11:21 About those captive nuts: resist the temptation to tighten them much. If you do, their hard steel makes an indent in the softer aluminum channel holding them captive. You’ll end up with bumpy sliding, or even a nut that’s locked into the aluminum and hard to dislodge.
I'm really liking this new style of "making it up as I go along" problem solving videos. Sure, planing ahead is fine enough, but reality seldom conforms to advance planning, so being able to say "well, that didn't work - let's try something else" is a great way to approach a project.
It’s a pretty standard engineering process. You start with a plan, and you improve it along the way, with different iterations. Then you refine… yeah it’s cool he’s showing the “failures”
It was interesting to watch and go... "Oh okay, so he'll have to make sure those connectors are on a different face to anything running in the track, so he should face them sideways. I bet the edges of those bearings will be an issue, I would feel better about V-bearings there. Interesting that he's got the cable running so close to the extrusion, I'd just move the attachment out a little bit." It was quite validating watching him run into those issues along the way and realise I'd anticipated each one, although also it shows what a good storyteller he is that those features were so clear when watching. I'm sure they were harder to spot when the project wasn't edited down to expose the most salient details.
Great video! I've worked in the retail photo industry for over 40 years, and I know the cost of most studio camera stands and trollies are very expensive. This was a great build and your explanations were very clear and understandable. Kudos to you!
One of your many talents, and possibly the one I appreciate the most, is your ability to explain things. Excellent video. Love your enthusiasm for problem solving.
@alb2620 woah, Alex was the first one ever to make a camera arm tower‽ He should get an award. 😂 It's almost like there is a whole industry of people facing the same problem and coming up with parallel solutions for home shop fabrication.
@@alb2620 Inspired, maybe, but the one on Alex channel has a ton of 3d printed stuff. This one is more practical for most creators. You can also add way more stuff to it with the extruded parts.
Here's a little something you can do to improve the stand: modify the base by raising it a little and drill a couple of clearance holes so you can mount another set of v bearings at the bottom of the bar. This is to add another cable that runs thorough the bottom, that way you have a closed loop pulley system that you can add tension to. This will stabilize the cable since the tension will not be weight dependant and you can slide the whole gantry as quickly as you want without worrying about momentum slacking the cable and possibly breaking something.
Great idea. The other thing I would suggest is a round base and have 5 wheels, like an office chair more stable, and the base being round if you happen to hit it then it will be less painful ie square corners and shins. Round base + 1/4 rounding bit and you are done. Round base not as good for storage. If you wanted to make one of these for yourself just use an old office chair base and some weights.
Minor correction at 2:00 : That’s 20-4040. 20mm profile, 2 profiles wide and deep. Many machines use 40mm profile, so a 4040 in 40 profile just has one slot per side. So we designate the profile before the dimensions - 40-4040. There’s also little 10 profile, and crazy enough 15 profile is bigger than 20, as it refers to 1.5in instead of mm. Later in the video you drive screws into the profile to fit the brackets - this weakens the profile significantly. If you had used 40-4040 the holes in the bracket would have lined up with the profile and standard tnuts would have done the job.
Sure but if he had used that, his passing carriages thing wouldn't have worked, as it was relying on having two tracks. What he should have done, is just drilled the cheap bracket and used the captive nuts, as he did with everything else. Or, given the orientation we are talking about here, he could have bought a pair of U bolts, gone around the whole thing, shimmed if needed and cranked them down, meaning he wouldn't have had to modify either piece.
@@TheOfficialOriginalChad Sure, but that would be a way bigger extrusion, and also require buying different track rollers since the track is set further back from the edge.
Awesome! 1) I fully expect a ton of unnecessary low angle and high angle shots in future videos - just ‘cause they will be easier to do! 2) I NEED an update in a couple of months - does it continue to work how you expect? Have you found any new ways to use it? Any disappointments? Etc… (Couldn’t you have just turned the trollies 90 degrees to have the lock not hit the connectors? Or are the connectors on all 4 sides?)
If you have enough rolling room I just duped BTS's version with the Neewer ST003 ($127) 88" rolling pole stand. It comes with one pistol grip sliding arm and travel bag. The casters roll and lock so well. I picked up an extra arm for $30. Added my existing light and ball head. Used a unused. pole mount monitor arm to attach a cheap mic stand to. So for $200 including the mic arm parts this works terrifically.
Great timing! I'm using a Woby, which is great, but it doesn't completely solve my video set up issues. I'm in the process of designing my own camera mount using the extruded aluminum. This video gave me even more ideas.
You may already know this, but McMaster Carr has .3d files for everything they sell, So if they also sell the extrusion you are using, you can grab pre-made files for them that are compatible with Fusion.
Or, find the 2D profil on google image and make it a parametric model on Fusion, it's real easy to trace, that way you can have it with unlimited size.
Your excitement is so contagious! But also, yes, please address the worry about your team! I've noticed that you're filming alone quite a while ago, but thought maybe I just missed the announcement. But I see, a lot of us don't know what happened
It's just Forby and I now, everyone has moved on to new jobs in the last year and is doing well 👍🏼 We all talk constantly and get to hang out on a fairly regular basis.
Oh DUDE I totally have been working on my own version of this...... ! Also after seeing Cam showing off his setup. I ended up using a light-stand with these "trigger" type arms, which I'm goign to extend. I spent WAY more than you did, but hopefully I'll get a good result.
