DIY "travel counterweight" for EQ3/2

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

To make this mount more airline transportable, I put together this little contraption.

It consists of a 20 cm M16 bolt, connected to a PVC end cover of a 125mm diameter pipe, attached to a short piece of pipe with a threaded cap. This part holds just shy of 1 litre of water or sand, or anything heavy. The M16 screw replaces the regular counterweight bar. I will test the combination the moment the skies clear.

[Stu]

Cracking idea Michael. I've been scratching my head thinking about how to achieve this sort of thing to give me a counterweight for the Giro-WR when I go abroad, so I think I'll try a copy of this!  

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

Cracking idea Michael. I've been scratching my head thinking about how to achieve this sort of thing to give me a counterweight for the Giro-WR when I go abroad, so I think I'll try a copy of this!  

Should work well. I think an M12 bolt would work for the Giro 

[Stu]

Does the bolt go all the way through both side or just the top side in your picture? Do you think it will cope with the weight without drooping?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

15 minutes ago, Stu said:

Does the bolt go all the way through both side or just the top side in your picture? Do you think it will cope with the weight without drooping?

The bolt does not go all the way through.  The M16 bolt will certainly not bend or droop, although the PVC tube might droop. I am thinking of putting either a steel or wooden disk inside the cap. I will test it first, however.

[Stu]

9 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

The bolt does not go all the way through.  The M16 bolt will certainly not bend or droop, although the PVC tube might droop. I am thinking of putting either a steel or wooden disk inside the cap. I will test it first, however.

That's what I was thinking, that the PVC might deform. I guess you could fix another bolt inside the inside of the end cap to screw the bolt into to hold it all square?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

1 minute ago, Stu said:

That's what I was thinking, that the PVC might deform. I guess you could fix another bolt inside the inside of the end cap to screw the bolt into to hold it all square?

I had a slightly smaller version of this for my P-mount, and that was solid as a rock with 1.3 kg of nails in it, so I think this will be OK.