Check your arm´s rod end bearings

[WillArnot]

Will, a question for you:

You say that when Hard-mounted, one should always zero the 2 bolts completely, e.g. into the socket block.

I understand why you say this (the added forces) but how do you adjust your side-to-side neutral point than?

 

 

Rob,

You still could use the bolts to make this adjustment. As you pointed out though, the bolts are not the only way to adjust. If you can do it on some sort of leveling head or whatever method the grips can provide you with then that is better since then you can rely on the full strength of having the rod end bolts screwed in all the way.

 

The other thing to bear in mind with hard mounts of course is that you may get all nicely balanced while parked, and then get to where you will be shooting and find that your shooting path is leaning in the other direction. Running the course beforehand is wise but not always possible. But certainly bearing in mind that the pitch/camber of the road/hillside/path etc may change throughout the shot, it is then good to set for something that will not be too far off in any one direction.

 

And thus to reply again to the retarded MS exchanges that I referenced in 'camera-go-boom', if your shot includes a variety of terrain changes or tilt variations you should decide ahead of time what is going to be most helpful for the MAJORITY of the shot. ie you are going up hill 80% of the time and flat 20% of the time - therefore trim the sled/vest/garfield to bias for the uphill work. Of course having a motorised stage can be a very helpful tool where alot of sled tilting is involved. This gets into a whole other topic of sled balancing and trimming versus this topic which is how to set the "lean" of your arm on the Garfield hard mount, or your vest mount while also preserving the integrity of the rod end bearings.

 

To come back to your question, you can afford a little adjustment on the rod end bearings, especially if the path is very smooth. The rougher the ride is, the more you want to be aware of how far in or out the rod ends are.

 

And that is perhaps the most important thing to remember for people still discovering this adjustment technique. NEVER dial out BOTH rod ends. ONE of them should ALWAYS remain all the way in.

 

Will

[Michael Stumpf]

But I do have a question for Michael and hope you answer me honestly: can you tell me in what position your rod-ends were, when you found out about their existence?

Neutral (all the way in or out), bottom out or top out?

 

And are you wearing the arm on the left or right side?

 

:huh:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Rob,

 

Of course, why wouldn't I answer honestly?

 

With my Master's Arm, I couldn't tell you. As I said, I was unaware of them and NEVER needed to adjust them for happy, easy operating.

 

After this post started and as I stated in the post, I went to the set the next night and

checked out those adjustment (allen) screws at the end of the socket block in my PRO arm.

I have, of course, seen those holes before, but nexer knew they were adjustment screws in there, and since I never had a problem, hence never needed to know.

Having played around with them, I'd have to say, those adjustment screws on

my Master's arm must have been all the way in, because I never noticed the

socket block "cocked" (sorry only word I could think of to describe it :) ) to

one side or the other, or having the circular part that goes around the rod, "loose"

as it became when I loosened those screws.

 

Having read the suggestions that with the DSD vest, they should be tightened all the way down, I checked that first on my PRO arm a few nights ago on the set during some down time.

And, for the most part they in fact were already all the way tight. I was able to turn each about a 1/8th of an inch.

 

To answer your last question, I fly the rig on my left "normal" hand side.

 

I'm man enough to admit unfamiliarity with things, and have NEVER proclaimed or pretended to know all things steadicam, like some others apparently think they do. And like all humans, we learn something new everyday, and also like any good professional you can always improve upon your craft. Therefore, I thought about this post and these adjustment screws quite a bit over the last few days.

 

Since it seemed highly unusual to others that I've never needed to adjust these screws, especially during hardmounts, I tried to think back to the last time I needed to hardmount and if I had any issues that, or any other time. I realized it was about a year ago in February (or Feb 2003) doing a music video the last time I hardmounted.

After thinking about it, I do remember what I've always done in past hardmount situations. Each time I've hardmounted it's been off of a tripod on a western dolly, or back of a truck or shotmaker. Since I never knew about those adjustment

screws INSIDE the arm's socket block, I always "balanced" the rig by using

the legs of the tripod, just like you'd do a tripod on uneven ground.

