Stiff Majestic gear head - how to fix it?

[Tony Karnezis]

I have a couple nice Majestic gear heads that require a bit too much effort to turn the crank for the tilt. Does anyone have experience on how to open and grease them properly so that they operate smoothly again?

[Leigh]

The Majestic head is one of the simplest possible mechanisms; just a worm gear and worm.

There is a tension/backlash adjustment. It's a screw below the end plate on the end opposite the handle.

Most likely the grease has dried up. I just had to re-grease one of mine.

Loosen the backlash adjusting screw that I mentioned, then remove the end plate at that end.
This will give you sufficient access to remove the dried grease and replace it.

Or go in through the opening at the bottom, where the head attaches to the tripod proper.

Any decent gear or bearing grease works fine here.

- Leigh

[Tony Karnezis]

Thanks Leigh, I'll give it a shot. Neither of the heads has much grease on the worm gear, but neither is dry.

What concerns me is that even the friction tilt is very stiff on the one head, even with the tension adjustment screw (under the crank) fully released. I should probably disassemble the head, clean it and then re-pack it.

[Leigh]

Hi Tony,

Neither of mine has much grease either. They really don't need much.

I wonder if the stiff head has been damaged. There shouldn't be any drag with the tension screw backed off.

You might remove the end plate to fully disengage the worm, then try moving the platform by hand.
It should move freely, with no resistance. Any other result should be investigated.

- Leigh

[Tony Karnezis]

Fortunately the less stiff head ends up moving just fine with the 8x10 on it, as there is enough weight to keep the setup from moving while using the crank. However, you're undoubtedly correct about a problem with the stiffer head.

[Vaughn]

The crank was bent on the one I picked up at a yard sale -- I removed the crank and then a bit of hammer work was required to straighten it up. I need to take another look at it as it has developed a little bit of wobble. I really do not use the pod much as I have a Ries.

[Luis-F-S]

An old thread, but no one mentioned that the grease dries around the worm shaft and can make it very hard to turn the handle that's attached to it. I've now taken several of these apart and cleaned out the old grease around the handle shaft and replaced it with a little oil. If this cakes up, then I'll clean it and try a thin grease! A bent shaft is another problem that can also make it difficult to turn.

[LabRat]

I took a couple apart that were stiff to frozen up, and I started by freeing up the dried grease with naptha (lighter fluid), and then re-greasing the moving parts... Also using silicone spray that was acetone based really helped free it up...

Worked great!!!

Steve K

[Luis-F-S]

Adding to this thread, does anyone know how to take the base off in a model 1001 to re-grease? This is the model with the 3/8" insert for mounting to a tripod screw. There are two Allen bolts, but when backed out, the base will not come off and I don't want to force it. Thanks, L

[Duolab123]

I have a beautiful Majestic head. I haven't used it. Got it with a really lousy camera stand. I was having problems with the crank tilt feature, so stiff took two hands to turn the crank. The issue on mine was the worm drive shaft was binding as it went through the aluminum cone (on the inside) that supports the crank. I think it was some grease that had hardened to the point it was clamping the worm drive shaft, or it was dry, and the aluminum and steel started to bond.

I had a heck of a time getting the shaft removed from the aluminum cone. I used a block of wood and a 4 lb single jack hammer to get apart. Once apart I really cleaned the pieces in solvent. I put some fresh axle grease on the shaft , put it all back together, works really nice. I'm going to my machinist friend and have him make a plug that will mate this head to a Quick-set Hercules tripod.

I'm so pleased, now the little screw that sets the tension on the crank can do it's job. Nice 3 or 4 hour recreational fix.
Best Regards Mike

[Tin Can]

I have 3 of these fantastic heads, 3 variations all made in Chicago

Using 2 often

Heavy Duty!

[Jim Andrada]

I have one of the super duty Majestic Tripods and I love the head. Works just fine with the 8 x 10 Kardan Bi although I normally use it with smaller stuff like my Fuji GX680. I think it's the only 6 x 8 camera that's bigger and heavier than my Technika.

[Duolab123]

Hard to see, I put the Majestic head on Quick-set Hercules tripod legs. The Hercules came with a beautiful video head, I may use someday. My, machinist pal made me an adapter while I waited, he said "how bout 10 bucks". I handed him 2 twenty dollar bills and told him to stay home until he's vaccinated.
209945

[Tin Can]

I see a Saltzman head on the right!

I regret selling mine, but realized I would never find the Saltzman Camera Stand i sought, the one used in Funny Face (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050419/) a flic i watch again soon.



Hard to see, I put the Majestic head on Quick-set Hercules tripod legs. The Hercules came with a beautiful video head, I may use someday. My, machinist pal made me an adapter while I waited, he said "how bout 10 bucks". I handed him 2 twenty dollar bills and told him to stay home until he's vaccinated.
209945

[Duolab123]

Yeah I lucked out on that Saltzman. I've never seen one of the studio stands. Just pictures. And yes great movie!

[Luis-F-S]

I have 7 of these heads, all mint with 3/8-16 screws. Different vintages, three have the built in mount base, 4 have the 3/8" post adaptor. One is mounted on a very large Gitzo tripod, the others are put away as spares.