from Charles Hoot- "To say that I was wonderfully amazed to find you internet page for parts for the Tiltall would be an understatement! Just hope your service is still currently available.
"Great idea for replacing the column with a standard threaded one. But my lingering problem (that too is an understatement considering I purchased mine in about 1968) is locking the post in position - mainly vertically. Replacing the two knobs for the post with the new, broader style knobs might help to up the torque. Except that the real problem appears to be that the "paper/fiber" bushing material that guide the post in its sleeve does not seem to perform its contradictory job any more - it still promotes the sliding of the post, but not the gripping of it. At least that's my surmise. Do you have any suggestions? Do you sell the bushings? If not, do you know what readily available material could be substituted for it?"
Dear Charles - I don't presently have the bushing you need, nor am I certain that the bushings now made in Oliver Yang's production will work on all earlier Tiltall iterations until we get some current pieces out "into the field".
Here is the suggestion I have made many times and everyone says it works well- using your existing bushing as both a template and sample, visit a good plastics or hobby shop and look for a nylon, teflon or similar sheeting that you can use as a replacement - perhaps, now that you think about it you probably have a similar material lying around already - but the critical (and obvious) point is that the new "bushing" needs to be THICKER than the old one!! Use the old bushing to size the new one (ie "template") to proper size. You can see your quest in the exploded drawing below - part '024'.
There is a similar question about replacing the original tape at the bottom of the tube that the column slides through - this tape was to steady the column, not to lock it. A modern substitute that seems to work well is a strip of adhesive 'loop' velcro available from a sewing/fabric shop. Cut a strip long enough to go around the inner circumference.
NEW- I have a few of the current clear tripod "bushing" described above [01Oct09] for $4 w/postage.