I love your videos. I'm a carpenter so we share the enjoyment of building things. One trick I learned from my dad was to hold the trim gun perpendicular to the way you hold it. the chisel point of the nails makes them more likely to curve side to side, so if you hold your trim nailer the other way, you're far less likely to have them poke out the top or bottom of your piece. thanks for amazing content. cheers!
Very cool build! Three hopefully constructive thoughts: 1. I wasn't a fan of drilling through the main column of 40-40 to mount to the base. I was assuming you were going to use captive nuts (which I know would be a pain to install, but allows you the flexibility to address my next thought) 2. (Edit: disregard, see replies below) If you had mounted the center column 90 degrees rotated from how you ultimately mounted it, wouldn't the connectors in the column have been out of the way and then you would need the 90 degree adapter? 3. The storage on the base is clutch! But since it's so low and near the ground, won't it be prone to collecting a lot of saw dust, etc? Maybe make a lid on hinges? I was thinking have it overhang the actual storage box then add a lip to the bottom of the overhang so it covers the seam between the lid and the box. Again, cool build! I love builds that are more utility and for "behind the scenes"
Just on point 2, I thought the exact same thing, then I realised the wheels/bearings on the trolleys he's using to mount the camera and counter weight on would be blocked by the joining strips, as they ride in those groves in the extrusion.
@@generaldisarray Ahhh... Good point! I was guessing I might be missing something. Yeah, then I'd say my thought #2 should be disregarded. The 90 adapter is a way simpler fix for working around the connectors than trying to make the wheels adapt to the connectors.
What about a 3D printed adapter that perfectly aligns the extrusions, then using 1/8in threaded rod down through the round holes in teh extrusion to tension it all into one piece, eliminating the joint bar connectors entirely?
This one is particularly amazing to me. Idk what it was but when you put the cinderblocks in the bottom and decided, "Now I get to make removable storage!" I got way more into it. It was like the cherry on top. Love this one!
This was such an awesome video, Thank you!! I absolutely love the fact that you took the time to simplify everything, even to the point of explaining things in an easy to understand way. I could watch these videos all day! 👍🏻
Bob, if I may, this video is awesome! I really like what you are currently doing! When you don't show your overthinking and you confidently move through your discoveries and choices, it makes for a great video! This video is very fun for me to watch! I can't wait for you to do an update after you use it for a while. Basic plans or kits for this would be awesome!
One thing I haven't seen people do with these is to use something like a pair of car batteries as a weight on the base. That way you could charge the camera while using it, and charge the whole stand overnight.
This is amazing! I wish I had a smaller version for shooting content on my phone. It looks a little wobbly after you adjust it, but I’m sure there’s some kind of camera mount with springs or a gyroscope that you could buy for it. Loved this video Bob. I think the fact that it’s mainly screw together parts and creative problem solving makes it feel more accessible, no welding or anything crazy.
Great job! Now I want to make stuff with 2020. Some bolt cutters have teethy thingies (I’m reliably informed that’s the technical term) on the handles that you can use to crimp the small ferrules. Also, thimbles are a good idea for inside the cable loops. 14:00
1:30 extrusion profiles are produced in >30m long sections before being cut into 6m pieces for transport to resellers. For those resellers stock keeping & handling is easier for those short pieces, demand is higher, shipping cheaper and on and on and on.
20:46 What you're supposed to do is say it so awesome that this is in fact a second one that you're building and shot the whole rest of the video on the first one. But you probably only need one.
7:30 The 3d print at the top could also have eyelets printed on the side and a press fit metal spacer/washer so the wire goes through it. Keeping the wire centered at the top no matter what bracket you have attached
I love seeing tech thats been in photography since the 80s being finally brought to the video side of stuff! You can get these (in photography, called salon stands) for cheap online pretty often as long as you go pick them up. I got my 8' manfrotto one in good condition from ebay for $300 last year.
Agree 100% on that. No one appreciates you solving your specific problem like you. It's awesome, but sucks you can't share it (and have someone appreciate it) at the same time. I personally think it's awesome and am excited for you!
I really enjoy how you iterate on your ideas, showing the trial and error, bringing us along as you work your way to a solution. I appreciate your sharing your journey as it shows us more budget-minded creators what’s possible. Keep up the great work!
It wasn't a pixel wave, that was a glitch in the mainframe running the simulation. The algorithm is breaking down and we're all about to be turned off and reset.
I love the design process; the design brief, the logic and, particularly, the things that don't work but are part of the process. There's too often a view that a failure is bad; it isn't, it's just part of making it better. Real Engineering 🙂🙂
The Manfrotto Mini Salon 190 Camera Stand is $1300. I've done enough DIY to know that the total cost creeps up especially on projects like this. For me personally, the $1300 and saving the time to do other tinkery projects would be the way to go. Absolutely fantastic job done here though. It's great to see the final product and it working so nicely.
Possibly my favorite part about your content is that you bring your audience through the full engineering experience. It’s never “hey I had this idea and it works perfectly”. You show how plans change and that’s ok. I love it!
