Topic: super clamp handle threading?

[voltronic]

Does anyone know what the threading is for the bolt coming out of the super clamp handle?  I need to purchase a temporary bolt to take its place from the hardware store for a gig tomorrow night, and can't find this info anywhere.  I figured I'd ask the great hive mind before I went through everything in the store to see what fits.

If there's any confusion, I'm talking about this piece.

Long story short, I bought a second clamp on eBay, but the clamp that came had the T-handle instead of the "ratchet" handle as pictured in the sale.  I strongly prefer the ratchet-style, so I convinced the seller to simply swap handles with me instead of the entire clamp, as they are interchangeable.  I sent mine back right away, but I don't have his and he isn't getting back to me with a request for a tracking number.  So right now I have one complete clamp, and one missing its handle.  If I can find a 3 inch bolt with the correct threading, I can use the second one right now, and won't have to resort to a gaff-tape rigging.

[flipp]

Most home center/hardware stores will have pitch and sizing guages by their nut and bolt bins so you won't have to try every bolt in the store. It's smaller than 3/8" and I'm guessing it is a metric bolt. Eyeballing it it looks like a 8mm x 20 thread pitch - at least the 1/4x20 standard camera mount screws I have are the same thread pitch as the bolt you are looking for.

If no one else gets the measurements for you tonight I can head to the shed in the morning and dig out my tap and dies and get the exact size for you.

[tim in jersey]

Not a big fan of the T-Handle either. I prefer the lever style.

Volt- when you say "ratchet" style handle I don't believe any of the Manfrotto handles are truly ratchet style handles. The lever is permanently affixed. To see the difference between what I call a lever handle and a true ratchet handle see below video. The umbrella swivel has a ratchet handle and the Manfrotto clamp has the fixed lever handle.

I don't know if that is something important to you, but to me it is. I have a local venue that I tape in fairly often where running a stand just isn't an option, but I can clamp to a vertical steel I-beam dead center and right in the sweet spot. However, there is not enough room for the handle to make a full rotation because it hits the opposite side of the I-beam. That's where having the ratchet handle becomes crucial. There's also a few venues where I clamp in a balcony on to the toeboard instead of the handrail and it is not possible to get 360* rotation because the handle hits the floor. Ratchet handle to the rescue again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or67cqIVsow

[voltronic]

Not a big fan of the T-Handle either. I prefer the lever style.

Volt- when you say "ratchet" style handle I don't believe any of the Manfrotto handles are truly ratchet style handles. The lever is permanently affixed. To see the difference between what I call a lever handle and a true ratchet handle see below video. The umbrella swivel has a ratchet handle and the Manfrotto clamp has the fixed lever handle.

I don't know if that is something important to you, but to me it is. I have a local venue that I tape in fairly often where running a stand just isn't an option, but I can clamp to a vertical steel I-beam dead center and right in the sweet spot. However, there is not enough room for the handle to make a full rotation because it hits the opposite side of the I-beam. That's where having the ratchet handle becomes crucial. There's also a few venues where I clamp in a balcony on to the toeboard instead of the handrail and it is not possible to get 360* rotation because the handle hits the floor. Ratchet handle to the rescue again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or67cqIVsow

I know it doesn't ratchet - I own a second clamp with this style handle, and I've never been sure why they call it that when that's not what it does!   I wish they made one that actually does ratchet - that would be pretty handy.

The nice thing about the T-handle is that the handle itself appears to be aluminum, but for the me the "ratchet" handle is so much faster to open and close, and gives you way more torque when cranking down, and that's why I wanted my second one to have that.

[voltronic]

Most home center/hardware stores will have pitch and sizing guages by their nut and bolt bins so you won't have to try every bolt in the store. It's smaller than 3/8" and I'm guessing it is a metric bolt. Eyeballing it it looks like a 8mm x 20 thread pitch - at least the 1/4x20 standard camera mount screws I have are the same thread pitch as the bolt you are looking for.

If no one else gets the measurements for you tonight I can head to the shed in the morning and dig out my tap and dies and get the exact size for you.

Yeah, I had a feeling it would be metric.  I have to head out to the gig by 3pm today, so I'll probably swing by the home center today and check their gauges.

[flipp]

Thread guage shows the bolt to be 20 threads per inch (1.25 mm between threads)  and the bolt is 8mm in diameter (die that fits is an 8 x 1.25) so just find the length you need and remember to take a socket or small adjustable wrench with you so you can apply enough torque to tighten the clamp enough to get a secure grip.

Hope the ratcheting/indexing lever handle is in today's mail so you don't have to purchase a bolt.

[voltronic]

Thread guage shows the bolt to be 20 threads per inch (1.25 mm between threads)  and the bolt is 8mm in diameter (die that fits is an 8 x 1.25) so just find the length you need and remember to take a socket or small adjustable wrench with you so you can apply enough torque to tighten the clamp enough to get a secure grip.

Hope the ratcheting/indexing lever handle is in today's mail so you don't have to purchase a bolt.

Thanks so much for checking that for me - saves me a lot of time.  Yes, I planned to take a small socket with me.

[tim in jersey]

Not a big fan of the T-Handle either. I prefer the lever style.

Volt- when you say "ratchet" style handle I don't believe any of the Manfrotto handles are truly ratchet style handles. The lever is permanently affixed. To see the difference between what I call a lever handle and a true ratchet handle see below video. The umbrella swivel has a ratchet handle and the Manfrotto clamp has the fixed lever handle.

