A leg on my carbon fiber Feisol 3442 tripod just fell off the base, where it was glued on. I understand this has happened to others before.
I emailed Feisol for a solution but I leave for a trip in less than 1 week and need to put this back together soon. I've read that epoxy will work, but I'm not sure what kind to buy. I don't think I could just walk into Home Depot and tell them I need "epoxy", since I believe there are different kinds. This is where I need advice, what kind should I get?
Gorilla Glue seems to work on everything and can be found just about everywhere.
I remember seeing the previous thread with an almost identical picture to yours. I think the consensus was that the cap is very shallow not allowing much of the leg to be inserted for gluing.
No, don't use Gorilla glue! That stuff is made specifically for use when there is a gap to be filled, as it expands. It is not as strong as other glues. It's also specifically designed for porous materials, like wood.
You need epoxy. I personally would use JB Weld, and nothing else, since it's specifically made for metal-to-metal, and it has a proven track record.
Make sure you sand-off as much of the old glue as you can first.
You can get a lot done in a week via Fedex. Contact Feisol by phone and ask for a loaner or ask them to overnight a new leg. Tell them you are willing to pay for the new one, but expect to be credited when they receive your broken one later.
Any 2 part epoxy glue will work fine as long as it is mixed correctly and the two pieces are clean. Locktite is a good brand name and readily available. JB Weld is ok but is a thicker consistency and will be hard to get a good bond.
Gorilla Glue is a brand name and they make a 2 part epoxy, the expanding glue is a single part adhesive for wood.
I think Gorilla Glue is primarily a woodworking adhesive. It's a polyurethane based glue and wholly unsuited for this kind of work. Plus it needs a little moisture as a catalyst which it normally gets from the wood. Lastly, it expands into a big hard foamy mess.
This happened to a tripod I had and I just used a 5 minute epoxy from Loctite, although any good epoxy will do. Clean the sections of old glue as best you can with a screwdriver, butter knife, whatever, apply your mix to the metal ferrule and give the leg tube a quarter turn just to distribute the adhesive as evenly as possible. IMPORTANT: make sure you remove the lower leg sections from the upper leg tube before you reinsert it into the ferrule. Because the lower leg tubes nest inside the upper one, you could accidentally glue all the sections together inside the upper tube! Once you've reinserted the leg tube turn the tripod upside down and let the glue set and cure. If you're using a fast setting glue this won't take long, but epoxy reaches its maximum strength after a day or so.
Reassemble the lower sections into the upper one and you're good to go. My tripod is now on it's second year with the fix I did to it and the glue joint is as strong as the day I glued it.
dlabrecque wrote:
I think Gorilla Glue is primarily a woodworking adhesive. It's a polyurethane based glue and wholly unsuited for this kind of work. Plus it needs a little moisture as a catalyst which it normally gets from the wood. Lastly, it expands into a big hard foamy mess.
Don
Exactly so. I'm a woodworker, and use it all the time. Strength is NOT its forte.
I guess the OP was referring to "Gorilla (brand) Epoxy." That's not "Gorilla Glue."
I didn't know Locktite made a metal epoxy. Good to know, thanks.
Yes, JB Weld is pretty thick, which can be a problem in some applications. Since dlabrecque has actually used Locktite for this specific repair, with great results, I retract my originally recommendation.
....."I must say, I'm impressed by the incredible restraint of all the "Gitzo snobs" around here! You'd think they would be all over this thread with "I told you so" and whatnot. this must be the new, kinder gentler FM Forums!"......
Although I just bought a Gitzo (yesterday), I seriously considered a Feisol, and it is certainly good to have healthy competition. It would be rather silly to bash a good product due to someone asking for help regarding a situation. I've seen people asking for help with their Gitzos having a problem.
Clean all surfaces with a 50/50 rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol/water solution, and slightly scour the surfaces with a scotchbrite pad. I'd recommend 3M Scotchweld DP460NS for carbon fiber applications to metal or other surfaces. You'll need the EPX mixing gun and some nozzles, but it will be very strong. I use this to bond stainless steel to fiberglass a lot, and I've had shear failures crack the fiberglass and leave the epoxy bond intact. 24 hour dry time.
I used regular dollar store super glue to fix my tripod when the leg lock came unbonded from the CF leg tube. Very strong bond still, and very cheap to fix.
Cableaddict wrote:
I must say, I'm impressed by the incredible restraint of all the "Gitzo snobs" around here!
You'd think they would be all over this thread with "I told you so" and whatnot.
this must be the new, kinder gentler FM Forums!
Hey, everything breaks once in a while, but this illustrates the point often-made that things which appear "the same as" or "just as good as" sometimes actually aren't when you look at the details. Look at the bonding area between the leg and pivot on a Gitzo, and you'll see it's maybe 3-4 times larger. Gitzo also claim their legs are both threaded and glued into the pivots, although I've seen it mentioned that Gitzo legs fall off, too. The Gitzo is probably a better long-term investment, but Feisol makes some nice tripods which perform very well for what they cost. I've recommended Feisol gear to friends, and own two of their monopods myself.
Scuff both surfaces, clean away all dust and bond with five min 2 part epoxy. Better to use a gel brand of epoxy due to it being thicker so less voids in the finished bond line. Let set for 24 hrs before using. Used this on my trypod where the head bonds on. Two years since it failed and it looks like new.
It sure looks like they were relying on the glue to provide a very high percentage of the bond. If there is any appreciable size difference between the 2 pieces, it's a recipe for breakage.
Looking at the picture, it appears my Chinese knockoff CF tripod has a leg housing about 3 times as long as your Feisol. Roll back the foam and check the length of the other leg housings.