Aluminium extrusion profile sure is so versatile for projects. Earlier this year build a 10" server rack that fits in a Kallax shelf to redo my home networking. Some 20x20 profile on all 4 sides leaves enough room for a 6U rack to fit a patch panel, 2x 8 port switches two Raspis and a mini pc
I made a very crude version of this a few months ago and it is a game changer for the one man show. I used mostly scraps on mine, but I really like the materials that you used. I think the plywood base flexes too much seeing it shake after you move it. I filled the pipe I used with sand and it helped a lot, filling the center of your 40-40 might be helpful. I also used large hospital casters and it glides around the shop so nice. I filled my base with gravel, it helps a lot for fast reposition and setups. I added an additional light bar to the top recently. Great job!
I love this! Watching this type of video where you are trying to solve a unique problem by building a device from scratch really gets me thinking of ways to improve my own shop infrastructure. Thanks for this.
I have a suggestion. That whole gantry is being held by that locking mechanism well. However, the lock itself is hanging by a thin 3D printed plastic, as you have placed the hole near the edge. You can invert the whole thing by placing the 3D printed part under the gantry so the load sits on a thicker piece. i hope that makes sense. Otherwise, great build! Oh another thing, and this is just a personal preference, I would do something about that wobble by adding triangular braces at the bottom.
This video was entertaining. Nothing over-explained. I felt like I was on your problem solving journey. Look forward to more, will be checking out your old videos thanks.
A very effective solution; well done! Your enthusiasm for this project was great and these kinds of videos are why I enjoy your channel so much! Thank you for posting this.
Great work and what I like about projects like this is that it solves a problem for you that works for you and that you are satisfied with! Thanks for sharing your build process with us and enjoy your new stand!
Love the idea Bob! Very cool to see all the clever things you come up with. I wondered if you should put a little lip on the bottom of the attached tray just inside the walls of the bottom section to keep it aligned and from sliding off if the whole thing gets bumped or moved too fast?
I absolutely love this setup. I may replicate this for my theatre photography. For the next time you use wire rope and wire rope clips (yes those are the correct terms) remember the rigger's axiom, "Never Saddle a Dead Horse", meaning the saddle shape of the clip goes on the live end of the wire rope, not the dead end. (I did notice you used them both ways).
G'day Bob, great video. I've been watching for ages. A recent injury has taken me away from the workshop. But the new hobby involved video and cameras. This is a game changer and diy. Pretty sure you'll have plenty of people give it a go. Ta heaps mate. Roving Rushy
Random thought. Replace your locking mechanism with a spring clamp or similar, since you have it counter-weighted you shouldn't need much force to hold it in place. So you could use the clamp as a handle to just grab, move and then let go and it'll stay.
Yeah, i really only lock it if I'm walking away for a while, just in case.. or if I've added a heavy light to the other side. The countere weight works great
Now that's what I call thinking out of the box and building something awesome & very useful! Nice work Bob and I am certain that there will be various changes and additions down the road. 👍👍
Hey Bob, awesome video (as always) very cool setup! I thought of a couple things: 1) instead of using that 3d printed orange piece with the handle, you could have just turned the extrusion 90 degrees so the pieces that connect the lengths together were on the sides and then you could have gone with your original idea of putting the handle through the bracket, but obviously not a game-changer since you have the 3d printer and needed some orange in the project =) but more importantly 2) When you first started this video I definitely thought you were going to mount the aluminum extrusion to the ceiling of your workshop to make a track around your shop, add some steel cable and a motor, a raspberry pi and some programming, and next thing you know you could say "Alexa, move the camera to the table saw" and it would go to your predefined perfect spot to video the table saw, etc. Something along those lines would probably be pretty amazing for your productivity and would make a pretty epic video. Maybe it wouldn't work if you have to adjust the focus a lot, but I thought those cameras were pretty good at auto adjusting. Anyways, just a thought I had =)
You could add a tiny electric motor to the wire to change the height with a remote (maybe at the weight-platform). So you also could set specific settings for your favourite heights. Also you could do shots with a changing perspective
Cool project! If you ever do anything with wire rope in the future, make sure you have the wire rope clips the right direction. You had them backward before you switched to the swages. The saddle (the flatter part) need to be on the “live side” of the cable and the u-shape goes on the “dead” end of the cable. Never saddle a dead horse, as the saying goes. For the relatively low weight you were using on this project, it may not have mattered, but it does make a difference. Also I wouldn’t trust the “hammer it flat” method of compressing those fittings on anything that would put people at risk if it failed. Not that this project fails into that category.
Great stuff as always from your channel! One thing I would also add would be a way to pick up the whole system so that if you ever have to finish shooting the car refurb you've been working on, you can just pick it up, gently put it into you pickup and easily stroll around in the barn with it. Also please add eyes to it.
best camera stand I have seen so far. I did seen few diy stands like this but this is best I would say by design and materials used. I wanted to buy one but they are so expensive. Now i can build one like you did and it will even look nice too
This is awesome and something I’d love to have. I’m getting into figure and diorama photography, and this would work great! Thanks for sharing this. I can’t wait to be able to build one. Keep the content coming.
Overall this is quite the setup! I was excited to see this build because I will be doing similar photography myself, (as well as videos). The first hurdle I saw was the 3D printed parts. I surely don’t ave access to that kind of technology (yet) so an alternative method would have been nice to see. The setup is portable within a space for sure, like your shop, where you can roll it out of the way. But as a true portable device, it could use a bit more tweaking so that it will lay flat for transporting. This is just some things I see, since I do a lot of travel to shows and on job sites, where it would be nice to have a setup like this. I must say the extruded aluminum pieces did work out well, and does give way to ideas for other projects as well!
