[sharpiel]

Originally Posted by Kunama

Mine is actually designed to work with the opposite forces to yours Les. It is the lower brace on mine that pushes the legs outward and the very top the leg where it contacts the top plate that prevents them spreading further.

In fact, this spreader uses the over centre principle. Push the centre plate down and past the horizontal, it then locks in position and is effectively bending the legs outward. It requires over 11Kg of downward pressure to get the brace past the horizontal. This pressure is also adjustable, by moving the clamps further up the legs 1 centimetre doubled the effort required to lock them into place and there was no visible flex in the tripod.

The original spreader is now a paperweight in my office...

Very clever!