I don't know if that is something important to you, but to me it is. I have a local venue that I tape in fairly often where running a stand just isn't an option, but I can clamp to a vertical steel I-beam dead center and right in the sweet spot. However, there is not enough room for the handle to make a full rotation because it hits the opposite side of the I-beam. That's where having the ratchet handle becomes crucial. There's also a few venues where I clamp in a balcony on to the toeboard instead of the handrail and it is not possible to get 360* rotation because the handle hits the floor. Ratchet handle to the rescue again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or67cqIVsow

I know it doesn't ratchet - I own a second clamp with this style handle, and I've never been sure why they call it that when that's not what it does!   I wish they made one that actually does ratchet - that would be pretty handy.

The nice thing about the T-handle is that the handle itself appears to be aluminum, but for the me the "ratchet" handle is so much faster to open and close, and gives you way more torque when cranking down, and that's why I wanted my second one to have that.

I'll have to do some research, but I did eventually find a Manfrotto Superclamp knock-off that has a ratchet handle that actually ratchets. If you'd like me to do some digging to find it let me know and I'll try to point you in the right direction...

[voltronic]

Not a big fan of the T-Handle either. I prefer the lever style.

Volt- when you say "ratchet" style handle I don't believe any of the Manfrotto handles are truly ratchet style handles. The lever is permanently affixed. To see the difference between what I call a lever handle and a true ratchet handle see below video. The umbrella swivel has a ratchet handle and the Manfrotto clamp has the fixed lever handle.

I don't know if that is something important to you, but to me it is. I have a local venue that I tape in fairly often where running a stand just isn't an option, but I can clamp to a vertical steel I-beam dead center and right in the sweet spot. However, there is not enough room for the handle to make a full rotation because it hits the opposite side of the I-beam. That's where having the ratchet handle becomes crucial. There's also a few venues where I clamp in a balcony on to the toeboard instead of the handrail and it is not possible to get 360* rotation because the handle hits the floor. Ratchet handle to the rescue again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or67cqIVsow

I know it doesn't ratchet - I own a second clamp with this style handle, and I've never been sure why they call it that when that's not what it does!   I wish they made one that actually does ratchet - that would be pretty handy.

The nice thing about the T-handle is that the handle itself appears to be aluminum, but for the me the "ratchet" handle is so much faster to open and close, and gives you way more torque when cranking down, and that's why I wanted my second one to have that.

I'll have to do some research, but I did eventually find a Manfrotto Superclamp knock-off that has a ratchet handle that actually ratchets. If you'd like me to do some digging to find it let me know and I'll try to point you in the right direction...

Don't knock yourself out.  It's highly doubtful that I'd replace my clamps entirely.  I would be interested if there were a way to modify / replace the existing handle with a ratcheting mechanism.  It seems like you'd need such a mechanism that would be the size of the existing hex bolt, which might be hard to do.

[ScoobieKW]

Not a big fan of the T-Handle either. I prefer the lever style.

Volt- when you say "ratchet" style handle I don't believe any of the Manfrotto handles are truly ratchet style handles. The lever is permanently affixed. To see the difference between what I call a lever handle and a true ratchet handle see below video. The umbrella swivel has a ratchet handle and the Manfrotto clamp has the fixed lever handle.

I don't know if that is something important to you, but to me it is. I have a local venue that I tape in fairly often where running a stand just isn't an option, but I can clamp to a vertical steel I-beam dead center and right in the sweet spot. However, there is not enough room for the handle to make a full rotation because it hits the opposite side of the I-beam. That's where having the ratchet handle becomes crucial. There's also a few venues where I clamp in a balcony on to the toeboard instead of the handrail and it is not possible to get 360* rotation because the handle hits the floor. Ratchet handle to the rescue again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or67cqIVsow

I know it doesn't ratchet - I own a second clamp with this style handle, and I've never been sure why they call it that when that's not what it does!   I wish they made one that actually does ratchet - that would be pretty handy.

The nice thing about the T-handle is that the handle itself appears to be aluminum, but for the me the "ratchet" handle is so much faster to open and close, and gives you way more torque when cranking down, and that's why I wanted my second one to have that.

I'll have to do some research, but I did eventually find a Manfrotto Superclamp knock-off that has a ratchet handle that actually ratchets. If you'd like me to do some digging to find it let me know and I'll try to point you in the right direction...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=824360&gclid=CjwKEAjwpaqvBRCxzIGoxs6v2TkSJADel-MI57C0mBRntPxb1AVMQuOmvb2_BKQ9OkGUP8PgOjNPIRoCF4Xw_wcB&is=REG&m=Y&Q=&A=details

[voltronic]

^ Does that Impact actually ratchet?  Or is it just called that like the Manfrotto?  I see no mention of ratcheting mechanism in the reviews, and in all the pics I can find online looks like it's exactly like the Manfrotto with a simple bolt-and-nut tightening mechanism.

In any case, like I said I'm not buying new clamps and am perfectly happy with the non-ratcheting "ratchet" handle.

[vanark]

The tight quarters is the reason I have a T handle on one my Super Clamps. In a tight spice, the T handle has no problem rotating. Not sure why you are enamored with the non-ratcheting rachet handle. I don't have a problem tightening it enough for my needs with the T handle.

[voltronic]

The tight quarters is the reason I have a T handle on one my Super Clamps. In a tight spice, the T handle has no problem rotating. Not sure why you are enamored with the non-ratcheting rachet handle. I don't have a problem tightening it enough for my needs with the T handle.

I also like the speed that I can open and close the "ratchet" handle, and in this case the seller didn't send what he had pictured so I'm trying to get him to make it right.

[tim in jersey]

I'm fairly certain that the Impact clamp Scoobie posted has the ratcheting handle...

[danny3]

I think its good to carry both the 'lever' and the 't' handle type (I keep all this kind of stuff in an extra gear bag in the car.) There are times when the quick and strong tightening of the 'ratchet' stlye is impractical, as vanark mentions.
They must call it a 'ratchet' handle to designate that it can be tightened down with better pressure than the t handle.