10:55 Might i suggest using timing belts? There is defiantly some that can hold the weight there , my concern is that over time the cable is going to fatigue and send all the camera gear plummeting to the base.
Actually, that was my initial idea, I even purchased them. The closer I got to doing it, I just felt like steeel cable might be better over long term, but I'm sure either would have worked fine.
That’s really well made. I use the Manfrotto mini salon stands in the studios at work. And they have been a game changer over the usual sticks we had on hand. The only downside I can see to your build is the centre column is square. The round column design allows you to freely spin the arm around the shaft. I’d recommend adding some foot brakes to the base as well.
When the COVID lockdown started (mid-semester spring 2020), at ETSU we used metal hose clamps to strap 1" T-slot aluminum onto extra, unused IV poles we had in the Biomedical lab. Super adjustable and mobile. The 1/4-20 hardware was a natural fit for photographic equipment. Also 5-caster bases are very stable and bags of washers make great counter weights. Long lengths, short lengths... all useful. "There is no such thing as 'scrap T-slot aluminum'." Still in use for videos.
This is awesome! I also saw the video you referenced and thought that it is the perfect RUclipsr "tripod" then was disappointed by the price. Your solution is super elegant and I might have to give it a shot myself.
Me encanta la idea, en mi caso yo le añadiría movimiento al brazo perpendicular, o sea, que también deslice. Pero así como está se ve genial. Tomo nota de su proyecto. Saludos 😉👍
This stand looks awesome, and it's even greater that it helps you do what you do. I see one possible improvement: make an acrylic 2piece hinged lid for the bottom storage to keep is clear from dust and debris. And put some adhesive sealing strip on the top of the plywood box to make it even more dustproof 👌
Wow, that looks extremely useful! Filming alone with the tripod is challenging, it would be great to make a system like this to assist with that process. Doing a lot of filming around a singular area, it would be cool to make something with arms that can move in multi-direction and support the camera on their own. Thanks for inspiring us with more ideas!
Loved the video; loved the last blooper more - that’s like Tron stuff there. But, seeing this gave me an idea for something totally unrelated to cameras. So thank you!!!
I'm a big fan of aluminum extrusion construction. I built a 40"x72" sewing table out of 1.5"x1.5" extrusions with a plywood top and cabinet inside, and it is Rock Solid. I could jump up and down on that thing and it wouldn't flex a bit. I'm probably going to build a table saw/assembly table for my shop the same way.
Looks great! You should design a counterbalance for the top of it like they have in skyscrapers to counteract the wobble when you move it. That would be an interesting video!
i really liked this video! If you ever need thin steel cables again i'd go for break cables for bicycles. And if you need really thin ones there are options used for DIY jewelry.
I own a home built cnc router with those wheels and extrusions. You should loosen those wheels so that they don't wear too quickly or flat spot over time if left in one place for a while. You want them just tight enough to make contact with the extrusion without wiggling around on the plane they move in. They should fall on their own when vertical, easily rolling.
Love when people do it themselves...diy. Great stuff. Also love some Blacktail and found you randomly so this was a win for sure. Keep it up sir, diy!!!!
Thanks Huel. Head to huel.com/makestuff and use my code for 15% off your first order + a free starter kit! Sponsored by Huel
Was kind of a trip to be having Huel for lunch to see this ad
The code doesn’t work on the EU store 🤦🏻♂️
Sweet. Now make it electric.
11:21 About those captive nuts: resist the temptation to tighten them much. If you do, their hard steel makes an indent in the softer aluminum channel holding them captive. You’ll end up with bumpy sliding, or even a nut that’s locked into the aluminum and hard to dislodge.
I'm really liking this new style of "making it up as I go along" problem solving videos.
Sure, planing ahead is fine enough, but reality seldom conforms to advance planning, so being able to say "well, that didn't work - let's try something else" is a great way to approach a project.
It’s a pretty standard engineering process. You start with a plan, and you improve it along the way, with different iterations. Then you refine… yeah it’s cool he’s showing the “failures”
It was interesting to watch and go... "Oh okay, so he'll have to make sure those connectors are on a different face to anything running in the track, so he should face them sideways. I bet the edges of those bearings will be an issue, I would feel better about V-bearings there. Interesting that he's got the cable running so close to the extrusion, I'd just move the attachment out a little bit." It was quite validating watching him run into those issues along the way and realise I'd anticipated each one, although also it shows what a good storyteller he is that those features were so clear when watching. I'm sure they were harder to spot when the project wasn't edited down to expose the most salient details.
Great video! I've worked in the retail photo industry for over 40 years, and I know the cost of most studio camera stands and trollies are very expensive. This was a great build and your explanations were very clear and understandable. Kudos to you!
One of your many talents, and possibly the one I appreciate the most, is your ability to explain things. Excellent video. Love your enthusiasm for problem solving.
Thank you! I really appreciate that!
Teaching is a skill.
You should check out the stand Alexandre Chappel made! It's on his RUclips channel
Pretty sure that's where this project was ripped from.
@@alb2620 Yeah might be. I only noticed he mentioned Blacktail Studio only
@alb2620 woah, Alex was the first one ever to make a camera arm tower‽ He should get an award. 😂 It's almost like there is a whole industry of people facing the same problem and coming up with parallel solutions for home shop fabrication.
