DIY Part Heaven 4 sliders and more

[MagicCat]

HI All

Wow! I just found the Golden Egg for parts for just about everything I could imagine I want to make. I just ordered a Linear Bearing and some rail to make a 3 foot slider out of. Best of all, it cost under 60 bucks and is totally configurable. All I need is a hack saw, Screw driver and an allen wrench!! It is the new Speed Rail for the DIY Prroject person, IMHO!!

(I have not put the slider together yet, the proof will come along with UPS tomorrow)

Im also going to make a camera cage for my HVX. It wont cost more than about 30 bucks to do. Similar to the mounting cage on a Red, it will allow me to mount monitors, Mics, Batteries or whatever, where-ever I want, around the camera, and look good too!! Best thing of all, the stuff all uses 1/4 20 threaded screws to put together. As most of you know, That thread is already a standard in our industry!!

I don't care if you are making an Equipment Dolly, Doorway Dolly, Slider, Flourecent light box, office furniture, or Directors Chair. These guys have created the ultimate Erector set for industrial application.

www.8020inc.net

I will post pics and results of my slider. Lets hope it works, this stuff is SOOOO cool!! They also have an Ebay outlet for used, scratch and dent, one-off stuff. Look for 8020 garage sale on Ebay.

Every DIY-er out there should have an 8020 .pdf parts catalogue at the handy. It is the new Speed Rail IMHO!!




Also, check out www.snapclamp.com This company makes pvc Clamps that can replace all the plastic pony clamps we use to put up BackDrops with. I have been using the 1/2 inch and 3/4 in Snap Clamps for quite some time. Let me tell you, they shave off a ton of time Stretching a Backdrop or Greenscreen across stands. Best of all, when you clamp the cloth to a C-Stand, you just give it a twist to stretch the fabric, to eliminate wrinkles. That is something you cannot do with any other kind of clamp. It has shaved my time steaming large greenscreens, (to eliminate wrinkles) in half. Nicest thing of all is they are CHEAP and made of PVC, so you can use some PVC Glue to attach appendages for gip arms ETC, right onto them. They also come in black which is extra handy.

Enjoy!!
Magic Cat

[jwheeler]

I've been checking out their site and catalog, and am super interested in using this stuff as well. I'd love to see what you have done with their parts.

[MagicCat]

The slider went really well. It works like a charm and gives me the look I wanted. Best thing is that it only ran me about 65 bucks and an hour of assembly!! Because I built this using all 8020 hardware, it is totally configurable and any sigle part is replaceable. In fact, I can now easily purchase additional 1020 rail stock and make this into an 8 footer. Hell, I bet if you had 8 bearings and three hunks of stock, you could probably make a cart and ride on the damn thing yourself. It is really awsome stuff and extremely durable.

This was built from their 10 series. Im eventually going to order some 1515 stock and build one out of that. It may be a little more heavy duty. You could probably float a 25 pound betacam on the 20 series.

As you can see in the pic, mine is a little top heavy when I mount a fluid head on top of the rail, and then stack the camera on that. However, with a little practice, and pushing right from the base, it is super smooth, no wiggle, and fairly precise. Start ups are a little sticky due to the weight pictured below, but I have been playing with the bearing pads and got most of that worked out.

This type of bearing does not allow for adjustable resistance on the fly, however, you CAN play with the over-all level of resistance if you play with the screws that hold the Nylon Bearing pads. You can also stick some shims behind them to tighten it up a bit. They sell shims or you can just use plastic sheeting like you would find on Ink Jet Transparency film.

Non the less, even though it is a little top heavy, (therefore inducing exaggerated wiggling when grabbed, pushed'pulled the wrong way) I dont find it too big of a deal to work around. Especially for 60 bucks. (I built my own bearings, you can order tehm pre-assembled and I would HIGHLY recommend that if you arent into toying with the laws of physics a bit)

It also has a brake so you can lock it down. The brake will not do you any good for adjusting the level of resistance due to the construction.




Here are a couple pics.

[Texanite]

I've never understood 8020, but that's partially because so many of the examples they show on their site are DIY versions of things like desks and tables and stuff that all look like you made them in your garage but are also more expensive to make with 8020 stuff than it would be to actually buy the object outright. It always seemed like lose-lose-lose to me. You have to build it yourself, it's expensive and it looks crappy.

In fact, even their price comparisons, where they show you how much money you save by using 8020 materials instead of having something welded together, are only cheaper using their products because it's faster. In other words, it's only cheaper IF you take into account paying somebody an hourly wage to build each thing.

All of that being said, I'm now suddenly finding 8020 interesting :)

If they'd advertise stuff like this on their webpages, it'd be a whole different story. It's funny, I'd seen that they offered "linear bearings" but I didn't slog through their entire catalog trying to figure out what they had and how much it'd cost. Thanks for checking this out, MagicCat. I'd be interested in the exact part numbers. Also, what are the 'bearings' made out of? Platicky material? Rubbery? Any wobble between the carriage and the track?

