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But not the ball - the panning base.  Markins.  I’ve had it for years, and use it almost exclusively with a Wimberly Sidekick and a 500 4.0.  It turns smoothly once you get it going, but it’s hard to make minute adjustments because it “lurches” from being slightly stuck in position.  I’ve read stuff about lubing the balls, but not the bases.  I haven’t taken it off the tripod to see if the base can be removed, cleaned, and lubed; I don’t know if that’s a terrible idea or a good one, and i have no idea what type of lube to use.  Any voices of experience out there?

You might try Googling "Cleaning a Markins ballhead" or something similar. YouTube seems to have most anything you can think of.

Here's a few things I found that might help.
https://www.nikoncafe.com/threads/maint ... ad.226063/
http://www.markinseurope.com/manuals/ma ... -en_V6.pdf
httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BfzRl3Scm0s:// ... ?t=1295146

Contact Markins. If you've "had it for years", it may need an overhaul and not one you do yourself.

Here’s a link to an article about how a ballhead is made:

https://petapixel.com/2013/04/22/disass ... -it-works/

And one to a prior somewhat controversial thread about the same subject:

https://www.naturescapes.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=280621

I have taken apart numerous ballheads and many times it will be a burr formed by the tightening screw gouging the contact area. Most, but not all, ballheads that I have used are not that hard to take apart and work on. That being said, I have not worked on a Markins. There is often a plastic tip on the screw that just plain wears out.

Joe

I've had a Markins ballhead for years and fortunately it is still working well. As someone has already mentioned, contact Markins for advice.