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Mini Worrall Questions


Uli Meyer

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Just bought this Mini Worrall because It is never too late to learn something new and because it is a beautiful thing to have. The questions I have go with the photos below.

A - How do I fit an Arri BP-8? The rails are the correct width but the safety pins make it impossible to slide the BP-8 onto them directly. The plate that came with it is of no obvious use.

B - What goes into the 12mm cavity? There is a screw with a broken cover that would secure whatever goes in there. Any ideas?

C - This screw is connected to a pad inside the head, next to the round tilt rails. Yet it doesn't lock anything or affect any of the functions. What is it?

Hoping someone here knows.

Thank you!

 

 

MiniWorrall.jpg

Edited by Uli Meyer
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I’m only familiar with Arriheads and Panaheads, but I’ll have a stab..

A. Are none of the stop pins retractable or otherwise removable? Usually you can depress one of them with a finger or a lever.

B. Maybe for a pan handle to operate when the gears are in neutral?

C. Usually there is a brake acting on the actual cradle as well as a brake on the wheel, could it be a tilt brake that is somehow not working properly?

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7 minutes ago, Dom Jaeger said:

I’m only familiar with Arriheads and Panaheads, but I’ll have a stab..

A. Are none of the stop pins retractable or otherwise removable? Usually you can depress one of them with a finger or a lever.

B. Maybe for a pan handle to operate when the gears are in neutral?

C. Usually there is a brake acting on the actual cradle as well as a brake on the wheel, could it be a tilt brake that is somehow not working properly?

Thanks Dom!

A. The stop pins are retractable by pushing them down with your finger.  When you slide on the BP-8 the pin pops up under it and gets caught. You have to fiddle with a screw driver to push it down again.

B. Pan handle is a possibility. The radius is 12mm though and it would be a very thin stick.

C. That is what I think too. Maybe I can find someone in London who can fix this.

Thank you for your reply, as always.

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It's been a while since I've used a Mini Worrall, but I'm pretty sure that B is a bracket for a bar that connects to the extension eyepiece leveler, similar to this O'Connor version:

image.png.2252f16e1a7fd8ff9ba400a710fe7441.png

 

C. sounds like some sort of friction lock, like Dom says. If you can't find anyone in London to fix it, try Les Bosher in Wales. I know he used to service Worrall heads years ago, maybe he still does.

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9 minutes ago, Stuart Brereton said:

It's been a while since I've used a Mini Worrall, but I'm pretty sure that B is a bracket for a bar that connects to the extension eyepiece leveler, similar to this O'Connor version:

image.png.2252f16e1a7fd8ff9ba400a710fe7441.png

 

C. sounds like some sort of friction lock, like Dom says. If you can't find anyone in London to fix it, try Les Bosher in Wales. I know he used to service Worrall heads years ago, maybe he still does.

Yes, a bracket for an extension eyepiece  leveler makes sense.

The friction lock would be in addition to the regular brakes. I'll contact Les and see if he knows.

Thank you Stuart!

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5 hours ago, Stuart Brereton said:

It's been a while since I've used a Mini Worrall, but I'm pretty sure that B is a bracket for a bar that connects to the extension eyepiece leveler

Yes that makes much more sense! 

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  • 2 months later...

The issue with the modern bridge plate is annoying. I solved that problem by filling in the cut outs on the bottom of the bridge plate. I Just made inserts that fit into the voids and were flush with the underside to keep the pin down until the plate slides all the way over.   If I recall I made them out of 1/4" aluminum bar stock. Any local machinist should be able to modify the plate for around $100.

B is as was previously stated, Eyepiece leveling bracket. Pretty much a necessity with a gear head.

That knob is the tilt brake. If tightening it does nothing, it needs to be adjusted. If you decide to go that roue, I'll go figure it out on mine and let you know what the procedure is.

 

How is the cable tension? Is there a little plaque somewhere with instructions for tensioning the cables? It's pretty straight forward, and if it's not slipping, don't mess with them.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Nick

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6 hours ago, Nick Gardner said:

Oh, and regarding the dovetail plate that comes with it, mounting an RBQ on it is pretty handy. Then you just pop off from whatever your other head is and back and forth, camera cart etc.

 

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your advice. I did manage to fit the BP-8 in the end by lifting the tilt plate slightly.

I bought this old riser on ebay for £10 and mounted an Arri plate on top and the Worrall slider on the bottom. Very handy when using 1k magazines on the Arricam LT which would otherwise hit the tilt wheel.

The knob doesn't seem to function at all. I have compared my Mini Worrall with images of other Mini Worralls on the net. The tilt and pan locks right behind the wheels are different. Mine are like the ones on the right. One part is completely missing and I'm not sure what that is.

 

w15.jpg.3e6600ce4d4fbe1034ddb5b4a0daa92a.jpg

 

IMG_3024.jpeg

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The part missing from your head is the pan lock. Basically there are two sets of locks. One locks the wheels in place, the other set actually locks the head in place like brakes on a car.   Your wheel lock are certainly unique. If I had to guess by looking at them, it looks like you could engage the locks while keeping your hands on the wheels which could be handy. I'll be at my studio today and take a look at my head.

 

Cheers,

 

Nick

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6 minutes ago, Nick Gardner said:

The part missing from your head is the pan lock. Basically there are two sets of locks. One locks the wheels in place, the other set actually locks the head in place like brakes on a car.   Your wheel lock are certainly unique. If I had to guess by looking at them, it looks like you could engage the locks while keeping your hands on the wheels which could be handy. I'll be at my studio today and take a look at my head.

 

Cheers,

 

Nick

My wheel locks actually lock the head in place, not just the wheels. Maybe this is a later version where those functions were combined? Unfortunately I can't find much information on the various models online.

Cheers,

Uli

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I am sure it locks the head in place when it's in gear, what about when it's in neutral? The locks at the handwheels lock the transmission drive shafts. if in neutral the head should still move. The other two locks physically apply pressure to pads locking the axis in place.

I looked at my head today, the tilt lock should compress a pad against the side of the tilt carriage. If you look in through the front of the head with a flash light, you should be able to see it clearly. If the pas is in place, and the knob still does nothing, check to see if the pad is moving when you tighten the knob. The knob is keyed onto another part on the shaft, and if it's spinning freely, something is amiss.

 

Nick

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On 1/31/2020 at 7:39 PM, Nick Gardner said:

I am sure it locks the head in place when it's in gear, what about when it's in neutral? The locks at the handwheels lock the transmission drive shafts. if in neutral the head should still move. The other two locks physically apply pressure to pads locking the axis in place.

I looked at my head today, the tilt lock should compress a pad against the side of the tilt carriage. If you look in through the front of the head with a flash light, you should be able to see it clearly. If the pas is in place, and the knob still does nothing, check to see if the pad is moving when you tighten the knob. The knob is keyed onto another part on the shaft, and if it's spinning freely, something is amiss.

 

Nick

Hi Nick,

There is no pad and the knob does nothing. The two locks do not only lock the hand wheels but also the head, even when the gears are in neutral. I am not sure if this design is an earlier one or a later version.

Uli

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