DIY IndieSlider...

ZazaCast

ZazaCast

Major Contributor
O.K. here we go. Since I'm getting a lot of requests for more information, I figured I'd just start a thread!



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***ANNOUNCEMENT***
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1891172&postcount=1546


VERY easy indieslider:

Go to www.igus.com and order the rail & carriage. Phone order number: 1-800-521-2747
(Cost around $160.00 in parts - http://www.igus.com/wpck/default.aspx?pagenr=3596&C=US&L=en)

Also... here's some new contact info. for igus. (I got this from the igus rep)

1-888-803-1895
sales@igus.com​

For Australia & New Zealand:
"We have a distributor in New Zealand - Automation Equipment Ltd. - +62-7-847-2082
But no direct office - They could order from us via credit card and we could ship parts to them."

or

Treotham
Unit 36, 9 Powells Road
Brookvale NSW 2100
Ph: (02) 9907 1788

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's the order:
WS-16-60 Drylin 'W' rail 1000mm
WW-16-60-10 Drylin 'W' carriage

All you have to do then is run to the hardware store and get a 3/8" 16 thread tap (and a tap handle), a 5/16 metal drill bit & a 3/8" hex head bolt (you'll have to figure out the length you need, I think mine was about an inch long)

1. The rail (I got 1000mm which is about 39" long and gives you a good 36" of slide), already has 9 evenly spaced holes in it, so all you have to do is tap the middle hole! TAP FROM THE BOTTOM UP. You want this to screw onto your tripod. Always think everything through before doing anything!

2. Find the center of the carriage and drill a straight hole with the 5/16" bit. Tap the hole, again, from the bottom up. Screw the bolt you bought into the carriage so it's sticking out the top. This is where you'll attach your head (I'm just using a Manfrotto 701).

That's it! Screw the rail on the tripod (I'd be sure to sandbag the legs, cause as you go way out, it could tilt over on you), put your head on the carriage, put the carriage on the rail, mount the camera & you're ready to go. Really easy... took me about 1/2 hour including the trip to the hardware store.

I also bought a little tripod, a Manfrotto 190XDB that can get really low to the ground and the legs can spread wide (right out to flat).

Next I want to make a few 'endcaps' out of 4x4 post wood that will allow me to get 4" off the ground...for some cool low, sliding shots! Use your imagination for endless possibilities….

Here's a quick little test the day I put it together...it's really not jerky (photobucket?). I wanted it for one of my Twilightfest shoot....and it worked like a charm. http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/n...nt=Slider5.flv

Here's a better test:


Hope this helps.
Best,
-Zaza

Bottom of carriage, with bolt in place:
1220111431.jpg


Head mounted on carriage. I have mine on a 100mm ball head adapter that I use on my Kessler crane. (you can just attach the head directly to the carriage):
1220111471.jpg


Rail screwed onto the tripod, just screw it on!
1220111589.jpg


Tripod w/ legs out flat...gets you about 18" off the ground:
1220111636.jpg


Slide the carriage onto the rail...mount your camera & you're ready to go!
1220111731.jpg



O.K., Now for the "low-rider" endcaps:

Very easy: All I did was buy a 4' piece of 4x4 deck post and had Home Depot cut me (2) 11" lengths, picked up a package of stainless steel screw eye's (5/8" x 2 1/4") and used a couple of washers I had laying around. That's it.

1.) I went one rulers width in from the edge (about one inch) and marked the center (5 1/2") on each block.

2.) Drill a nice started hole in each.

3.) Painted the wood flat black

4.) Attach the rail using the screw eyes & washer. (these also act as a stop at the end of the rail.)

5.) Mount the camera & shoot! You can also remove the head from the carriage, use a 1/4" 20 thread and attache the camera directly to the carriage to get it even lower to the ground. (you will lose your pan/tilt functionality though)

This seems to be a real stable base and still gives you a good 3' of travel. You can leave the feet on and still mount it to a tripod too. If you have some little rubber feet laying around, I'm sure that would help on bare floors. Use your imagination, I bet you guys can come-up with a bunch of modification & improvements!

There you go...quick & easy. I plan on shooting some test footage in the next few days... I'll post something then.

