Tripod Legs Stuck

[Qualia]

I was wondering if anyone could help?

I have a Celestron CG5 tripod with 2" legs. I imagine it is very similar to Skywatcher's EQ5. Anyway, each leg of the tripod has a rotating lock and these locks work fine; they rotate in and out and can be completely removed without a problem. 

However, on all 3 legs, I am unable to release the legs, that is, they do not telescope out from their casing; they are just stuck. I have tried, with some reasonable amount of force, to pull and twist them out, but they just won't budge. I have tried 'leaking' WD 40, 3 in 1 and a whole host of other lubrications between the leg and casing, but nothing. I have stood the tripod on its head and let the oils trickle down; not once, not twice, but day after day. I have gently banged at the legs with a plank of wood to see if they will budge and nothing, nada.

No matter what try, I just can't get those legs to extend out.

The tripod has always been stored in a dry room, it has never been rained on and has never been out in a sand storm. It's in perfect, cared for condition, so, I just cannot figure what is wrong with the tripod and now I'm at wits end.

Any suggestions on how to release these stuck legs would be a great help. I include a photo to give some idea of the tripod and it's parts:

[Coastliner]

Boiling hot water poured down the outside of each leg may expand the outer one enough to loosen the inner one.

[brantuk]

I've had similar problems to this - fortunately only one leg at a time. The twist locks can be done up too hard and the little plate inside the leg that pushes onto the inner tube gets dislodged and slides out of the recess it sits in. This wedges it between the two tubes on the inside seizing it all up.

What I did was undo the three tiny pins that hold the whole mechanism in place and then wiggle it up and down and twist a little till it all frees up. Once the inner tube slides out then it all has to be reassembled and located carefully in place and secured once again with the locating pins. Then don't do it up too hard when extending the legs. Hth

[Coastliner]

And, I assume you have the bracing shelf removed?

[brantuk]

Yes I took the spreader plate off to make the whole thing more manageable.

[Qualia]

Thank you Coastliner and Brantuk for your great advice

Brantuk, this morning after a little session with the Sun, I took a look at one of the legs and did exactly as you've instructed. Absolutely spot on! I took off the lock, undid the four tiny little screws and the whole leg begun to shuffle .

I found the little metal plate and a plastic casing which fits around the tripods leg and which keeps the plate and leg in place. Just experimenting, I removed the plate to see how easily the leg would slide up and down with the necessary plastic case - necessary for it keeps the leg in place - and there is still a fair bit of stubborn 'locking' or friction going on. So, I've made a temporary conclusion that I'll need to sort out this casing before looking at the metal plate.

Perhaps its just a case of sand-papering a bit of the plastic, to make the casing a tad thinner; or applying a bit of lubrication. I have to head out to work and won't be able to attend to the tripod until late tonight or tomorrow but needless to say, your words of wisdom have done wonders. The legs can now be removed and I'll just have to think of a way to get them sliding with relative ease. 

Thank you once again

[cotterless45]

Brilliant, I was going to suggest chaining one end to your bumper , securing the tripod to a stout tree and driving off.

What's the worse that could happen?

Old Nick.

[Peter Drew]

This is likely to always be a potential problem. The position hold is dependent on the pressure of the locking screw and it is very difficult to assess the amount of tightening required to stop a leg slipping under the weight of the mount/telescope. The natural tendency is for owners to overtighten to be on the safe side.

[brantuk]

Excellent Rob - glad I was able to help.

To be honest I think it's a bit of a ropey design considering how much weight we put on these tripods. But I can't think of another way to secure the extended legs without using holes and locating pins. Be careful you don't take too much off when sanding it down - otherwise you may find the plate dislodges easier in normal use. I just cleaned it off and reassembled it all. Then I made sure it was tight enough to hold the rig without being over tight.

Like Peter says - I'm one who always over tightens nuts, bolts, screws etc. If I had a quid for every thread I've stripped I'd be rich lol.

[RichM63]

Brilliant, I was going to suggest chaining one end to your bumper , securing the tripod to a stout tree and driving off.

What's the worse that could happen?

Old Nick.

The falling tree might land on the car crushing the driver whose family then discovers that normal insurance does not cover this type of activity and the tripod still remains 'stuck'.  

Before sanding stuff away permanently, I'd be tempted to grease and regularly move the legs in and out + store with the screws loose.

[Qualia]

Before sanding stuff away permanently, I'd be tempted to grease and regularly move the legs in and out + store with the screws loose.

Will do, Rich. The sanding of the plastic casing will be the last resort and to be honest, I can't imagine it would make a lot of difference. It seems to be a mess with the actual fitting/design. It's a shame really, for the AZ4's tripod is as smooth as silk.

[DRT]

I have a tripod with exactly this problem.

Thank you for posting the question and for the helpful answers. I now have something productive to do this weekend

[DRT]

I have had a go at this today but with no luck.

I think the tripod I have is the one with 2" legs that was supplied with an old EQ6. The black sleeve at the bottom of the upper part of the leg has two small grub screws, one twist lock and a disk-like protrusion on the inside of each leg that is part of the casting and is about the size of two pound coins stacked on top of one another. I do not know what if anything goes on inside that protrusion.

I have removed the grub screws and the twist lock. The leg mow moves but is very stiff. I can see the retaining plate inside through the whole where the twist lock goes through but cannot tell whether or not it has been dislodged and I cannot move it.

The casing on the top of the leg doesn't want to be removed and either does the foot.

Does anyone know how to take these legs apart? 

Thanks

Derek