New Crane!!!

[Whiteside Production]

So today, I built myself this ass-kicking crane. It is almost done; there is some touchup work to be done such as cleaning up welds, adding a monitor holder and power center plus some more. I spent about $113 in metal:

10' of 2"x1" rectangular tubing (stood on tall end for main arm)
10' of .5"x.5" box tubing (9 foot piece as "tilter," 1' piece for tilt lever)
5"x6' flatstock (used for camera holder and arm holder)
2 6" flatstock discs
1.5"x5' tubingThe crane is held up with a speaker stand, and the aluminum tube for adjusting speaker height is replaced with the thickwall 5' tube. A flatstock disc with a permaenant 1/2 inch bolt is welded to the pipe. The "Arm holder" is wellded to an identical flatscock disc, with a 1/2 inch hole in the center. The whole crane is attached to that, which drops directly on to the welded bolt of the 1.5" tubing.

The tilt mechanisim is auto-leveling AND manual. Auto-leveling is accomplished by putting a bolt through the "tilter" while the camera sled is level. Manual tilt is accomplished by removing that bolt.

I also don't have weights yet, and those will be added on Wednesday.

Like I said before, there is a little more work to be done before it gets powdercoated, and I will get more detailed pictures on Wednesday, because it is at my cousins machine shop.

But here's one pic.

http://www.c-41productions.com/crane.jpg

If anybody wants to know exact specs on anything, feel free to ask away!

Yeah that's me in the pic :2vrolijk_08:

[TC]

Man, that looks amazing. Be sure to post some footage!

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

What are you using to rotate? A bearing or what? I am working on a smaller one myself, have just not figured what I want to do for rotation.

[Lake Films]

Will you be selling them?

[Whiteside Production]

I have thought about selling them, but I have to figure out more on how to mass produce them. Plus mine isn't 100% perfect. The holes and welds aren't perfect, and the discs that the "arm" rotates on were just cut with a plasma from squares. If I mass produce or sell, I will get discs that have been milled and cut with a water jet for perfection.

A whole nother issue is powder coating. I could either powder coat them, or just paint them with black Rust-Oleum spray paint.

As for the arm rotation, if you make 2 identical discs and set them on top of eachother, it seems to rotate without problems. When I go back to my cousins shop on Wednesday, I am going to add an acrylic disc between the two.

Hey TC, you live in Northridge? That's funny because I live over in Chatsworth.


Real quick...Does anyone have any ideas for strong mounting of the camera to the sled? i have the usual 1/4 inch tripod screw and all, but I just don't feel that it is enough. What ways can i make this a better mount?

[twocik23]

Nice job. It looks like you're using steel, if so how much does all of it weight? Are you experiencing any sway?

[Kholi]

xD Want to rent it out for a day in Los Angeles?

[Whiteside Production]

I am taking a guess that it weighs about 35 or so pounds. I haven't had much operating time, but there doesn't seem to be much sway.

Haha i live in the north valley...and once its done, yeah I may rent it.

[vidled]

Does anyone have any ideas for strong mounting of the camera to the sled? i have the usual 1/4 inch tripod screw and all, but I just don't feel that it is enough. What ways can i make this a better mount?

If your concern is that the cam might wriggle or twist, you could try some soft [self-adhesive on crane-deck side] Silicone Rubber. If the cam can't twist, it should be fairly secure with a 1/4"-20 bolt, and it will also provide tension maintenance on the bolt, kind of acting like a locking washer would.

[Whiteside Production]

My main concern with mounting is that somehow, some way the camera will wiggle the bolt off and i will be out $2500 and not making any movies anymore. When I mounted it for the first time, the camera seemed to wiggle around a little bit.

Where can you get the sillicon rubber stuff?

[vidled]

Wiggle: that's what I thought. The CORRECT rubber underlay should solve this problem. Haven't checked 'em all, but here's one that might work: 5781T31
http://mcmaster.com

[Whiteside Production]

Hm. That is a Great idea. I was thinking something more of like a strap or something that goes over the top of the camera.

[cheezweezl]

better yet, put a fluid head on the platform. then you can operate the jib from the front and make complex pan/tilt moves while moving the jib. i do it all the time with mine....

[Whiteside Production]

Well, I have actually thought about that, but the tripod head that I have is not the best one in the world. I know everyone is thinking, "Just go buy a new one." Well I would love to, but we need to spend money on other production stuff. Plus I'm only 16...and no, my parents haven't bought me a single thing for my film compmany. It's paid for all by me.

So a new tripod head is pretty much out of the question for a while.

[Dennis Wood]

Consider picking up one of these:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=272449&is=REG

It will allow you to level and quickly remove the cam. I use my crane with either the ball head, or a tripod fluid head. A dolly, crane, and fluid head will allow just about any shot you can think of. The mountain bike clip here: http://www.cinevate.com/index.php?page=demo was done using the crane/dolly/fluid head combo.

[Owen]

When putting my camera on a jib I always use zip ties as a secondary securing method. If the bolt were to somehow come loose my hope is that the zip ties would save my camera long enough for me to commence rescue operations.

[Whiteside Production]

Good idea, maybe I will do something like that, or possibly a carabeaner + wire around the handle, attached to the frame.

[Michael Carter]

Even cheaper... Bogen/manfrotto makes a quick release plate (the one I have uses the octagonal plates). It's just a QR mechanism with a plate and a 3/8" and 1/4" screw hole. I used it for still shoots on my big camera stand, should work well for this; their octagonal plate system is pretty robust.