__________________________________________________ __________________________

Once you've built yours, be sure to join the "ZazaSlider Group" on Vimeo and post your coolest slider footage!

http://vimeo.com/groups/zazaslider


__________________________________________________ ____________

EASY CARRIAGE BRAKE:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1853241&postcount=1263

__________________________________________________ ____________

Hybrid Bearings:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?145701-DIY-IndieSlider...&p=1908974&viewfull=1#post1908974

NEW Hybrid Carriage for 16-60mm rail:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?145701-DIY-IndieSlider...&p=2411100&viewfull=1#post2411100

__________________________________________________ ____________
 
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beautiful you beat me to it, i'm doing this soon I have a few qustions for you.


how loud is it? also is there a way to adjust the friction/ drag on the rollers? if not how freely does it roll? if you mount it on an angle will it roll with gravity? is it tight eough to handle any angle at all?
 
Jason Miller said:
how loud is it?
Click to expand...

It's slient! These aren't ball bearings...but DryLin and need no lubrication.

also is there a way to adjust the friction/ drag on the rollers? if not how freely does it roll?
Click to expand...

No way to adjust the friction, although there are other versions of the bearings available. It rolls very freely, with a reasonable amount of drag. Once the camera is on there (and the more weight you have on it), you'll want to start the slide motion pre-shot, unless your sliding straight in...or pulling straight back.

if you mount it on an angle will it roll with gravity? is it tight eough to handle any angle at all?
Click to expand...

I have experimented & it does move nice and smooth when set on an angle! Just be there to catch the camera before it slides off the end.

Here's a better test...and a few of these shots are 'auto-slide' with a tilted tripod:
http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn91/zazacast/?action=view&current=GraveyardSlide.flv
 
no wheels, or bearings? no lube? so does the sled have that carpit like stuff that you put under your fridge to slide it along the floor?
 
pretty cool, I hope they ship to South Africa, cause this is as easy as it gets!

I suppose you could add a stop to the ends to prevent the camera from sliding off.

- Derrick
 
Derrick_SA said:
pretty cool, I hope they ship to South Africa, cause this is as easy as it gets!

I suppose you could add a stop to the ends to prevent the camera from sliding off.

- Derrick
Click to expand...

You sure can...but make at least one end removable, so you can take the carriage off for transportation.
 
Jason Miller said:
one good lord don't be a jerk, two, the site doesn't say what the material is. I looked, and three for those of us who are true diyers and not posers who mount our camera on someone elses product and say look what I made, would like to know what the material is that makes it slide easy, so we can actually build one with our own pipes, and steel or aluminum plating.
Click to expand...

Hey JayBo,

...first off...I never claimed to be a "True Diyer"...nor am I a poser. I responded to another post asking for solutions or options to the over priced hardware out there and was PM'd multiple times for the information...so I started this thread to offer a simple solution. Take it or leave it.

As far as the material... the information is on the web site, that's how I learned about it.

This kind of thing is exactly the reason I don't like to start threads like this. I now understand that you must be an alchemist, because only a poser would use any type of metal he didn't make himself... and I'm also sure you designed and built the chips in your computer allowing you to pop-poo a very simple, inexpensive solution to a request from all us much less talented users then yourself.

As you said of yourself in another post.... I guess you are a Diva...and with a little luck & a lot of prayer, I hope I never reach your ultimate level of enlightenment. So good luck with your project and I look forward to reading your thread once you figure out how to reinvent the wheel. I'll be busy making films....
:beer:
 
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Jason Miller said:
I posted that out of being annoyed by your responce and total lack of willingness to help other diyers, and I changed it within a mnute of posting it, because I overreacted to you being a jerk. I guess you go ahold of it first. but in all fairness, you did name this thread diy indislider,

I asked a simple question what is it, you send me a non direct link to a cluddered site thats not eexactly easy to find the info i needed, you have it right in front of you, so what you should have said instead of being an ass was

no its not that carpet stuff, its some kind of plastic not sure what it is, sorry.

if you're going to get short with people asking valid questions about what you're posting, then go with that first impulse, don't post in here, bacuase people like you, who get angry when asked about your project, are not wanted here.
Click to expand...


Answered all your questions....gave you a direct link to the site right where I did all my research....pretty much did everything but build one for you! If you look at my original response, you'll see a little smile face..that would mean I'm funning you. :)

Like they say, no good deed goes unpunished. Good luck with your project.
 
anyway, have you thought about using some aluminum rods, and another plate, to make a hi hat like riser for your head, you have a pretty long run on your slider, the higher above that you get the camera, the better your pushins and pull outs can be, as you can go farther with it without seeing the slider base in the shot.
 
