I've been using an
Impact Back Light Stand base for my
DIY carbon fiber stand. The base itself is great, but the plastic-handled set screw (which holds the 5/8 pin in) doesn't like to stay tight. No matter how much torque I apply, or regardless of if I wrap the pin with a little gaff tape, it will not reliably stay tight through an entire concert. Until now, I've only used the Impact base with the ultra-light carbon fiber / DPA 4061 setup, but I'd like to also use it with the Manfrotto 099b pole in the future and at this point I don't trust it to stay put.
What I want is something that will stay tight and locked down, while still allowing quick setup and tear down. A tension spring on the set screw doesn't seem like it would do much, so I'm looking into a "cam lever" like those below. I have a couple cheap clamps with tightening systems like this, and they absolutely don't move unless you want them do. The stock Impact set screw appears to be 1/4-20 thread, and all of these vendors stock that size with bolts of various length.
So before I proceed, two questions:
1. Does using one of these make sense? If not, do you have a better suggestion?
2. Is there anyplace that sells these cheaper? I already tried eBay, and get the same thing as the links below.
KippBergerGraingerFastenalRoganEssentraXion - Slightly different solution, made for RC airplanes