The bottom of this ballmount can rotate.
The bracket is attached with a screw to the bottom of the ballmount and requires rotation to unscrew.
The screw is so tight that, even with the ballmount rotation locked, it still just rotates the ballmount.
I can't clamp the sides of the ballmount bottom as it is too fragile.
Surely I am not the first person in the world to have this problem. Is there a trick to getting this loose?
I tried leaving it in the fridge, hoping it would shrink enough to come loose or something but no dice.
Thank you for your time, feel free to laugh at me.
Not laughing - I had a terrible time when I was first trying to get the mounting plate for the camera off of the body of Manfroto Ball mount, requiring copious amounts of WD40, close watching of videos of how it should have worked, and brute force. It now works pretty well, but was a wierd movement intended to stop accidental releases.
If you have a decent camera shop nearby, they might be prepared to look at it (I'm guessing you bought online)
Otherwise, I'd guess you've already tried WD40 anywhere there's a crack that might be relevant (remembering to wipe it all away before going near a camera), and double checking instruction manuals and youtube for videos of mount in action (just in case there is a "trick"). So, ummm, good luck!