Aftershock 7' Slider Sled

Gary Sconce

Gary Sconce

Veteran
I am almost done with our slider for the next feature we will be shooting in the Spring and Summer of 2011. I needed it easily transportable, quick to assemble, solid, durable and versatile.

I needed a solid stucture to span the 8' and give a realistic 7' of slide to the camera. I wanted it to be attachable to tripods or able to be set near to the ground on short mounted feet.

"V" channel metal stock gives immediate rails for a coaster sled and also holds up a lot of weight. I purchased an aluminum 2"x2" 90 degree 8' long piece and then made two attachable ends for tripod or ground leg mounting. I found the aluminum was too soft so later purchased a steel version of the same size and length. Much better!

I took 4"x4" iron 90 degree angle stock and cut a 12" sled. I purposely chose a heavy sled to allow the GH1 to have a smoothing inertial movement and carry momentum. I mounted six durable ball bearing sliding glass door wheels to this sled. I attached a 2" camera deck to the top of the sled with 2"x2" iron stock and added two 1/2" square stock outriggers to hold the sliders that will mount the locking wheel rail. The underside locking wheel rail slides up and keeps the sled from ever falling off the V rail. I created a pendulum inertial lever arm that hangs down if desired, to completely stabilize the movement of the sled. This is optional and isn't needed for all shots.

The sled moves very smoothly and when mounted with one tripod slightly downhill, it can be released to cruise on its own. We will be using this on Troy Ruff's short in May.

I won't be doing a build for this as there are many slider designs with builds, including the amazing Zazaslider http://www.zazaslider.com

Just sharing this time.

Here it is, with the mounted inertial weight rig.
4532930109_62d20c5899_b.jpg


You can see, it is very simple

Here is the sled up closer. See how the heavy stock with its "V" shape lowers the center of gravity and adds stability to the slider? It does just fine.
4533567246_f550d3d19f_b.jpg


I know... It is outside the box.. but it works very smoothly and can roll fast or slowly even with a large camera. Happy DIY-ing and best to you all! -Gary :Drogar-Happy(DBG):
 
greeches said:
great design! Love the simplicity, excellent work!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I just realized I forgot to show you the back side. Here is a pic before painting that shows the adjustable bottom wheels set up.
4542742009_5b3fb8a3bf_b.jpg


Finally, here is a shot showing the whole 7' span between two tripods. Notice the aluminum sags because it was too soft. A light steel track is perfect.
4543373966_0cefda364f_b.jpg


:thumbsup:
 
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wow man this is some seroiusly impressive work, and this is comming from a guy that used to work in a robotics lab at NASA.

well done sir.
 
If anyone else has or is going to attempt building one of these, I'm working on mine right now and found that if you cover the rail in a piece of nylon or other thin material it will completely eliminate any noise created when sliding the sled on the rail.

When mine is complete, I will post it up as well.

Thanks for the inspiration Gary! I've found that the majority of my DIY projects are being inspired by your ideas!
 
For the few who are building, an iron track is even better as it is so very stiff. I will be adding a camera platform on an arm that will hang directly below the slider sled.

I will then be able to fly the camera right on the ground while still being able to be hung from the two tripods and the sled. This will allow me to fly the camera through tall grass and over debris, and will have the added benefit of completely lowering the center of gravity by 4'... Making for a tremendously stable slide.

I think that these changes will be the final version I will use. I will post when I finish them, as right now I am building a universal tripod mounted 10' rise light jib.

:laugh:
 
KevinACrider said:
If anyone else has or is going to attempt building one of these, I'm working on mine right now and found that if you cover the rail in a piece of nylon or other thin material it will completely eliminate any noise created when sliding the sled on the rail.

When mine is complete, I will post it up as well.

Thanks for the inspiration Gary! I've found that the majority of my DIY projects are being inspired by your ideas!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I am just poor and have to find frugal ways of doing the things the big boys do for lots of $$$.

A high quality plastic tape works to smooth it too.
 
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