Jason Miller said:
I posted that out of being annoyed by your responce and total lack of willingness to help other diyers
Click to expand...

This statement is pretty false. ZaZa PM'd me yesterday with all of the information when I said that his idea looked cool. It was before this thread, and I didn't ask him to do that. The fact that he made the thread with the info in it proves that he intends to help.

I don't see why it's ZaZa's job to link you to the raw materials. He didn't use them, so he would have to do the same amount of work as you to find them.
 
Drew Ott said:
This statement is pretty false. ZaZa PM'd me yesterday with all of the information when I said that his idea looked cool. It was before this thread, and I didn't ask him to do that. The fact that he made the thread with the info in it proves that he intends to help.

I don't see why it's ZaZa's job to link you to the raw materials. He didn't use them, so he would have to do the same amount of work as you to find them.
Click to expand...

Thanks Drew for the solid (Dude...Sweet)....but let it go, there's obviously no winning with Jason and frankly, I'm getting tired of all his whining (as amusing as it is). Read the entire post. I gladly answered all his questions & provided links for more technical information. If he can't understand the technical advantages of advanced synthetic compounds (thermoplastics) and has to take it out on me...so be it. Jason, I still love ya' brother and understand that we often take out our life's frustrations on others....no worries.:thumbup:


Jason Miller said:
anyway, have you thought about using some aluminum rods, and another plate, to make a hi hat like riser for your head, you have a pretty long run on your slider, the higher above that you get the camera, the better your pushins and pull outs can be, as you can go farther with it without seeing the slider base in the shot.
Click to expand...

Jason, I did think about this, as you can see I raised it about 2" off the carriage...but I use it mostly for 'sliding' shots (horizonal or angled) and really low to the ground stuff, not so much for 'dolly' shots (straight in or out)...if that makes sense. I also find that no matter how high you decide to raise the head, the best way to get the smoothest slide is to grab the bottom of the head as close to the base as possible. With the head where I have it, I find I can do some nice sliding-pan shots too. One hand low to the carriage slides, while the other pans with the action. (practice, practice, practice)

Looks like this company uses the same stuff...only charges a bit more: http://www.t-jib.com/products2.asp

Do yourself a favor and make one of these, experiment...and most of all have fun. Life is short!
 
Jason Miller said:
yea I get why you don't want a hi hat, makes since,

and no it isn't whinning,
I just felt that this statement
"Good Lord... check out the web site http://www.igus.com/show_dw.asp ... you can read all about it.

Plastics....advanced synthetic compounds!!! Welcome to the 21st Century."

was way out of line, I had a hard time navigating the site, with minus that are there then disapper when I move my mouse over to click, and reappear 5 inches to the right, its crappy dhtml, so I asked you wnat it was, a simple I dont know would have been fine, but getting angry and being condescending is not acceptable. Take a look at Mr. Gary Sconce, people have asked him hundreds of questions, he has never gotten andgry or snapped or gotten condescending with anyone.

and so you may be Smiling when you write something like that, I'm assuming you understand that I can't see you, so how the hell am I supposed to know you may or may not be joking if you don't add something like lol or even a ha ha?
Click to expand...

LMAO!

O.K. Jason... I think we all get it now for about the 4th time... you were offended by the 'Good Lord'. Way out of line? Can't agree there ....I think you're just having a bad day. I clearly stated that they were plastic, so why would I say I didn't know...and why do you keep saying that? I researched many linear motion systems before deciding on igus... you may want to do the same, here's some more:
http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/20mmLinearMotionSystems/Kit7429
http://www.automation4less.com/store/products.asp?cat=1203
http://www.npa.nsk.com/public/enu/info_351.asp
http://www.boschrexroth.com/country_units/america/united_states/en/products/brl/product_overview1/linear_motion_systems/index.jsp?gclid=CNbWhsqwt5UCFQiNHgod8CqZRQ
http://www.linearmotion.skf.com/en/8/cat-cat120-Guiding_systems.html

You are the ONLY one who's had a problem here...so lets just let it go now...deep breaths my friend. Use all that energy to build an awesome slider for yourself!
 
ok first of all, can we drop this its pointless,
second, you know damn well you took that out of context, its a very famous line by billy crystal, or rather a very famous distortion of his line, ment to convey a need for more information, in this case we needed to know which dolly type he wanted to build. any thing can be taken out of context, as you know you took that statement out of context!


now can we please drop this as its serving no point, and move back to the actual diy stuff?
 
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