Shoe Lever (thumb lever) for Velbon Tripods

thingiverse

This is my current approximation of the 'shoe lever' for a Velbon Sherpa camera tripod. This piece holds a camera, mounted on a Sherpa shoe, onto the tripod. It is based on my measurements of about 1/3 of the remains of a broken one, and some online pictures, so I know it isn't exact. It worked for me, and emendations are strongly encouraged. Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator 2 Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Resolution: High Infill: 50%+ Notes: High resolution helps because it needs to slide against other parts. Infill of 100% might be better still, as this little piece holds your expensive camera on your tripod. Using Makerbot's software, my first print failed to print the walls of the thumb-rest, and that broke off almost right away (I'm not even sure how it survived printing) but it was fine the second time - not sure why. It actually works fine without the thumb-rest, but the original had one, so I included it. Post-Printing I've attached a photo of how the spring (if you still have it) fits in (this is my first print, which didn't print the walls of the thumb-rest part for some reason). With some very fine tuning, and some lube (I used a wax-based dry bike chain lube) this does work with the auto-lock on the Sherpa 200R, but it's finicky. How I Designed This Best guess I didn't really design this - it's a guess at replacing a part from a manufacturer that's no longer in business. I had about 1/3 of the original piece, and a pdf of the users' manual containing a drawing that includes the object, but very small, part of an assembly, and from one angle. I also had a good electronic caliper for measuring, simple algebra, and the patience to render the object with small adjustments to make it look about right.