Rubber pad for tripod head

[Markus Albertz]

Good day,

I am looking for a ca. 3 mm thick rubber pad to be glued onto a Ries A-250 tripod head. I would like to have a bit more friction between camera and tripod head. Any ideas/suggestions? I presume a self-adhesive product would be best.

Thanks in advance... Best, Markus

[David H. Bebbington]

For anything like this, I head for the automobile accessories store and buy a set of cheap black rubber floor mats - one set at $9.99 should cover plenty of tripod heads!

[Colin Graham]

Most hardware stores sell rubber gasket material about that thick in roughly 15 cm square sheets. Some auto trim glue would probably get it to stick. For my Ries I used some of that friction anti-slip tape for stair treads. It's very coarse, but I have a metal mounting plate on my camera so I do have to worry about it marring the finish.

[wfwhitaker]

I covered the heads of my Ries tripods with thin leather. Using a leather punch, I made a clean 3/8" hole first. Pliobond cement was used to attach. Apply a thin coat with no gaps on both the head and the rough side of the leather. The leather is set in place, stretched slightly with the hole aligned. A piece of 3/4" plywood (1/2" would do) with a 3/8"-16 T-Nut (1/4"-20 if appropriate) is used as a press. Tightening the camera mounting screw provides pressure. Leave overnight, then trim with a sharp razor blade.

I believe Wisner used to cover the heads of the Ries tripods he sold with leather as used in his bellows. That's where I got the idea. It provides slightly more friction than the metal and protects the bottom of the camera. At the same time it's not too springy; the camera support remains solid.

[Roger Hicks]

Good day,

I am looking for a ca. 3 mm thick rubber pad to be glued onto a Ries A-250 tripod head. I would like to have a bit more friction between camera and tripod head. Any ideas/suggestions? I presume a self-adhesive product would be best.

Thanks in advance... Best, Markus

Dear Markus,

In a hardware store, look out for a pad about 4-5 inches square that is sold as a cap remover for stubborn jamjar tops (so your hand doesn't slip when you try to unscrew them). VERY grippy. Stick down with contact cenent.

Cheers,

R.

[Steve Roberts]

Good day,

I am looking for a ca. 3 mm thick rubber pad to be glued onto a Ries A-250 tripod head. I would like to have a bit more friction between camera and tripod head. Any ideas/suggestions? I presume a self-adhesive product would be best.

Thanks in advance... Best, Markus

Not so long ago I used an old tyre inner tube.

Steve

[Neal]

Dear Markus,

www.mcmaster.com and www.micro-tools.com both offer adhesive backed rubber sheets. I believe McMaster has a minimum order and the last time I used micro-tools the most expensive shipping option came up first.

Neal Wydra

[Markus Albertz]

Thank you all for your suggestions so far. It just occurred to me, though, that an elastic material, such as rubber, may not be the best choice as it might tend to make the camera wobble around on the tripod. Perhaps a solid material with a sticky surface would be better? Those of you with rubber glued onto tripod heads, have you had any stability issues? Thanks, Markus

[mgb74]

I've used 1/16" (1.6mm) thick rubber to cover the hex plates for my Bogen tripod. They come in 6"x6" sheets at the hardware store (plumbing section). I've found them solid enough that they don't result in any wobbling. It's relatively hard rubber, not "foamy" at all. I just used contact cement to glue it down.

May not be thick enough for you. But even if doubled up and glued together, I think it would still be firm enough. You could also use a layer of rubber on top of something more rigid such as plastic or brass.

[Roger Hicks]

It just occurred to me, though, that an elastic material, such as rubber, may not be the best choice as it might tend to make the camera wobble around on the tripod.

Not in my experience, with thin, hard rubber --and I've tried it.

Cheers,

R.