Manfrotto 087NWB

[R.J.S]

I am just servicing a set of 4 087NWB windup stands (new handles, one new leg, few wing bolts), I have had a read and cant find anywhere what Manfrotto recommend to lubricate the telescopic Centre columns.

 

Any help or suggestions would be great.

 

All I kind find id the spare parts breakdowns and these instructions

 

https://www.saeki.co.kr/COMMUNITY/PDS_DATA/087NW-087NWB.pdf

 

Cheers

 

JAmes

[Rab_]

Hi James!

 

Manfrotto don't publish an official recommendation, as far as I know.

 

As it happens, I have a Manfrotto combo stand to give a once-over to this week. Just in case it's of any use to anyone (a student or apprentice maybe, one day?) here's what I've learned over the years about what lubricants to use, in what kind of situations. I know I would have liked an answer all in one place when I started out, and I've picked up really great info here on blueroom via Google searches over the years, so here's an attempt at paying back a little. I hope it also helps out some way in this specific case!

 

Anyone else who's got loads of experience, and doesn't need to read anything basic like this, please excuse the long post! It's not an attempt to sound pompous, or write 'like an expert', it's in a way a note to a younger version of myself, who could have done with the tips, worried work-experiencer as I was! I hope someone, somewhere, gets some small use from it...

 

There's a matter of personal choice in these things of course, but after experimenting on my own, and consulting various oldschool greybeard mechanical engineering types for advice, my standard lubricant go-tos in pretty much all standard maintenance scenarios are these days:

 

'Clean-to-the-touch' or low-load cases, below 200°c - silicone dry lube aerosol.

'Drip-application' or moderate-load cases, below 150°c - 3-in-1 oil.

Heavy-load, 'thick consistency', and/or high-temp (up to 1000°c) cases - copper grease.

 

There are other things I keep around the place: PTFE dry lube is a good alternative to silicone especially in dirtier environments, which I'm vaguely considering switching over to by default because there don't seem to be any downsides, and the cost is only slightly higher than silicone; white lithium is good for when you want something thick, protective and long-lived rather than the thinner 3-in-1; WD40 aerosol is the lube equivalent of duct tape, as it's useful in loads of cases, but ideal in few, so it's always in my bag, because you never know what you're going to find when you're on a job, and is also great for when you want to try weird home remedies you've read on the internet; and there's a can of high-temp clear lacquer on the shelf for when I'm worried about rust potentially developing on something but don't need to lower friction. But those three above are the ones I've come to use as my basic lube 'menu sheet' on a regular basis.

 

For the Manfrotto combo stand I need to give a once-over this week, here's how I work out what I'm going to use: I know that the temperature the stand will encounter will be below 200°c (unlike inside the light that will sit above it, for instance). And I know the mechanical load will be light, particularly on the vertical section James asked about. And I know which areas I can access directly, like the central column, and which bits I need to drip lubricant into from an access point so that it runs to where I need it, such as the bearings on the riveted-on wheels. So I know what to pick from the menu: I'll be cleaning off whatever dirt and expired lube is on there, top-to-tail; drying thoroughly; using drip-application of 3-in-1 for the wheel bearings and collar clamps; if this stand had the wind-up mechanism, I'd be using 3-in-1 for the handle rotation axle, but something thicker if you've needed to open the gear mechanism - copper or lithium for the intermeshing parts in there; and applying silicone dry lube spray on the working length of the central column slide, moving the action a few times to distribute it, applying a second thin coat, then leaving it for the spray to dry. That'll get the maximum protection and lubrication into the wheels (which get gummed up in the studio, with hair, dust, general schmoo), ease the sticky clamp I've already noticed, and make the height-adjustment slide action easier to use without getting oily dirt-coloured gunk all over the precious creative hands that have clothes and makeup to deal with when they're using the stand.

 

Almost said 'talent to touch', but that gave quite the wrong impression... Not that kind of studio ;)

 

Anyway, I know other people will have their own go-tos, but that's what works for me.

 

TLDR: If it's the surface of the central column, external to the gear box, you're asking for, James: I'd use silicone dry lube. And apologies for hijacking your thread.

Hope that helps someone, one day, if they get to read this far!

 

Cheers!

 

Rab.