Thanks again for the post. I think this could prove to be good stuff :thumbup:

[MagicCat]

I will try to provide Part numbers.

They give the plastic pads a fancy name, but essentially, it is a hard plastic, similar to what you might find the wheels in a good kitched cabinet drawer made out of. Though they are hard, I could also cut them with a razor blade. Im guessing they are infused with some sort of teflon stuff. Very similar to what you would Imagine a block of hard nylon would feel like.

The bearings are "Sloppy", by any manufacturing or precision robotics standards. (They freely admit this on their site for what it is worth) There is some play. But, if you have some time to insert shims behind the pads, and goof with the little mahined screws that hold them in place, I got a good portion, if not all of it out. The rest of the play is happening because I have 10 freaking pounds riding almost a foot above a 4 inch plate!!! That is the proportional equal of trying to hold an 80 pound Child above your head, permanently, without wiggling.


Keep in mind, this is a 60 dollar slider that can give you the look and feel of something that was done for hundreds, or more. If I were to spend 200 or more on another home made job, I would start looking into something that uses linear metal bearings, not this. Then again, the 15 series may be better.

You know, I Could accidentally leave this slider behind at a shoot, and not be out much more than what 4 rolls of Grip tape would cost. That's not bad IMHO. On the other hand, I can make 300 times what a single roll would cost off of this, if I am careful not to make it do things I KNOW will produce questionable footage.




I DEFINITELY recommend that if you are going to build your own Linear bearing from 8020 stuff, at least buy the pre-drilled pads, if not the ready-made lenear bearings. When I first made this, I cheese-balled my costs and bought some Bulk Pad Stock. That was a waste. I DO have a small Drill press, but I cannot drill precision enough holes in the plastic pads, for the 10 series bearings to ride on, with proper alignment. They use small wood/machine screws that go right into the plastic. It is not pre-threaded, just pre-drilled. It is imperative they go in right the first time or the pad will not ride on the rail right.

The 15 series has a pad with actual metal Nuts molded right into it. I think that is probably worth looking into. I bet you can get allot more slop out of the pad, using that setup, versus the 10 series Linear bearing pads. The 10 series does not offer that.

Hope this all makes sense, I know I am ranting on a bit here.

All their stuff is essentially based off of 3 different sizes of extruded aluminum:

10 series rail 1-inch x 1 inch
15 series Rail = 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch
20 series Rail = 2 x 2 inch.

Everything revolves around this. Their stuff is rather pricey, but, the ability to do so many things with this stuff, definitely outweighs any decision to neglect using it. I bet I could build a Production cart out of this stuff that would rival ANY 1500 dollar Mag Liner out there. Not to mention, I could take it apart and make an Office desk, Jib, Trash Can, Slider, TV Wall mount, and then put it back together as what It was first designed to be, without buying anything more. That is the true beauty of the 8020 system / philosophy Im new to the 8020 stuff, but deeply inspired by the flexibility of this product. It is true, you could have someone weld something up for Cheaper in many cases. However, you most likely cannot take that Item apart and re-purpose it's usuage, without destroying the original purpose, you designed it for. That is the real difference. Not to mention, all you need is a hack saw, an allen wrench, and a couple screwdrivers. Not much different than the mindset behind speed Rail. "One size fits all" I guess you would have had to have had an erector set as a kid to truly enjoy this stuff. I find it inspiring to work with. Im building a camera cage for my HVX out of scrap 10 series stock. I will be able to mount anything I want, where ever I want, to the camera, from mics to monitors to batteries. Similar to the Red Camera setup.

I will try to take some footage and post it somewhere. I will also be real about it and show all the starts and stops, that is where the wiggles occur. Most folks don't post the negative parts of the projects. I think it is essential in order for someone to come to an accurate conclusion for themselves.

Again, it was 65 bucks?!. I could quit smoking for a month and make two of these, and still have money and breath left over!!!

David

MagicCat

[flyingdisc]

Caution!

It is dangerous and addicting, as it is too easy to reconfigure.

I picked the Series 25 - which is metric and 25mm per unit or edge.

I would not recommend that series, as other series seems to have more accessories.

One of the secrets is to purchase the products at their "surplus store"
which is actually on eBay.

The extrusions themselves are VERY cheep on eBay.
What adds up is the joining plates and the fasteners.
And the larger linear bearings are a bit pricey, but not bad.

And the extrusions look real nice to me.

I built a stand for my audio console in my sound studio.

[Trey T]

^can you link the ebay store?

thanks,

[cinebuddy]

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/8020-Inc-Garage-Sale

[MagicCat]

Caution!

It is dangerous and addicting, as it is too easy to reconfigure.

I picked the Series 25 - which is metric and 25mm per unit or edge.

I would not recommend that series, as other series seems to have more accessories.

One of the secrets is to purchase the products at their "surplus store"
which is actually on eBay.

The extrusions themselves are VERY cheep on eBay.
What adds up is the joining plates and the fasteners.
And the larger linear bearings are a bit pricey, but not bad.

