Arri Repair Question

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drcheese

Well-known member
Howdy,

I'm having a little hardware trouble with my Arri 300W recently. The threading for the fastener that tightens the light to a stand is no longer secured into the metal. So now when I go to tighten it the entire screw/thread comes out.

I thought I could just glue it back in with this JB Weld material that is used for automotive repair. But it didn't hold. Does anyone have any idea what can be done to repair this?


Hmm, hope that was clear. I've attached a few pictures. First one of the screw/thread, second of the socket it's supposed to be attached to.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!
 

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Yes its true, made in germany doesn't guarantee perfection. My suggestion would be to get a new stand adapter from somewhere that carries Arri parts. Once its lost the thread, the connection between the plastic and the metal will never be possible again.
 
Damn, looks like you'll have to replace the whole yoke, rather than just the threads. Bummer.
Perhaps you can just get the mounting piece, attached to the yoke.
 
I doubt it. As I've seen these things, they usually fasten with two screws to the bottom of the yoke so it shouldn't be necessary to replace the whole yoke. It would have been much easier though to use a 3rd party adapter if they'd just used one simple 3/8" to 1/2" hole at the bottom of the yoke like many other fixtures do. Heck, we ought to start stocking these kind of plastic adapters (or a metal version if I can find it) and sell them at a reasonable price for just this purpose of replacing Arri's or other models when they go south.

Drcheese, can you confirm the fastening mechanism between adapter and yoke? Two small bolts--perhaps about M5 or 1/4" -- something like that?
 
Sr.

When my Arri 650 did this, I drove over to the friendly Arri repair center on Victory in Burbank and they looked at it and brought me over a spare block that screws to the yoke. No charge. They asked me how many Arri lights I had and gave me a few more for my other Arri lights so when the same happens to them, I would be ready.

Happens all of the time. Can't guarantee that all Arri centers will do this but the one in Burbank took care of me. It's very common. Your picture shows the newer, more modern silver block. All of my Arris were the older ones with the blue painted block, so they have me the spares and I replaced all of them.

Good luck,

Dan
 
what the heck happened here... did the thread strip, I dont understand? You mean my Arri's are going to do this. A "tap and die" wouldnt clean this up?
JB Weld phooey all over the picture... cant see!
 
Cool Lights, you're right the adapter is just fastened to the yoke by two screws, it looks fairly simple to replace and you can find the part online for about $30.

http://www.lightsonretail.com/Merch...e=ARRI-L4_77145_E&Category_Code=Arri-Hardware


Puredrifting, that's a great idea! I bought this light as part of my softbank IV kit about 4 months ago and I'd hope it was under warranty still. I'll look through my receipts and warranty info, contact them and see what they say.


bwest, I actually wasn't using the light when it happened, a buddy of mine was just like "uh, what's going on?", so not sure what when on But the thread seems to have just become unglued from the adapter. It still screws into the adapter but when you tighten the nut instead of holding to the stand the thread just starts unscrewing from the adapter.


Anyway, I'll contact the Arri people, see what they do about it and post an update here. Thanks for all the help!
 
Yeah, the German gear of all types are not known for their economical parts. From BMWs to Arris to Mercedes, they are all the same, waaaay over priced parts that they gouge the consumer on.

I should show you the $300.00 rain gutter on my 325i, it's a hunk of plastic, I am sure that it cost BMW about $2.00 to have this part fabricated yet they get us for $300.00 for replacement one. What else can you do, if you need one, you need one.

At least Arri has been more than fair on repairs with me. They are not cheap but they have not totally gouged me over the years.

Dan
 
This plastic adapter should cost around $6 and that's still giving a good profit. I will see if I can order a few extra of these and carry them. I even saw a metal version of this thing which shouldn't have this stripping problem at all but it will be a bit higher. Cheap plastic version or a bit higher metal version--which would be preferred as replacement?
 
So, I called Arri in LA this morning. Explained that I bought the light back in June and that the stand adapter for my 300W had broken. They took my address and said a replacement would be up here in about 3 days via UPS, no questions asked, no trouble given.

That's pretty good customer service.

Although... I was surprised that they didn't ask for my warranty info, serial no. or anything. Perhaps it's already in the system for my name and address? I just hope the right part gets here...


I'll post again when the part shows up.
 
The replacement part showed up today via UPS, it was the correct one and it took me maybe 20 minutes to make the exchange (it's much easier to unscrew the adapter if you remove the yoke first).

Everything works like new now and hopefully this was a one-off incident as I'd hate to have to pay $30 after my warranty expires. Regardless the Arri people were easy to deal with and they seem like a solid company.


Also thanks to everyone here for their help as well, dvxuser once again proves invaluable!
 
use the jb weld combination it comes in a pac with 2 tooth pasty looking tube things ones orange ones blue. You combine em hold it for 4 minutes then let it stay for 24hours that should deffinitly work (I work at a hardware store to support my film making) hah
 
trashcandan, number in California is (818) 841-7070, number in New York is (845) 353-1400

Lairhair, jb weld was what I actually used initially (that's what the guy at the hardware store recommended), but it didn't hold, I'm not sure if super glue or something else would have worked better, but it might just be one of those "must replace" deals.
 
this is why i love Arri stuff. I had a BL4 break down on a production recently... they literally came and fixed it....
 
drcheese said:
trashcandan, number in California is (818) 841-7070, number in New York is (845) 353-1400

Lairhair, jb weld was what I actually used initially (that's what the guy at the hardware store recommended), but it didn't hold, I'm not sure if super glue or something else would have worked better, but it might just be one of those "must replace" deals.
Click to expand...

Yeah its pure luck when glueing metal to metal. Its an expencive light to use glue on anyway do it the right way and send it out. Sending it to arri is a pain in the ass though. We held production for 2 weeks because our 1k broke.
 
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