at least 27 years old. During that time the holes can become dirty as they are not covered and are facing up. Have you tried to see if they need cleaning? Adding oil to the pins may make the problem worse if the holes need cleaning as the oil will attract particles.

[Scott Walton]

A Qtip and some alcohol will help to clean the grung that builds up in the holes. Take most of the cotton off of the tip and dip in the alcohol. You might go through several Qtips. Swab it out with a dry tip and then very lightly coat it with either WD40 spayed on a Qtip or light machine oil... they are supposed to fit pretty snug though. This way has worked for me for years.