Dear Tiltallers- we may have discovered a new evil - gunk backs up into the hole in the threaded TEP handles effectively shortening the length of the hole - follow this logic - 'cause its literally twisted - that shortened (shortening) hole makes the bolt coming out of the receiving sleeve (on the head - TEP1,2) or the receiving hole (on the column TEP4s and no longer existing TEP3) too long to tighten. We are speaking here of your existing handles (not a new replacement handle, see below).
A further symtom is that your handle is filled with the evil gunk is that the handle just seems to keep turning but the head or column never tightens. (Do check that the bolt head is not spinning - yet another issue.)
In an earlier post (several actually) I suggested adding short tubes or "bands" as the way to "shorten" up what had become the too long
bolts coming out from the sleeves. You could also have cut off the now too long
bolts with a Dremel - BUT NO! WD40 to the rescue.
If all this sounds familar, clean out that handle hole. Fill the hole with WD40, maybe overnight, find a long dental tool, long nail or something to "stir" the bottom of the hole in the handle and clean out that goop that over the years has move to the back of the bus and become compacted. Repeat as needed and be gentle in your testing as that newly loosen "stuff" can again get pushed to the back/top of the threaded hole as you make your tests.
This was discovered thanks to one of our Tiltallers of the Leitz Chapter sending me her puzzling tripod and me pondering over a turning but not tightingen handle - finally realizing - big dah! - that the gunk can
also shorten up the depth of the hole - who knew? Now she kindly asks if she owes me something for this discovery - I dont know that anyone can owe anyone anything that should have been an obvious piece of logic, but. . . to the great three-peds-to-stablility cause - my website does feature a "buy me Joe" link.
That said, the new, currently made TEP handles do not have threads/hole cut deep enough for use with Marchioni, Leitz and the StarD - you will need to pull out the Dremel to cut off the too long bolts or add the extension tubes to effect a shorter bolt.
