Steadicam Merlin Vest

Bernard Lau · November 13th, 2012, 06:54 AM

Guess either I'm too fat for the vest, or I just work it too hard...
Has anyone else's vest's top bolts on the front chest piece fallen off?
I've lost 2 already.
Measuring the remaining bolt, it looks to be a 3mm x 8mm hex bolt.
Can anyone confirm this? Been looking all across the internet and this forum for an answer for the past hour...

Image of Steadicam Merlin Vest with the area I'm mentioning.
steadicam-vest | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Tom Wills · November 13th, 2012, 12:35 PM

Nope - not a metric bolt. Everything on a Steadicam rig will be SAE (Imperial), since they're made in the US. I believe that bolt could be a 6-32, which would measure out to 3.50mm in diameter, if you've got a pair of calipers handy. Or, if you've got a set of SAE allen wrenches, it should be a 5/64th inch wrench. 8mm would be 3/8" long.

If you call Steadicam (or a local dealer), I'd wager they can put a bag of them in the mail to you, especially if you're still under warranty. Otherwise, you can order them online in many a place, if your local stores don't carry them - I just found a box of 100 of them for a little over $10 at my usual hardware place.

Those bolts really shouldn't be coming loose, and you do risk damage if they do, especially since the top of the vest is plastic. In my 4 or so years of owning and operating with that same vest, I never had them come loose. However, I make it a habit of checking all important bolts (especially those holding the socket block) whenever I do maintenance of the rig. You might also want to get some Loctite or similar non-permenant threadlocker to hold the bolts in, once you've got them replaced.

November 13th, 2012, 06:54 AM	#1
Bernard Lau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 56	Steadicam Merlin Vest - Missing Bolt top chest Guess either I'm too fat for the vest, or I just work it too hard... Has anyone else's vest's top bolts on the front chest piece fallen off? I've lost 2 already. Measuring the remaining bolt, it looks to be a 3mm x 8mm hex bolt. Can anyone confirm this? Been looking all across the internet and this forum for an answer for the past hour... Image of Steadicam Merlin Vest with the area I'm mentioning. steadicam-vest \| Flickr - Photo Sharing! __________________ Facebook & Twitter me with "bernardlaufilms" www.bernardlau.com.au \| www.weddingvideosydney.org.au

November 13th, 2012, 12:35 PM	#2
Tom Wills Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 326	Re: Steadicam Merlin Vest - Missing Bolt top chest Nope - not a metric bolt. Everything on a Steadicam rig will be SAE (Imperial), since they're made in the US. I believe that bolt could be a 6-32, which would measure out to 3.50mm in diameter, if you've got a pair of calipers handy. Or, if you've got a set of SAE allen wrenches, it should be a 5/64th inch wrench. 8mm would be 3/8" long. If you call Steadicam (or a local dealer), I'd wager they can put a bag of them in the mail to you, especially if you're still under warranty. Otherwise, you can order them online in many a place, if your local stores don't carry them - I just found a box of 100 of them for a little over $10 at my usual hardware place. Those bolts really shouldn't be coming loose, and you do risk damage if they do, especially since the top of the vest is plastic. In my 4 or so years of owning and operating with that same vest, I never had them come loose. However, I make it a habit of checking all important bolts (especially those holding the socket block) whenever I do maintenance of the rig. You might also want to get some Loctite or similar non-permenant threadlocker to hold the bolts in, once you've got them replaced.