Plastic Ambico Tripod quick release block plate

thingiverse

I had been using a small block of wood, a hex bolt, and some rubber cushions to replace my missing quick release block, but then I realized...hey... 3d printer... I can do better! And here it is. For a fairly late model Ambico branded, all plastic quick release tripod, does not have a geared crank elevator. This tripod might not have been worth to rescue but it's lighter than my aluminum tripods, and the quick release block is kind of helpful to swap camera heads quickly. A ¾" long ¼"x20TPI bolt is needed. The "Orange Home Store" or the "Blue Hardware Store" among other places in the USA carries these bolts, I used a small diamond blade to cut a slot into the bolt so I can use a dime to tighten it. I would not dare using a PLA bolt for this despite finding out how hard PLA really is... Having it break and having your expensive camera accelerate at 9.8m/s^2 and suddenly hit 0m/s would not be a pretty sight. --- 08/Jan/2021 - I finally got a test print run, it turned out a slight bit too small in two dimensions - it held, but too loose. So I uploaded and replaced the old one with a slightly bigger version that will more snugly fit the receiver and cover up more of the length of the ¾" bolt. If someone could find a source for cheap hand tightenable units I could make a shorter model, the height of the plate is solely to compensate for the length of this bolt!