DIY IndieSlider...

Another option for cheap slider rods can be found here:
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/10026?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=froog
These oil drill rods are 36" long with a convenient diameter of 15mm. I have some pre-proteus rails that aren't perfectly shaped - makes sliding stuff on my rig very tough and scrathes them up. I was thinking up getting these rails for a shoulder rig, but 36" is very big. Maybe just letting a foot go behind my shoulder would be ok and provide for some counterbalance...
 
J Davis... thanks for the info. and please post some video that you shoot with this baby!

Viva La Slider!
 
ZazaCast said:
J Davis... thanks for the info. and please post some video that you shoot with this baby!

Viva La Slider!
Click to expand...

Will do! but I got a fair bit of drilling work work ahead of me .
BTW - got more info - igus tech ppl said the rails are made from hard adonized
aluminum and the carriage is a zinc cast.
 
for stoppers i actually use a couple of bolts.
after drilling bigger end holes, i hammered in 2 nuts into the holes (holding rock solid) on each end simply put short bolts in them. it actually provides an inch or so of more sliding range on each end, as bolts can go under the sliding "train" but are stopping the bolt that is holding the tripod head.
 
Looks like I've been parallel developing one of these myself. Word has it that Igus can't keep up with all the orders for sample rails & platforms. LOL!
I added a couple of features that you all might be keen on learning about. No time or space to shoot just now but do look out for posts on PortaDolly.com
Nothing for sale either- just sharing the love.
1) Nice to have one axis motion, but I've added a second axis by attaching a shorter rail to the main rail, resulting in a variable 'dog-leg' joint that can allow for 'wrap-around' moves
2) On the main rail I use two attachment points, each located 1/3 of the way from the ends. The short 'leg' is only 24" so it only gets one attachment point at 1/3 off center.
3) I use screw stoppers at the ends, that screw upwards so as to 'stop' the platform from sliding off. This allows me to access the platform with just a couple of turns of the stop bolts.
4) I use petroleum jelly and not Silicon lubricant on the rails. Igus recommends that.
More later and great to discover this thread!
 
ZazaCast said:
Thanks everyone, I'm glad to see you guys getting some use out of this stuff!
...and Luis...get to work. HA! (please be sure to post some pictures & video when you're done)

Note: I haven't had time yet to look into the THK stuff...but I'll get there soon. I'd like to have a little curved track slider.
Click to expand...

OMG I am happy. I have a stiffie, too. I am in geek lust. I am loving the cost. I saw my first slider on a pro shoot last year, and knew I could put it to good use, but have only come across one or two DIY links lately, none of which really grabbed me (well, there was one that used a stock aluminum ladder as the slider...).

What I really wanted, however, was a curved track. Ooooh, can you imagine matching the arc of the track with your focal distance? Paradise. I was designing, in my head, a curved plank, either wood or metal, and, essentially, a custom skateboard with the pan head screwed on, and trucks mounted askew to match the arc of the plank.

I like this potential much more. Very grateful to have come across the post. Thanks, and will be looking forward to building my own. :thumbup::beer::thumbup:
 
Zephyrnoid said:
...I use petroleum jelly and not Silicon lubricant on the rails. Igus recommends that...
Click to expand...

I'd pay attention to that little fact. Chemistry is complex, and unless you know everything that's in Lemon Pledge, you don't know how it's going to react with the unknown polymer in the bearings. Silicone lube is also a polymer, and is nice in that it's not usually reactive with much, but if the manufacturer doesn't recommend it, that's a good tip that you'll degrade performance using it.

ps don't use WD40 on a motorcycle chain with O-rings either.
 
dcnblues said:
What I really wanted, however, was a curved track. Ooooh, can you imagine matching the arc of the track with your focal distance? Paradise. I was designing, in my head, a curved plank, either wood or metal, and, essentially, a custom skateboard with the pan head screwed on, and trucks mounted askew to match the arc of the plank.

I like this potential much more. Very grateful to have come across the post. Thanks, and will be looking forward to building my own. :thumbup::beer::thumbup:
Click to expand...

I'm looking into a curved track now. Found this manufacturer: https://tech.thk.com/en/products/thk_cat_main.php?id=315

Scroll down the page a bit and checkout the "R Guide Model HCR"...could be cool!
 
Just a question, Love this thread, followed it for a while

What are there parts originally supposed to be used for? lol, I can't find what they do anywhere!
 
thanks zazacast and nickybee for posting this article and listing the parts,, this is a great tool for any video project specially in small spaces where you cant use a dolly or a stabilizer...
i ordered my kit a few days ago and just recieived the rubber bricks and stops... the bricks are very heavy to be on all the time so im planning to cut one in half and see if i can use it in a smaller form... btw these rubber bricks smell so im hoping that would go away im storing them outside for now...

im using a fairly heavy camera with letus, rail, 35mm lenses so im excited to build this thing and use it... il post some pics / clips when i receive everything,,,
 
yes. sorry about smell.

yes. sorry about smell.

forgot to mention that.
but all rubber smells - smell your car tires sometime - or a neoprene wetsuit section of a surf store.