Alex is awesome 😊
@@alb2620 Inspired, maybe, but the one on Alex channel has a ton of 3d printed stuff. This one is more practical for most creators. You can also add way more stuff to it with the extruded parts.
15:30 Wouldn't it have been easier if you moved the connection pieces to the sides? Or use 7 instead of 8?
Watch Alex Chappels 3d printed camera mount video. His design is very cool and extremely well though out😊
Was looking for this commentary !
Alex's design is very nice as well, but if I remember correctly, it's substantially bigger, heavier, and takes up a lot more space than this design.
Here's a little something you can do to improve the stand: modify the base by raising it a little and drill a couple of clearance holes so you can mount another set of v bearings at the bottom of the bar. This is to add another cable that runs thorough the bottom, that way you have a closed loop pulley system that you can add tension to. This will stabilize the cable since the tension will not be weight dependant and you can slide the whole gantry as quickly as you want without worrying about momentum slacking the cable and possibly breaking something.
Great idea.
The other thing I would suggest is a round base and have 5 wheels, like an office chair more stable, and the base being round if you happen to hit it then it will be less painful ie square corners and shins. Round base + 1/4 rounding bit and you are done. Round base not as good for storage.
If you wanted to make one of these for yourself just use an old office chair base and some weights.
oh, interesting!
@@Iliketomakestuffyou can also make the arm of the camera extend horizontally so you can get over the bench for example.
Wow, awesome ideas, I really like the extendable arm. Just keep the weight in mind.
I would absolutely watch a follow up video that tries this.
Minor correction at 2:00 :
That’s 20-4040. 20mm profile, 2 profiles wide and deep. Many machines use 40mm profile, so a 4040 in 40 profile just has one slot per side. So we designate the profile before the dimensions - 40-4040.
There’s also little 10 profile, and crazy enough 15 profile is bigger than 20, as it refers to 1.5in instead of mm.
Later in the video you drive screws into the profile to fit the brackets - this weakens the profile significantly. If you had used 40-4040 the holes in the bracket would have lined up with the profile and standard tnuts would have done the job.
Sure but if he had used that, his passing carriages thing wouldn't have worked, as it was relying on having two tracks.
What he should have done, is just drilled the cheap bracket and used the captive nuts, as he did with everything else.
Or, given the orientation we are talking about here, he could have bought a pair of U bolts, gone around the whole thing, shimmed if needed and cranked them down, meaning he wouldn't have had to modify either piece.
@@Nevir202 40-4080 and 40-8080 has two tracks :)
@@TheOfficialOriginalChad Sure, but that would be a way bigger extrusion, and also require buying different track rollers since the track is set further back from the edge.
@@Nevir202 exactly.
Awesome!
1) I fully expect a ton of unnecessary low angle and high angle shots in future videos - just ‘cause they will be easier to do!
2) I NEED an update in a couple of months - does it continue to work how you expect? Have you found any new ways to use it? Any disappointments? Etc…
(Couldn’t you have just turned the trollies 90 degrees to have the lock not hit the connectors? Or are the connectors on all 4 sides?)
If you have enough rolling room I just duped BTS's version with the Neewer ST003 ($127) 88" rolling pole stand. It comes with one pistol grip sliding arm and travel bag. The casters roll and lock so well. I picked up an extra arm for $30. Added my existing light and ball head. Used a unused. pole mount monitor arm to attach a cheap mic stand to. So for $200 including the mic arm parts this works terrifically.
i would love to see this set up did you post it anywhere? @bhgemini
Great timing! I'm using a Woby, which is great, but it doesn't completely solve my video set up issues. I'm in the process of designing my own camera mount using the extruded aluminum. This video gave me even more ideas.
You may already know this, but McMaster Carr has .3d files for everything they sell, So if they also sell the extrusion you are using, you can grab pre-made files for them that are compatible with Fusion.
Or, find the 2D profil on google image and make it a parametric model on Fusion, it's real easy to trace, that way you can have it with unlimited size.
That's a great pro tip
Your excitement is so contagious!
But also, yes, please address the worry about your team!
I've noticed that you're filming alone quite a while ago, but thought maybe I just missed the announcement. But I see, a lot of us don't know what happened
It's just Forby and I now, everyone has moved on to new jobs in the last year and is doing well 👍🏼 We all talk constantly and get to hang out on a fairly regular basis.
This was a really well made video Bob. Well done!
Oh DUDE I totally have been working on my own version of this...... ! Also after seeing Cam showing off his setup. I ended up using a light-stand with these "trigger" type arms, which I'm goign to extend. I spent WAY more than you did, but hopefully I'll get a good result.
Looking forward to seeing what you cooked up. I’ve been eying a ton of these builds from all over and taking inspiration for my own.
I love your videos. I'm a carpenter so we share the enjoyment of building things. One trick I learned from my dad was to hold the trim gun perpendicular to the way you hold it. the chisel point of the nails makes them more likely to curve side to side, so if you hold your trim nailer the other way, you're far less likely to have them poke out the top or bottom of your piece. thanks for amazing content. cheers!
Very cool build! Three hopefully constructive thoughts:
1. I wasn't a fan of drilling through the main column of 40-40 to mount to the base. I was assuming you were going to use captive nuts (which I know would be a pain to install, but allows you the flexibility to address my next thought)
2. (Edit: disregard, see replies below) If you had mounted the center column 90 degrees rotated from how you ultimately mounted it, wouldn't the connectors in the column have been out of the way and then you would need the 90 degree adapter?