 

This has always worked for me. Was it the easiest or brightest way of doing it? Maybe not. But when mounting the rig on the arm on the hardmount if the sled moved to the left or right, when on the flat surface, I adjusted the tripod

legs so the sled sat neutral. Basically, this took the place of having to adjust

those rod end bearings, allowing me to keep them all the way in I guess. If it moved front or back, I adjusted the socket block screws as we all normally do.

 

Since this worked perfect for me, I guess it shows there's more then one way to skin a chicken. Maybe next time, I'll try the rod end bearings, see how that works. :D

 

Later

[RobVanGelder]

Hi Michael, the reason why I asked was to find out if your socketblock was in any position so that you COULD handle the offset without much pain. And apparenty they were all the way in, which is "logical" if you would get it new from the factory.

 

I tried myself to hold the rig and camera with both rod-ends fully in and found out that it is not really a big problem with lightweight camera´s but definately it will twist your spine under heavy loads.

With lighter camera´s you tend to hold the rig more in front of you to find the sweet-spot and it actually works better when you swing the camera over to the "wrong" - for you to the right - side for DJ shots

 

Also, you have to stress one hip much more than the other and this can be very painful for long shots or running. It can also cause irregular walking pace as one leg has to work much harder than the other, like limping.

I hope you never really had problems with it, I know I had that in the beginning.

My arm was well adjusted but because of my Mk3 harnass that rotated and skewed a bit on my body it was already enough to feel hurt.

 

Are you a very BIG guy? That could also explain how you could manage without problems. (weight-comparison body-rig)

 

Lastly, the way you do the hardmount is OK, I usually try to get a bazooka and a 3-way leveler to do the same as you do with the tripod.

And as Will already stated, the forces with hardmount are often greater than on the body so it is wise not to use those bolts too much.

[Michael Stumpf]

Hi Michael, the reason why I asked was to find out if your socketblock was in any position so that you COULD handle the offset without much pain. And apparenty they were all the way in, which is "logical" if you would get it new from the factory.

 

I tried myself to hold the rig and camera with both rod-ends fully in and found out that it is not really  a big problem with lightweight camera´s but definately it will twist your spine under heavy loads.

With lighter camera´s you tend to hold the rig more in front of you to find the sweet-spot and it actually works better when you swing the camera over to the "wrong" - for you to the right - side for DJ shots

 

Also, you have to stress one hip much more than the other and this can be very painful for long shots or running. It can also cause irregular walking pace as one leg has to work much harder than the other, like limping.

I hope you never really had problems with it, I know I had that in the beginning.

My arm was well adjusted but because of my Mk3 harnass that rotated and skewed a bit on my body it was already enough to feel hurt.

 

Are you a very BIG guy? That could also explain how you could manage without problems. (weight-comparison body-rig)

 

Lastly, the way you do the hardmount is OK, I usually try to get a bazooka and a 3-way leveler to do the same as you do with the tripod.

And as Will already stated, the forces with hardmount are often greater than on the body so it is wise not to use those bolts too much.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

But Rob, you have a front mounted vest correct?

Wasn't it pointed out that for the DSD (or backmounted vest) these rod end bearings

SHOULD be all the way in?

 

As for my size, I'm not that big of a guy. A touch over 5' 10" and weigh around 160ish! I'm sure if I ever had any unusual discomfort because of the adjustment

I would of made inquires to my seasoned op buddies, when I first started out.

Of course, in my early days, I would fly a BL4 from time to time too. And other

than the obvious extra strain due to it's weight, it was no different than the

lightweight cameras.

I saw a Physical Therapist once and he was amazed at the strength in my back.

He commented I have much more than the "average" person.

I grew up in sports (2 years soccer, 1 year baseball, 1 year football, 3 years track and field, 1 year basketball, among many other activities). I was in the ROTC (reserve military) and took martial arts on and off for 10 or so years. So even though I'm not a "big" guy, I built up pretty good strength over the years. Not too mention going to the gym 1-2 times a week when I'm not working. Maybe these things have something to do with it?

 

I kind of (logically knew) balancing the hardmount with the tripod was just as effective. In hindsight, probably moreso. Since it seems to be the consensus

that having those rod end bearings all the way in gives the socket block the most

strength, it would only be sensible then to balance the hardmount on the tripod

base itself. Thus allowing for the most strength IN the socket block, while

attaining the neutral balance of the rig while on the arm while on the hardmount.