You don't want this stuff next to your head when you are sleeping but I have them in the office and I don't really notice it.

Don't thank me - this is Zaza's thing - I just found a rubber brick and stopper ;)

Btw the guys who make those bricks and stoppers sent me a few samples (company is called Diamond Rubber) - a few were just variations on the stopper that don't really make sense for what we are all trying to do. But the other was a 16" rubber brick that's a little thinner and has...drum roll - three holes.

The part number at McMaster Carr for this one is 21685T15

The reason I bring this up is three fold

1. at 2" height you get even lower to the ground (arguably too low depending on whether you are tilting camera
2. the bricks are much lighter - 3.5 pounds each - haven't weighed the other ones but I'm guessing 8 or 9 pounds each

3. (most importantly) - today I decided to tighten the rail a little more (there was no reason to do this as it was easily tight enough - and what happened - the bloody JB weld sheared off and the rubber stopper started to spin - F**K

Will re-JBweld it in but looking at the 3 hole brick it maybe it's just worth drilling a bloody hole all the way through and just whacking an expanding bolt in there...

Will report.

Nick
 
one more thing for zaza...

one more thing for zaza...

that curved track you found - here's a pdf with some more detail on it

http://www.cbmind.com/linear/thk/pdf/HCR Series.pdf

there's one scary line in it - namely

"With model HCR - balls will fall off if the LM block is removed from the LM rail. Use much care in handling this model"

Assuming you can suppress the guffaw you will notice this refers to the ball bearings...hee hee

Anyway - not much point removing the block anyway to drill and tap the holes as we did the Drylin ones because there's no clearance. But the 4 holes on the side of the "carriage" are drilled/tapped...so to mount a 3/8" tripod head mating bolt on there would take a little more doing (no big deal but definitely more of a pain than the drylin.

(ok forget what i just wrote - I see that they make carriages that are pre-tapped with a center hole - in which case we just need a continuous bolt (forget what they're called but basically a bolt without a head ;) - as long as it's the right length it will work)

Other than that - dust would be more of an issue - and possibly noise - I had a quick look through the online store at https://www.tos-world.com - you have to register an account (free) to see prices.

Looks like they are a little bit pricier than Igus - approx $80 for a carriage and $150 for 1000mm track...but that's for the straight track - the curved track is not yet on their online store but I'm assuming it will be similar.

Nick
 
hmmm

hmmm

actually they are much more expensive than Igus...
I was looking at the cheapest possible smallest LM guide - the SR15...

anything other than that is much more expensive

besides I'm kinda thinking this could get messy with lubrication etc etc - but who knows it might be worth trying

5m is the minimum radius I believe (but of course you could shorten this artificially if you mount an arm on the slider pointing to the center of the circle - if the arm is one meter long both sides (with camera in middle and counterweighted on the otherside of course) then you end up with a 4 meter radius circle of movement etc etc...

btw quick bit of geometry gives you this - with this kind of curved rail a 180 degree camera move (i.e. half a circle) will need 15.7 meters of track.

;)

Nick
 
ok I'm half asleep reading these pdf's

ok I'm half asleep reading these pdf's

on the THK site.

5m is NOT the minimum radius. others are available - will find out more tomorrow

Nick
 
two axis motion...

two axis motion...

hey Zephyrnoid - are you suggesting that you bolt a rail directly onto a carriage on another rail ?

I mean I can see how that would work - but surely you then need two hands just to move the camera - one on each carriage.

So you have one crew member on moving the camera platform and another for taking care of the camera (e.g. focus pan/tilt etc) ?

Unless you put something else together ?

Also with regards to the petroleum jelly - how did Igus recommend you use this - just wipe the rails down with it periodically ? - are you just using the vaseline brand ?

Nick

Zephyrnoid said:
1) Nice to have one axis motion, but I've added a second axis by attaching a shorter rail to the main rail, resulting in a variable 'dog-leg' joint that can allow for 'wrap-around' moves
Click to expand...
 
prices for curved track

prices for curved track

hmm - massively dependent on track length and block size (THK calls blocks what Igus calls carriages) but they can pretty much do any curvature (which is good news)

I got a very brief quote on a medium duty product - the HCR35A with a 1000mm length of track - and it was $1900 - ouch.

This would likely drop quite a bit with the HCR12A - but not that far...hmmm

According to the dude I spoke to - these guys are the only ones in the WORLD with circular track

I'm gonna meet with their local sales rep to see some samples of this thing so I can evaluate it.

Nick
 
Nickybee- Thanks for all this great information! I think you just saved me a ton of time & research (and makes me feel better about the original choice of the iGus stuff).

Please keep us posted.
 
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