3. The storage on the base is clutch! But since it's so low and near the ground, won't it be prone to collecting a lot of saw dust, etc? Maybe make a lid on hinges? I was thinking have it overhang the actual storage box then add a lip to the bottom of the overhang so it covers the seam between the lid and the box.
Again, cool build! I love builds that are more utility and for "behind the scenes"
Just on point 2, I thought the exact same thing, then I realised the wheels/bearings on the trolleys he's using to mount the camera and counter weight on would be blocked by the joining strips, as they ride in those groves in the extrusion.
@@generaldisarray Ahhh... Good point! I was guessing I might be missing something. Yeah, then I'd say my thought #2 should be disregarded. The 90 adapter is a way simpler fix for working around the connectors than trying to make the wheels adapt to the connectors.
What about a 3D printed adapter that perfectly aligns the extrusions, then using 1/8in threaded rod down through the round holes in teh extrusion to tension it all into one piece, eliminating the joint bar connectors entirely?
This one is particularly amazing to me. Idk what it was but when you put the cinderblocks in the bottom and decided, "Now I get to make removable storage!" I got way more into it. It was like the cherry on top. Love this one!
This was such an awesome video, Thank you!! I absolutely love the fact that you took the time to simplify everything, even to the point of explaining things in an easy to understand way. I could watch these videos all day! 👍🏻
Love how you seem to have fun solving the problems you encounter. Hope one day to have the same optimism.
Bob, if I may, this video is awesome! I really like what you are currently doing! When you don't show your overthinking and you confidently move through your discoveries and choices, it makes for a great video! This video is very fun for me to watch! I can't wait for you to do an update after you use it for a while. Basic plans or kits for this would be awesome!
One thing I haven't seen people do with these is to use something like a pair of car batteries as a weight on the base. That way you could charge the camera while using it, and charge the whole stand overnight.
Nice editing at 2:35. Appreciate the editing effort, but I doubt many will notice it. Add fire next time.
Had to watch it 10x times to find out what you meant 😂
This is amazing! I wish I had a smaller version for shooting content on my phone. It looks a little wobbly after you adjust it, but I’m sure there’s some kind of camera mount with springs or a gyroscope that you could buy for it. Loved this video Bob. I think the fact that it’s mainly screw together parts and creative problem solving makes it feel more accessible, no welding or anything crazy.
Great job! Now I want to make stuff with 2020.
Some bolt cutters have teethy thingies (I’m reliably informed that’s the technical term) on the handles that you can use to crimp the small ferrules.
Also, thimbles are a good idea for inside the cable loops. 14:00
1:30 extrusion profiles are produced in >30m long sections before being cut into 6m pieces for transport to resellers. For those resellers stock keeping & handling is easier for those short pieces, demand is higher, shipping cheaper and on and on and on.
20:46 What you're supposed to do is say it so awesome that this is in fact a second one that you're building and shot the whole rest of the video on the first one. But you probably only need one.
7:30 The 3d print at the top could also have eyelets printed on the side and a press fit metal spacer/washer so the wire goes through it. Keeping the wire centered at the top no matter what bracket you have attached
This is definitely a game changer. So many things you can add to and improve it if you need.
As a photographer, and have done studio work in the past I really appreciate the ease of movement and can how it will help speed up your work flow
I love seeing tech thats been in photography since the 80s being finally brought to the video side of stuff! You can get these (in photography, called salon stands) for cheap online pretty often as long as you go pick them up. I got my 8' manfrotto one in good condition from ebay for $300 last year.
Agree 100% on that. No one appreciates you solving your specific problem like you. It's awesome, but sucks you can't share it (and have someone appreciate it) at the same time. I personally think it's awesome and am excited for you!
I really enjoy how you iterate on your ideas, showing the trial and error, bringing us along as you work your way to a solution. I appreciate your sharing your journey as it shows us more budget-minded creators what’s possible. Keep up the great work!
2:36 that pixel wave was *chef's kiss*
It wasn't a pixel wave, that was a glitch in the mainframe running the simulation. The algorithm is breaking down and we're all about to be turned off and reset.
I totally missed that, super cool!
I love the design process; the design brief, the logic and, particularly, the things that don't work but are part of the process. There's too often a view that a failure is bad; it isn't, it's just part of making it better. Real Engineering 🙂🙂
What a great solution Bob,ive us3d 2020 & 4040 to mod my k40 laser, really useful rail 22:05
The Manfrotto Mini Salon 190 Camera Stand is $1300. I've done enough DIY to know that the total cost creeps up especially on projects like this. For me personally, the $1300 and saving the time to do other tinkery projects would be the way to go.
Absolutely fantastic job done here though. It's great to see the final product and it working so nicely.
That is a wonderful solution. This video is very inspiring and true to the nature of your content.
Possibly my favorite part about your content is that you bring your audience through the full engineering experience. It’s never “hey I had this idea and it works perfectly”. You show how plans change and that’s ok. I love it!
Aluminium extrusion profile sure is so versatile for projects. Earlier this year build a 10" server rack that fits in a Kallax shelf to redo my home networking. Some 20x20 profile on all 4 sides leaves enough room for a 6U rack to fit a patch panel, 2x 8 port switches two Raspis and a mini pc
Extra visual flair was cool. The wave on the table when you set down the steel mounting bracket was a really nice touch.