 

But of course, doing what we do, making sure I preserve my back is ALWAYS a top priority. No matter what ANYBODY says, doing steadicam is HARD on your back, hips, knees, ankles, and a variety of joints and muscles. It will shorten the life of

many of these parts over "normal" people with "normal" activities/jobs.

Therefore, if there is something I can do that will improve my posture or the way I operate that will make it even easier on my back, I'm all ears.

As stated many times, I'm pretty darn comfortable the way I work now and never have had any spinal cord issues or feeling like I'm "bending" my spine any differently than any other operator. But if adjusting these rod end bearings will make me

an even happier and more comfortable operator, I'll do it.

But what has been stated is that for the backmounted vests (like my DSD) these

rod end bearings should be all the way in (tight). That's what I've been doing, and it feels great. But if you, or others who've experimented around with these rod end bearings and the backmounted vest think otherwise, I'll take your (or their) advice

and try adjusting them to different positions on my PRO arm and DSD vest to see how it feels. Otherwise, I'll just leave them as is, and keep doing what I've been doing for years. It's works great so far.

 

Michael

 

P.S. On these new format, how do I reply WITHOUT quoting. I didn't want to use up all the band width and quote your response Rob, I just hit "reply" and it automatically quoted your response. Thanks

[Brad Grimmett]

P.S.  On these new format, how do I reply WITHOUT quoting.  I didn't want to use up all the band width and quote your response Rob, I just hit "reply" and it automatically quoted your response.  Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Michael,

You've been hitting "reply" when you post, but right below that is a button that says "add reply". Click that one to post without quoting, or just erase the quote before you post.

[RobVanGelder]

Michael, I have still my old 3a FM harnass, but I only use the DSD that I have now for almost 2 years.

But I consider the old one again for running or lightweight DV jobs.

 

And yes, physical shape is everything and it surely helped you.

 

Also: for BM vest with the adjustment in the support arm you do not need the rod-end bearings so they should be in. With a vest like Thomas Enlish has they are part of the adjustment again.

For you, with the BM, no need to use them.

[Hugo_Langer]

 

Hello all,

 

Dean and Hugo from Rig Engineering here. We have been following this post and felt that it may be of benefit to some operators if we chime in and share our experiences. Earlier this year we conducted extensive testing and research into rod ends after we had some rod ends fail short of their specs. Naturally we immediately contacted all our customers and shipped alternative pin blocks.

 

As a result of our research we found three manufacturers in the market place that make high capacity rod ends suited to our applications. Given that so much heartache could come about as a result of a failure we felt that it is too critical a component to not share our information with the marketplace...

 

If anyone is considering doing their own modifications we recommend that you don't use anything less than the following:

 

RBC HEIM HFX5G

 

Aurora AW5T

 

Tuthill TSFX5

 

As a result of our tests we found that the upper rod end is subjected to an extension radial load and the lower rod end is mostly subjected to a compression radial load. Surprisingly, the sheer load was minimal.

 

With our arm loaded up to 63 lbs we measured a huge force of 1,029lbs on the rod ends. This extreme force is due to the leverage factor subjected on the components. Most other components are not subjected to the same such stress because the force is distributed through the springs, cables and pulleys.

 

We would like to point out that the more you extend the rod ends and expose the shank the more leverage and sheer force they are exposed to so it is advisable to have them wound in as close as practicable. With this in mind, Ron Baldwin's earlier suggestion is good advise.

 

We would like to highly recommend that anyone considering modifying their arm with a new component to firstly, consult an engineer before commencing, and secondly, make two of them and conduct a destruction test on one. It may be an expensive excercise but much cheaper than the alternative.

 

We hope that this post has been of value to you.

 

Rig Engineering Australia Pty Ltd

www.steadyrig.com

admin@steadyrig.com

[Peter Abraham]

Frightening thing, that bending.

 

I have to say, that photo of your modified socket block- it appears that there is a crack in the metal. Is that possible? Or, is it just a surface scratch we see on it?

 

Peter Abraham

New York