[TeamJoeDawn]

Well, I have actually thought about that, but the tripod head that I have is not the best one in the world. I know everyone is thinking, "Just go buy a new one." Well I would love to, but we need to spend money on other production stuff. Plus I'm only 16...and no, my parents haven't bought me a single thing for my film compmany. It's paid for all by me.

So a new tripod head is pretty much out of the question for a while.
I admire your motivation... and understand your lack of resources. A couple of things, look at something like "Killer DV Rigs You Can Build" , a great book with lots of ideas on fabrication. Even if you don't follow them to the T, you can get alot of ideas, and shoot off at odd angles from that. :-)

Secondly, keep rakin through ebay and craigslist (if they have it for your city). You can find some amazing things on there, for next to nothing in some cases. Keep looking for that $15 fluid head ball.. Im am the champion scrounger in my household.. :-)

Best of luck.

Ohhhh, one more thing. Is it a steel crane? How heavy is it? Would aluminum be sturdy enough and still lighten the load?

Thanks,
J

[Sinsemilla]

...look at something like "Killer DV Rigs You Can Build" , a great book with lots of ideas on fabrication....

That book is worth every dime. I just built a glidecam 4000 clone for around $100 (that's not just for parts, but tools that I can use on future projects too!). In fact, your crane design is very similar to the one(s) in the book, but you may still wanna check it out to help improve your design. Nice job though.

[Whiteside Production]

Hey!

The crane is complete. Well, almost; it just needs powdercoating.

Check out some pics:

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/1.jpg

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/2.jpg

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/3.jpg

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/4.jpg

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/5.jpg

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/6.jpg

http://c-41productions.com/galleries/7.jpg

[Slimothy]

WOw. Looks nice. Lets see some footage!

[Whiteside Production]

so I finally had the chance to hook up the camera and the monitor, and everything is working great except for one thing. When you use the manual tilt, it seems really jerky. I have come to the conclusion that it is the point where the camera sled meets the main arm. There is a lot of surface area for rubbing, and I have no idea what to do! Help me!

[Kdawg]

washers and some oil...

[John@dykortech.com]

hey man, like the crane, looks nice, good job fabricating. From an engineering point of view, this thing looks like it could hold a horse on a good tripod that is.

friction is the enemy when it comes to smooth shots, so grease would definitely help if you have no room for washers.

not quite sure how the secondary parallelogram on the back side of the jib helps. I doesn't look like it would tilt the camera bracket apart from keeping it level while booming up or down. You would get the same affect without it.

I would think that if you pull or push on the lever sticking up at the back of the jib, the result will be the jib moving up and down and the camera staying level. Just pushing the weights up or down will give you the same result .

Nice to see young guys building stuff instead of just playing with the X-box

[Lake Films]

Looking good, I'd buy one!

[Whiteside Production]

The square that is sticking out on the back end is for a monitor.

[tradur]

im confused, if this only weighs 35 pds then why does it not tip over? What is on the ground for a footing? can you show a wider shot of it so I can see the whole thing?

I made a swivel arm to shoot a haf circle arc shot but have many issues with weight distribution and tipping , bouncing and swaying. mine is a hands free one though so I rely on the base to hold it up.

[Whiteside Production]

There is a really clear picture of how it is being held up. And if you read the beginning, it says there also. The whole rig is held up with a speaker stand; the adjustable mount is replaced with a 1.5 inch piece of barstock.

[tradur]

looks perfect, nice paint just icing on the cake. great work, very professional.

[TeamJoeDawn]

No problem with wobble from the speaker-stand base?? Is it steady?

J

[Whiteside Production]

Very steady.

[HunterG]

Just read you are having friction problems at the cam mount, try an axle or shoulder bolt. Measure the main tube plus cam mount plate then add 3/32 for expansion. If you have a drillpress to re-drill the holes it would help to keep it square. You might put a brass washer between the cam plate and main tube.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/viewCatalogPDF.shtml?browserCompatable=true&adobeCompatable=true&toolbar=true
go to page 2983

[Kevin Briggs]

Hey Brandon,

Could you post the pics again?

thanks

-Kevin

[bmxbud4130]

any chance pics of this thing still exist? i'd love to see it.

[clitt]

yeah can we see some pics of this?

[syncman]

I have thought about selling them, but I have to figure out more on how to mass produce them. Plus mine isn't 100% perfect. The holes and welds aren't perfect, and the discs that the "arm" rotates on were just cut with a plasma from squares. If I mass produce or sell, I will get discs that have been milled and cut with a water jet for perfection.

A whole nother issue is powder coating. I could either powder coat them, or just paint them with black Rust-Oleum spray paint.

As for the arm rotation, if you make 2 identical discs and set them on top of eachother, it seems to rotate without problems. When I go back to my cousins shop on Wednesday, I am going to add an acrylic disc between the two.

Hey TC, you live in Northridge? That's funny because I live over in Chatsworth.


Real quick...Does anyone have any ideas for strong mounting of the camera to the sled? i have the usual 1/4 inch tripod screw and all, but I just don't feel that it is enough. What ways can i make this a better mount?

What I can help you with is something FAR better than adding an acrylic disc.
I'm working on my crane at the moment, and I have been testing out a GREASE to go between the two plates.

I'm in the UK and came across this "SMART GREASE" which I ordered from Manchester University. It makes the system like a fluid head, it makes it almost impossible NOT to get a VERY SMOOTH PAN.
It stores Energy and then releases it in a controlled way.......that is what I call SMART!!!