I made a very crude version of this a few months ago and it is a game changer for the one man show. I used mostly scraps on mine, but I really like the materials that you used. I think the plywood base flexes too much seeing it shake after you move it. I filled the pipe I used with sand and it helped a lot, filling the center of your 40-40 might be helpful. I also used large hospital casters and it glides around the shop so nice. I filled my base with gravel, it helps a lot for fast reposition and setups. I added an additional light bar to the top recently. Great job!
I love this! Watching this type of video where you are trying to solve a unique problem by building a device from scratch really gets me thinking of ways to improve my own shop infrastructure. Thanks for this.
15:42 is it not easier to rotate the pole 90 degree
My thoughts exactly!
Thank you!
Great job! When I saw the pavers in the tray, I was thinking add pot plants to the bottom as a juxtaposition to the wonderfully technical top half.
I have a suggestion. That whole gantry is being held by that locking mechanism well. However, the lock itself is hanging by a thin 3D printed plastic, as you have placed the hole near the edge. You can invert the whole thing by placing the 3D printed part under the gantry so the load sits on a thicker piece. i hope that makes sense. Otherwise, great build!
Oh another thing, and this is just a personal preference, I would do something about that wobble by adding triangular braces at the bottom.
This video was entertaining. Nothing over-explained. I felt like I was on your problem solving journey. Look forward to more, will be checking out your old videos thanks.
Super cool. Hope you get to enjoy it for a long time. I am still digging the enclosed shop space and lighting. Top notch work.
A very effective solution; well done! Your enthusiasm for this project was great and these kinds of videos are why I enjoy your channel so much! Thank you for posting this.
Outstanding!!!!! So many different tips in this video that can be applied to so many things.
Great work and what I like about projects like this is that it solves a problem for you that works for you and that you are satisfied with! Thanks for sharing your build process with us and enjoy your new stand!
Love the idea Bob! Very cool to see all the clever things you come up with. I wondered if you should put a little lip on the bottom of the attached tray just inside the walls of the bottom section to keep it aligned and from sliding off if the whole thing gets bumped or moved too fast?
I absolutely love this setup. I may replicate this for my theatre photography. For the next time you use wire rope and wire rope clips (yes those are the correct terms) remember the rigger's axiom, "Never Saddle a Dead Horse", meaning the saddle shape of the clip goes on the live end of the wire rope, not the dead end. (I did notice you used them both ways).
G'day Bob, great video. I've been watching for ages. A recent injury has taken me away from the workshop. But the new hobby involved video and cameras. This is a game changer and diy. Pretty sure you'll have plenty of people give it a go. Ta heaps mate. Roving Rushy
Random thought. Replace your locking mechanism with a spring clamp or similar, since you have it counter-weighted you shouldn't need much force to hold it in place. So you could use the clamp as a handle to just grab, move and then let go and it'll stay.
Yeah, i really only lock it if I'm walking away for a while, just in case.. or if I've added a heavy light to the other side. The countere weight works great
Now that's what I call thinking out of the box and building something awesome & very useful! Nice work Bob and I am certain that there will be various changes and additions down the road. 👍👍
So good! Thanks Bob - love the problem solving.
Amazing video! Love seeing the process of solving problems as they come and the final product seems great!
nice to see the process and see the nice product you came up with, good use of 3D printing to solve prpoblems too
This is awesome, nice job. Really satisfying seeing solutions to specific problems.
Hey Bob, awesome video (as always) very cool setup! I thought of a couple things:
1) instead of using that 3d printed orange piece with the handle, you could have just turned the extrusion 90 degrees so the pieces that connect the lengths together were on the sides and then you could have gone with your original idea of putting the handle through the bracket, but obviously not a game-changer since you have the 3d printer and needed some orange in the project =)
but more importantly
2) When you first started this video I definitely thought you were going to mount the aluminum extrusion to the ceiling of your workshop to make a track around your shop, add some steel cable and a motor, a raspberry pi and some programming, and next thing you know you could say "Alexa, move the camera to the table saw" and it would go to your predefined perfect spot to video the table saw, etc. Something along those lines would probably be pretty amazing for your productivity and would make a pretty epic video. Maybe it wouldn't work if you have to adjust the focus a lot, but I thought those cameras were pretty good at auto adjusting. Anyways, just a thought I had =)
15:50 couldn't you just take the carriages off and rotate the main beam by 90° to put the connector on the side?
Thought the same thing, then I realized, the wheels run in the track. So if the connectors where in the other side, the wheels would hit them.
👆
You could add a tiny electric motor to the wire to change the height with a remote (maybe at the weight-platform). So you also could set specific settings for your favourite heights. Also you could do shots with a changing perspective
And you could add a tracker to the camera-stand, so the camera is able to follow you when walking around the shop
Cool project! If you ever do anything with wire rope in the future, make sure you have the wire rope clips the right direction. You had them backward before you switched to the swages. The saddle (the flatter part) need to be on the “live side” of the cable and the u-shape goes on the “dead” end of the cable. Never saddle a dead horse, as the saying goes. For the relatively low weight you were using on this project, it may not have mattered, but it does make a difference.
Also I wouldn’t trust the “hammer it flat” method of compressing those fittings on anything that would put people at risk if it failed. Not that this project fails into that category.
