Cullman Magic 2 black plastic sleeve - defective unit???

[Gary Vrooman]

I recently purchased the Cullman Magic 2 tripod and a black plastic sleeve (about 2 1/2 inches long) has fallen off it (it slid off the cylinder that contains the ball head). I don't see any mention of this sleeve in the owners manual, and there seems to be more than one way it could be put it back on (rotating the sleeve by 180 degrees, also the sleeve could be put back on either above or below the locking mechanisms). Is this normal or a defective unit? How should I put it back together and how do I tell when I've got it back together correctly? The metal cylinder that contains the ball head now slides out of the main unit and falls to the floor if the tripod is rotated after it is in its "packed up" (smallest size) state. I assume this should not happen once the sleeve is back on correctly, true? Does the sleeve lock in place somehow?

 

[Mike K]

when the tripod is fully set up and extended both plastic locking sleeves should have the "open" and "lock" printing on the arrows right side up (so you can read them correctly). When the tripod is all folded to be as compact as possible the open and lock letterings will be in opposite orientations.
Mike K

I recently purchased the Cullman Magic 2 tripod and a black plastic
sleeve (about 2 1/2 inches long) has fallen off it (it slid off the
cylinder that contains the ball head). I don't see any mention of
this sleeve in the owners manual, and there seems to be more than
one way it could be put it back on (rotating the sleeve by 180
degrees, also the sleeve could be put back on either above or below
the locking mechanisms). Is this normal or a defective unit? How
should I put it back together and how do I tell when I've got it
back together correctly? The metal cylinder that contains the ball
head now slides out of the main unit and falls to the floor if the
tripod is rotated after it is in its "packed up" (smallest size)
state. I assume this should not happen once the sleeve is back on
correctly, true? Does the sleeve lock in place somehow?

 

[Gary Vrooman]

Mike, I'm not sure that we're talking about the same thing. I'm talking about a black plastic "sleeve" that fits inside the metal tubes. I'm not near my Cullmann right now, but I don't think there's any writing at all on the part that fell off (fell out).

I recently purchased the Cullman Magic 2 tripod and a black plastic
sleeve (about 2 1/2 inches long) has fallen off it (it slid off the
cylinder that contains the ball head). I don't see any mention of
this sleeve in the owners manual, and there seems to be more than
one way it could be put it back on (rotating the sleeve by 180
degrees, also the sleeve could be put back on either above or below
the locking mechanisms). Is this normal or a defective unit? How
should I put it back together and how do I tell when I've got it
back together correctly? The metal cylinder that contains the ball
head now slides out of the main unit and falls to the floor if the
tripod is rotated after it is in its "packed up" (smallest size)
state. I assume this should not happen once the sleeve is back on
correctly, true? Does the sleeve lock in place somehow?

 

[Gary Vrooman]

The black plastic sleeve I'm talking about is shown in the middle of the picture in the link below. It goes over the silver tubes but fits inside the locking plastic sleeves that have the "open" and "lock" printing on them. Anyone else had this small black plastic sleeve fall off their Magic 2 tripod?

http://www.pbase.com/image/1521194/original

I recently purchased the Cullman Magic 2 tripod and a black plastic
sleeve (about 2 1/2 inches long) has fallen off it (it slid off the
cylinder that contains the ball head). I don't see any mention of
this sleeve in the owners manual, and there seems to be more than
one way it could be put it back on (rotating the sleeve by 180
degrees, also the sleeve could be put back on either above or below
the locking mechanisms). Is this normal or a defective unit? How
should I put it back together and how do I tell when I've got it
back together correctly? The metal cylinder that contains the ball
head now slides out of the main unit and falls to the floor if the
tripod is rotated after it is in its "packed up" (smallest size)
state. I assume this should not happen once the sleeve is back on
correctly, true? Does the sleeve lock in place somehow?

 

[Terry A. Austin]

Gary,

Your picture helped...

This exact same thing happend to me the day my Cullman Magic2 arrived. It was my fault I unscrewed the lock collar from the tripod.

This piece fits in the sleeve on the tripod (not the center shaft). Unscrew the lock/unlock collar on the tripod frame, slide it back in to the sleeve and re-thread the lock/unlock collar.

I did this and it has stayed in place ever since. I recreated the 'accident' just a few minutes ago and had the same experience. It's now, once again, safely installed. I can shoot photos if it would help.

I think you'll be ok if you reinstall it as described.

Hope this helps... Terry--Terrywww.pbase.com/[email protected]

 

[Gary Vrooman]

Terry, a photo would be greatly appreciated because I'm not sure I'm picturing exactly what you're describing. And it seems this would help other new owners of the Cullmann Magic 2 as well, because it seems natural to try unscrewing everything when the tripod arrives just to make sure you understand all the different adjustments that are possible with it. And for that very same reason the owner's manual should cover this topic but it doesn't. Thanks in advance!

Gary,

Your picture helped...

This exact same thing happend to me the day my Cullman Magic2
arrived. It was my fault I unscrewed the lock collar from the
tripod.

This piece fits in the sleeve on the tripod (not the center shaft).
Unscrew the lock/unlock collar on the tripod frame, slide it back
in to the sleeve and re-thread the lock/unlock collar.

I did this and it has stayed in place ever since. I recreated the
'accident' just a few minutes ago and had the same experience.
It's now, once again, safely installed. I can shoot photos if it
would help.

I think you'll be ok if you reinstall it as described.

Hope this helps... Terry
--
Terry
http://www.pbase.com/taaustin
[email protected]

 

[Gary Vrooman]

Gary,

Your picture helped...

This exact same thing happend to me the day my Cullman Magic2
arrived. It was my fault I unscrewed the lock collar from the
tripod.

This piece fits in the sleeve on the tripod (not the center shaft).
Unscrew the lock/unlock collar on the tripod frame, slide it back
in to the sleeve and re-thread the lock/unlock collar.

I did this and it has stayed in place ever since. I recreated the
'accident' just a few minutes ago and had the same experience.
It's now, once again, safely installed. I can shoot photos if it
would help.

I think you'll be ok if you reinstall it as described.

Hope this helps... Terry
--
Terry
http://www.pbase.com/taaustin
[email protected]

 

[Terry A. Austin]

Hi Gary,

Got sidetracked at work... I should be able to photo & upload images of this tomorrow either late morning or early afternoon. I'm just leaving office now at 8:50pm and will carry tripod in from the car before I head home.

Terry
--Terrywww.pbase.com/[email protected]

 

[Terry A. Austin]

Gary,

A series of photos can be found in my gallery showing the joint in question disassembled, partially assembled and fully assembled.

You can reach the gallery here...

http://www.pbase.com/taaustin/temporary

note that the gallery is named 'temporary' and is just that. Please let me know when you've examined them (feel free to download if you like). After that time I will pull the images and gallery - no need to use the bandwidth for these after they've answered this question.

Hope this helps.

Terry

--Terrywww.pbase.com/[email protected]