Cheap tripods lock their legs by pushing a little plastic blocker against the leg to cause friction. These blockers are fragile and break extremely easily. This project provides printable replacements.

Printing

Print Blocker.3mf, Blocker.step or Blocker.stl. I used a 0.6mm nozzle with PETG, but anything should work. Make sure the orientation is vertical, this will make sure the small sides will not break off the body.

I recommend printing 9 or 10 blockers at once and replacing all of them in your tripod. Try to keep the old ones around for reference.

Installation

First, open the leg latch so it's free to move. Then push out the pin attaching the latch. I used a screwdriver tool for this:

Remove the latch and inspect the pin to ensure it is compatible. Keep it somewhere safe if it hasn't broken already.

Insert your printed blockers and re-assemble.