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Hello Steadi People! I'm a Portland based steadicam operator (I've operated my own kit on many short films in school, so I'm not totally green but I'm not a pro). Alright here's the story: I was rehearsing for a high speed follow shot in the street when I lost my footing and came crashing down. The impact caused the side to side adjustment on the sled to seize up. 😞 So! I'm curious if this community has any pointers for a scrappy steadicam pursist like myself. As it stands I see three pathways: 1. Find some kind of adjustable base plate that can just do the job the sled used to do. 2. Machine/drill out where the side to side screw goes, and machine it for a larger size. You can probably tell by my terminology that I'm not very equipt to do that... 3. Find the replacement part or something that can drop in. HELP ME PLEASE I YEARN FOR STEADICAM Thank you, Eli

I use an Ultra 2 Vest, and it is new (purchased from Tiffen in early 2014). I've been using it almost 5 days a week now for the past 6 months. Recently, it has been making a little more noise than normal when under load. I've looked through the Vest portion of the forum as well as a few search variations. Usually, the noise is along the lines of a squeak, vibrating plastic on metal or metal on metal. I hear it most often when the rig is away from my body or when booming. I have tried to pin point the noise to no avail. It sounds like it is coming from the socket block or center spar. I usually clean the vest once a month by completely dissasembling it and going in all the nooks and cranies with a tooth brush or cotton swab to remove and dust or debry that might settle in there. I also spray a little Bar Keeper's Friend on a paper towel and rub down any spots that are hard to remove. Before reassembly it gets a little bit of grease in the parts that move the most. Alas, this most recent go had very little affect. I also went through and completely tighten it down. Every screw I could find was twisted into place. I do find this vest to have screws come loose more than other vests that I have used. Any thoughts on the noise? Or a way to keep the screws from undoing themselves (a little thread lock or clear nail polish)?