Any idea how to make one of these rigs?

There are many ways of making a fig rig. I made one out of PVC, heated it up and bent it around one of those 45lb weights. Its the perfect size for that. There are tutorials on youtube, here also I believe, just do a a search. It just depends on what resources and tools you have.
 
I would use a bar stool foot rest, weld a square stock cross beam on it, plasma cut a hatch in the square stock bottom, and then drill a 1/4" hole for a mounting plate.

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I bet they cut it apart to put on the handles and then welded it back. :shocked:

It kinda reminds me of the Star Wars interplanetary engine mount for Obiwankenobi's fighter. :)
 
Kdawg said:
There are many ways of making a fig rig. I made one out of PVC, heated it up and bent it around one of those 45lb weights. Its the perfect size for that. There are tutorials on youtube, here also I believe, just do a a search. It just depends on what resources and tools you have.
Click to expand...

I just did this today and it works great!! Ill have pics up once I get a coat of paint on it...
 
Here is what I came up with... This is so much better than freehand.

fig_rig.jpg


I may try to make the next one around a 35lb weight which would make it a little smaller. Then I can compare - stay tuned.
 
Hey man, that came out fantastic! Nice job. The one thing I wish those plates had was a bit of a groove on the outer edge.
 
Thanks thanks, Its all PVC so you can bend and conform it to your needs. Im not sure what you mean by a grove, but you can drill, cut and bolt anything on to this.

I have just a threaded camera mount screw holding it on to the cross brace.

I also mount my libec zoom controller to the outer ring so I can control the camera without taking my hands off the handles :).
 
MadHMC150... I just have to say you did an amazing job on that... I was going to post that people keep getting bogged down in the desire to make these rigs round, when it's simply moving the hands out and away that creates the stability (I made a rectangular rig for shooting a documentary in Haiti and it worked perfectly)... but I gotta' say... that looks so nice and simple I may do a round one after all. Very good job.
 
Mattin, thanks for the positive feedback.

After showing this thing off this weekend, I have a few request to make more... ah. Everyone was impressed with the functionality, sturdiness and how it makes the camera feel much lighter.

We also use a stedicam 4000 but that works out the muscles if you don't have a vest. I think we found a perfect alternative to long live shoots!
 
I was referring to the 45lb weight. If it had kind of a concave outter edge it would be much easier to keep the pvc wrapped around it while heating and adjusting.

On A side note though... I screwed a 5lb. weight to the bottom of my rig cuz it seems to make shots a little smoother. Hard to describe what my rig looks like cuz its got kind of a stand at the bottom so I can set it down at anytime. I'd have to post some pictures of it.
 
Kdawg said:
I was referring to the 45lb weight. If it had kind of a concave outter edge it would be much easier to keep the pvc wrapped around it while heating and adjusting.

On A side note though... I screwed a 5lb. weight to the bottom of my rig cuz it seems to make shots a little smoother. Hard to describe what my rig looks like cuz its got kind of a stand at the bottom so I can set it down at anytime. I'd have to post some pictures of it.
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Gotcha Kdawg,

I ended up making a custom jig to make the halo the same every time... Also upgraded the cross brace to machined aluminum so its perfectly square, light and strong.

I have a couple Figrigs for sale HERE and working on a new design... much better, lighter and no need for a stand ! Check it out.
 
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To make a "lip" take some pieces of plywood that just go over the edge of the weights, sandwich them up and bolt it together. This should make the whole heating and bending process with the PVC much easier.
 
you take a long pipe made of metal and put you pvc tube inside.
then you use one or two hot blower at each end.
you can also make some very hot water pass into pvc tube (you just fill it)
 
nosys70 said:
you take a long pipe made of metal and put you pvc tube inside.
then you use one or two hot blower at each end.
you can also make some very hot water pass into pvc tube (you just fill it)
Click to expand...

Been thinking about the heat gun approach too...

Water is no good... boils before it gets hot enough to get it soft.
 
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