I have one of the old Crown wooden tripods that I would like to use occasionally with my GVI. Some days my back is just not up to carrying my 9000-pound Zone VI standard tripod.

The trouble with the Crown tripod is that it jams badly. I read in one of Charis Wilson's books that she and Edward Weston used paraffin as a lubricant. I tried that, but it didn't stop the jams. What could I use? Some type of oily furniture polish? A spray such as Pledge? Oil soap?
Thanks in advance
j

Wax is pretty traditonal for making wood slide together. But isn't parrafin pretty hard? Do you have a can of floor wax? Wax collects dust and you'll have to redo it fairly often with a tripod. At least I would think so.

I use Slip-it that is carried by the woodworking store "Rockler". It doesn't have the buildup that wax does and can be used on metal and wood.
Harry
Buy it in a can and use a soft clean rag.

All the old wax, etc. should be cleaned off the tripod prior to applying Slip-it.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: worldphoto on 2003-09-29 10:03 ]</font>

I use car wax(Simonize)on my old tripod...it is hard enough that it doesnt wear off for quite a while, have also carried a tube of door lock lube for temporary fix-um's Bert