AZ Mount Pro Altitude Lock and Counterweight Shaft Lock
Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 1:53 pm
AZ Mount Pro Altitude Lock and Counterweight Shaft Lock
Photo attached shows what I did to provide better leverage to tighten both the Altitude Lock and the Counterweight Shaft Lock on the AZ Mount Pro. Was easy to do and makes a HUGE difference.
Altitude Lock was very easy because all I had to do was use the correct size bolt and cut the small PVC tubing to proper length so the bolt would not go all the way through the locking nut and hit the shaft.
For the Counterweight Shaft Lock, I drilled and tapped it near the outside edge as to not interfere with the conical bushing when tightened. Used a slightly shorter bolt and small PVC tubing.
Since the Counterweight Shaft Lock is very difficult to get tight enough by hand (many on forums complain about it), I was using a strap wrench to tighten it (as many in forums also do) and it worked, but a hassle.
This method works very well and gets it much tighter for no slippage. Same for the Altitude Lock. The supplied thumb screws work pretty good, but still a hassle to get tight enough with a big load on it. The addition of the extended version I did allows fast and effective tightening with no slip at all.
Photo attached shows what I did to provide better leverage to tighten both the Altitude Lock and the Counterweight Shaft Lock on the AZ Mount Pro. Was easy to do and makes a HUGE difference.
Altitude Lock was very easy because all I had to do was use the correct size bolt and cut the small PVC tubing to proper length so the bolt would not go all the way through the locking nut and hit the shaft.
For the Counterweight Shaft Lock, I drilled and tapped it near the outside edge as to not interfere with the conical bushing when tightened. Used a slightly shorter bolt and small PVC tubing.
Since the Counterweight Shaft Lock is very difficult to get tight enough by hand (many on forums complain about it), I was using a strap wrench to tighten it (as many in forums also do) and it worked, but a hassle.
This method works very well and gets it much tighter for no slippage. Same for the Altitude Lock. The supplied thumb screws work pretty good, but still a hassle to get tight enough with a big load on it. The addition of the extended version I did allows fast and effective tightening with no slip at all.