Great stuff as always from your channel! One thing I would also add would be a way to pick up the whole system so that if you ever have to finish shooting the car refurb you've been working on, you can just pick it up, gently put it into you pickup and easily stroll around in the barn with it. Also please add eyes to it.
best camera stand I have seen so far. I did seen few diy stands like this but this is best I would say by design and materials used. I wanted to buy one but they are so expensive. Now i can build one like you did and it will even look nice too
This is awesome and something I’d love to have. I’m getting into figure and diorama photography, and this would work great! Thanks for sharing this. I can’t wait to be able to build one. Keep the content coming.
Really cool! I enjoyed seeing you point out the flaws and work through fixes.
Overall this is quite the setup! I was excited to see this build because I will be doing similar photography myself, (as well as videos). The first hurdle I saw was the 3D printed parts. I surely don’t ave access to that kind of technology (yet) so an alternative method would have been nice to see. The setup is portable within a space for sure, like your shop, where you can roll it out of the way. But as a true portable device, it could use a bit more tweaking so that it will lay flat for transporting. This is just some things I see, since I do a lot of travel to shows and on job sites, where it would be nice to have a setup like this.
I must say the extruded aluminum pieces did work out well, and does give way to ideas for other projects as well!
10:55 Might i suggest using timing belts? There is defiantly some that can hold the weight there , my concern is that over time the cable is going to fatigue and send all the camera gear plummeting to the base.
Actually, that was my initial idea, I even purchased them. The closer I got to doing it, I just felt like steeel cable might be better over long term, but I'm sure either would have worked fine.
Looks great! Love the modularity and flexibility of the system.
Love it! Awesome solution!
That’s really well made. I use the Manfrotto mini salon stands in the studios at work. And they have been a game changer over the usual sticks we had on hand. The only downside I can see to your build is the centre column is square. The round column design allows you to freely spin the arm around the shaft. I’d recommend adding some foot brakes to the base as well.
When the COVID lockdown started (mid-semester spring 2020), at ETSU we used metal hose clamps to strap 1" T-slot aluminum onto extra, unused IV poles we had in the Biomedical lab. Super adjustable and mobile. The 1/4-20 hardware was a natural fit for photographic equipment. Also 5-caster bases are very stable and bags of washers make great counter weights. Long lengths, short lengths... all useful. "There is no such thing as 'scrap T-slot aluminum'." Still in use for videos.
This is awesome! I also saw the video you referenced and thought that it is the perfect RUclipsr "tripod" then was disappointed by the price. Your solution is super elegant and I might have to give it a shot myself.
I absolutely love this! Great project Bob 👍
Me encanta la idea, en mi caso yo le añadiría movimiento al brazo perpendicular, o sea, que también deslice. Pero así como está se ve genial. Tomo nota de su proyecto. Saludos 😉👍
Fun to watch you re-invent and improve the studio stand!
Thank you for bringing us along for this.
Thanks for taking us through the process. Always enjoy watching your builds, no matter what it is.
This is amazing!! Great solution!
This stand looks awesome, and it's even greater that it helps you do what you do.
I see one possible improvement: make an acrylic 2piece hinged lid for the bottom storage to keep is clear from dust and debris. And put some adhesive sealing strip on the top of the plywood box to make it even more dustproof 👌
This is so slick, great to see the process too.
Love the walking us through issues and designing in the fly. How I work and great to see your thoughts and process
What a cool build, and the journey to the end result was also great. I was waiting for that build after you talk about it on your awesome podcast.
Outstanding! Love it!
This aluminium extrusion profile opens my mind to lots of possibilities. It is cool to see you doing things with it, very inspiring.
This is killer! I was literally going to buy the studio titan tomorrow. Now I don't have to
Freaking awesome. Great work. And I love this new format were we get to see you design, iterate and problem solve.
Wow, that looks extremely useful! Filming alone with the tripod is challenging, it would be great to make a system like this to assist with that process. Doing a lot of filming around a singular area, it would be cool to make something with arms that can move in multi-direction and support the camera on their own. Thanks for inspiring us with more ideas!
Loved the video; loved the last blooper more - that’s like Tron stuff there.
But, seeing this gave me an idea for something totally unrelated to cameras. So thank you!!!
Bob, great project and video!
I'm a big fan of aluminum extrusion construction. I built a 40"x72" sewing table out of 1.5"x1.5" extrusions with a plywood top and cabinet inside, and it is Rock Solid. I could jump up and down on that thing and it wouldn't flex a bit. I'm probably going to build a table saw/assembly table for my shop the same way.
Looks great!
You should design a counterbalance for the top of it like they have in skyscrapers to counteract the wobble when you move it. That would be an interesting video!
These are the videos I enjoy, thanks Bob!
i really liked this video!
If you ever need thin steel cables again i'd go for break cables for bicycles. And if you need really thin ones there are options used for DIY jewelry.
I own a home built cnc router with those wheels and extrusions. You should loosen those wheels so that they don't wear too quickly or flat spot over time if left in one place for a while. You want them just tight enough to make contact with the extrusion without wiggling around on the plane they move in. They should fall on their own when vertical, easily rolling.
Love when people do it themselves...diy. Great stuff. Also love some Blacktail and found you randomly so this was a win for sure. Keep it up sir, diy!!!!
14:22 10 minutes ago I was thinking about commenting v bearings 😁