And the extrusions look real nice to me.

I built a stand for my audio console in my sound studio.
I think the 15 series may be the choice bit here, I like the ten, but the 15 series offers some better bearing pads with actual nuts molded right into them,. That will make adjusting this much easier. Not to mention, the T Slot on the 15 is a pinch bigger, offering more of a surface area for the bearing pads to ride on.

Also, you are right, the ebay site is where I get all my extrusion and blank bearings from. The rest I order from a local distributor. If you want to find out where your closest distributor is, just download a couple PDF files from 8020's main site. They will call you like vultures within a day or two. The ones that called me were VERY nice and easy to put an end to. I found one distributor within 40 miles of my home. I keep in touch with them.

Im using some of the 10 series stuff for a dolly frame. Works very nice and the wheels im using, mount right into the T Slot. Totally adjustable!! I can go from a 10inch dolly, to a 36 incher with a couple hunks of Extrusion, right in the field in about 4 minutes!! This stuff is awsome!!

Your right, it is addictive!!

Dave

[jbednarski]

I will try to provide Part numbers.

They give the plastic pads a fancy name, but essentially, it is a hard plastic, similar to what you might find the wheels in a good kitched cabinet drawer made out of. Though they are hard, I could also cut them with a razor blade. Im guessing they are infused with some sort of teflon stuff. Very similar to what you would Imagine a block of hard nylon would feel like.

The bearings are "Sloppy", by any manufacturing or precision robotics standards. (They freely admit this on their site for what it is worth) There is some play. But, if you have some time to insert shims behind the pads, and goof with the little mahined screws that hold them in place, I got a good portion, if not all of it out. The rest of the play is happening because I have 10 freaking pounds riding almost a foot above a 4 inch plate!!! That is the proportional equal of trying to hold an 80 pound Child above your head, permanently, without wiggling.


Keep in mind, this is a 60 dollar slider that can give you the look and feel of something that was done for hundreds, or more. If I were to spend 200 or more on another home made job, I would start looking into something that uses linear metal bearings, not this. Then again, the 15 series may be better.

You know, I Could accidentally leave this slider behind at a shoot, and not be out much more than what 4 rolls of Grip tape would cost. That's not bad IMHO. On the other hand, I can make 300 times what a single roll would cost off of this, if I am careful not to make it do things I KNOW will produce questionable footage.




I DEFINITELY recommend that if you are going to build your own Linear bearing from 8020 stuff, at least buy the pre-drilled pads, if not the ready-made lenear bearings. When I first made this, I cheese-balled my costs and bought some Bulk Pad Stock. That was a waste. I DO have a small Drill press, but I cannot drill precision enough holes in the plastic pads, for the 10 series bearings to ride on, with proper alignment. They use small wood/machine screws that go right into the plastic. It is not pre-threaded, just pre-drilled. It is imperative they go in right the first time or the pad will not ride on the rail right.

The 15 series has a pad with actual metal Nuts molded right into it. I think that is probably worth looking into. I bet you can get allot more slop out of the pad, using that setup, versus the 10 series Linear bearing pads. The 10 series does not offer that.

Hope this all makes sense, I know I am ranting on a bit here.

All their stuff is essentially based off of 3 different sizes of extruded aluminum:

10 series rail 1-inch x 1 inch
15 series Rail = 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch
20 series Rail = 2 x 2 inch.

Everything revolves around this. Their stuff is rather pricey, but, the ability to do so many things with this stuff, definitely outweighs any decision to neglect using it. I bet I could build a Production cart out of this stuff that would rival ANY 1500 dollar Mag Liner out there. Not to mention, I could take it apart and make an Office desk, Jib, Trash Can, Slider, TV Wall mount, and then put it back together as what It was first designed to be, without buying anything more. That is the true beauty of the 8020 system / philosophy Im new to the 8020 stuff, but deeply inspired by the flexibility of this product. It is true, you could have someone weld something up for Cheaper in many cases. However, you most likely cannot take that Item apart and re-purpose it's usuage, without destroying the original purpose, you designed it for. That is the real difference. Not to mention, all you need is a hack saw, an allen wrench, and a couple screwdrivers. Not much different than the mindset behind speed Rail. "One size fits all" I guess you would have had to have had an erector set as a kid to truly enjoy this stuff. I find it inspiring to work with. Im building a camera cage for my HVX out of scrap 10 series stock. I will be able to mount anything I want, where ever I want, to the camera, from mics to monitors to batteries. Similar to the Red Camera setup.

I will try to take some footage and post it somewhere. I will also be real about it and show all the starts and stops, that is where the wiggles occur. Most folks don't post the negative parts of the projects. I think it is essential in order for someone to come to an accurate conclusion for themselves.

Again, it was 65 bucks?!. I could quit smoking for a month and make two of these, and still have money and breath left over!!!

David

MagicCat


MagicCat, can you post an exact list with part numbers that you used to build your slider. The web site is more than a little confusing trying to find stuff. Thx!