DIY Clapboard

amiga500

amiga500

Active member
I made this clapboard for my upcoming shortfilm and thought it was ok posting it here.

It cost me zero $ 'cause I had all the needed materials but I think it is pretty cheap to make and surely most of the materials are easy to find in any home.

I used:

1 piece of Methacrylate.
2 pieces of wood.
3 screws with nuts.
1 paper with the template printed.
Black and White paint.

1208465025.jpg


I'm a big fan of keeping the bugdet of a film at the lowest cost possible, so I`ve used what I had, cheapest paper for print, mixed glossy with matte paint, etc.

The methacrylate piece was a leftover for another project.

I hope you like it.
 
Dude,
make as many of these you can and sell them on Ebay. I paid Birns and Sawyer about $50 for the same thing. You can cut into their business for sure!!
 
very good job.. however, i don't see: nor do you mention magnets.. good clapper boards have a little magnet at the end of each stick to make the click loud enough and a very visible spike in the audio waveform.
might cost you another $2 ;)
 
utako.o said:
very good job.. however, i don't see: nor do you mention magnets.. good clapper boards have a little magnet at the end of each stick to make the click loud enough and a very visible spike in the audio waveform.
might cost you another $2 ;)
Click to expand...

They also keep it shut when it's supposed to be shut ;)

Yeah... it looks really good though.
 
utako.o said:
very good job.. however, i don't see: nor do you mention magnets.. good clapper boards have a little magnet at the end of each stick to make the click loud enough and a very visible spike in the audio waveform.
might cost you another $2 ;)
Click to expand...

thanks for the comments!

Yeah I know that, but the sticks are made of a real hard wood, so when it claps the sound is very clear and strong.
Please remember this was made using zero $, if I found some magnets laying around I'll try that.
 
I am shocked at how much these things cost. I've never seen one for less than 40 beans new, but usually they are even more.

Ikan was selling them for 20 at NAB, so we scooped up a few.

That one looks great though.
 
what! Ikan was selling them for twenty?! I was there and i was even looking for clappers, but Ikan was the last place id think to look=o I'd totally buy one of these if you are interested in selling!
 
Sorry to have to ask this, but do you have instructions on how to piece this thing together? For example how the plastic holder connects to the wood?

Methacrylate, whenever i look this up, all i find are types of liquids.

Where can you get this hard plastic container to hold the paper?
 
Methacrylate is also known as plexiglas. You can find scraps of it at a plexiglas shop. It can be cut to size by scoring it with an Xacto knife and snapping a piece off or cut with a power saw. If just trimming a little off, you have to score pretty deep to get a clean break. Sand edges with sandpaper or a file.

There may be other usable materials at a dollar store like thin smooth plastic cutting boards or acrylic clipboard. The Dollar Store is a good place to find camera accessories! Insulated Lunch bags are good for protecting lenses. Food containers are good for holding filters, small LCD monitors. A flourescent green table cloth good for green screen. $1 !!!
 
PaPa said:
Sorry to have to ask this, but do you have instructions on how to piece this thing together? For example how the plastic holder connects to the wood?

Methacrylate, whenever i look this up, all i find are types of liquids.

Where can you get this hard plastic container to hold the paper?
Click to expand...

As Jleo said Methacrylate is plexiglass or acrylic. I had a plexiglass leftover of another project and I cut it to the right size and bend it with fire.

To bend it you can use a lighter and apply heat/fire where you want it to bend.
It is a very easy material to work with it.

About how it is mounted into the wood, I made a cut along the wood and the plexiglass fits very tight, so it doesn't need any glue or screws.

hope this helps, any doubts just ask.
 
I was just reminded why i hate going the DIY route. I always sound like an idiot when i go to Home Depot, and the jerks there are so hesitant to actually help you out.

" I'm looking to make a soort of clapper, out of two pieces of wood ( I do the gesture with my hands ) What would be the best way to make something like this?"

reply:

"All our hinges are in isle 12"

PaPa goes ot isle 12. It turns out o be about a mile long and i am lost amongst the metal and hinges, yet not one employee in sight to help me out.

grr. Guess i may as well buy one, The plexiglass was close to 12 bucks, i found some dry erase board ( white board ) which was 6 bucks, then i would need to buy the wood, another few dollars, then the hardware, another few bucks. Would come to 20-25 easily.


Would you be willing to post more photos of it, from all angles so i can clearly see how this was put together? lol
 
PaPa said:
I was just reminded why i hate going the DIY route. I always sound like an idiot when i go to Home Depot, and the jerks there are so hesitant to actually help you out.

" I'm looking to make a soort of clapper, out of two pieces of wood ( I do the gesture with my hands ) What would be the best way to make something like this?"

reply:

"All our hinges are in isle 12"

PaPa goes ot isle 12. It turns out o be about a mile long and i am lost amongst the metal and hinges, yet not one employee in sight to help me out.

grr. Guess i may as well buy one, The plexiglass was close to 12 bucks, i found some dry erase board ( white board ) which was 6 bucks, then i would need to buy the wood, another few dollars, then the hardware, another few bucks. Would come to 20-25 easily.


Would you be willing to post more photos of it, from all angles so i can clearly see how this was put together? lol
Click to expand...

I'll post some pictures later, no problem. If you're going to spend about 20-25 dollars I don't know if it is worth to build it yourself.
I made this clapboard because it cost me ZERO $, I already have all the materials needed.

These are what I used:

1 piece of wood
3 screws with nuts
Paint (Black and White)
1 sheet of A4 paper with the template printed
1 sheet of Plexiglass
----------------------------

That's all, I'm pretty sure you have a printer and A4 paper, if you need help designing the template let me know and I'll help you.

The paint can be ANY kind of paint, I had spray paint but the white was glossy and the black was matte. I didn't care! it's not have to be perfect.
You can use: acrylics, oils, markers, wall paint, car paint, and so so...

The only thing 'rare' to find in a home is the plexiglass, just go to a store that sells this material and ask for a transparent 2mm-3mm (i don't know in INCHES) plexiglass cut.

Later I'll post some pics so it helps you a little more.

DIY needs to be fun, not a pain!
 
For any DIY project. Do a sketch on paper with correct dimensions. Go to the store and just try to find materials that are suitable.

When doing DIY stuff, you have to Do It yourself!!! The Home Depot guys often don't know what's in the store. I built a Home Depot stabilizer out of lawn sprinkler pipe, metal washers, nuts and bolts, a few hinges and fence post strap. DIY takes time and experimentation.
 
also, they sell HUGE blocks of wood at home depot. Most of them are much longer than what i need and is excessive. What would be the best size to get?

2" x 2" 1" x 2" ?
 
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i found a dry erase one on this movie website. it comes completely blank and it's only like 15 dollars. if i find the site i'll post it.
 
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