DIY IndieSlider...

zhenjie said:
Haven't checked out the NZ rep, will give them a call today. There is an Australian rep which I found on their website.

USA is an option but postage was $160USD :(. In the end, it does work out cheaper to buy from Glidetrack with the weak GBP. Else I'll buy a Indislider as last resort.
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Cool... Glidetrack is good stuff! Glad you at least have that option. Just remember, the parts I list are the same as the Glidetrack HD version.
 
Got my Igus parts today! Noticed a slip of paper that says the parts are made in Germany, even though Igus sells out of RI, hadn't seen that in the thread.

What incredibly elegant, simple, well crafted parts!!!

Went to Home Depot, got taps and screws.

Trying to come up with different "feet" for low floor shots and end caps.

Hope to be slidin' tomorrow...
 
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groveChuck said:
Trying to come up with different "feet" for low floor shots and end caps.
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Funny you should mention....

I've been working on a design and just had the prototypes fabricated. I'm trying to get these down to a realistic price & plan on making them available if you guys are interested. Please let me know your level of interest.

These are made from solid aluminum. Strong & light. There will be quick adjust levers (waiting for them to come in) on the feet. This will allow you to get really low, level the slider on uneven surfaces...AND... act as handles if you want to pop the rail off the tripod, lock the carriage in place and use it as a shoulder mount!

I ask that ANYONE interested get in touch with me via PM for detail.
 
Sounds like a great idea, like the Glidecam Shooter.

I'd be more interested in making these either rubber or a rubberized plastic type material, so that we can put down the slider anywhere, even glass tables. Aluminum may work if we can powder coat it or something.
 
Hehe it's funny how the use of quick clamps on the GlideCam Shooter inspired us (at least me). My problem is not the clamps. They're already here but the 0.5 m Igus rail that will not come before January 2010. So I don't know if it works well but anyway it's super simple. I post this today to prevent the thought that I've stolen an idea :D

Ladies and Gentlemen may I introduce the SpiderSlider® another freak of nature in the ever-envolving world of ZaZa® sliders:

picture.php

My idea was also adjustability for uneven surfaces and the use as a shoulder rig although the clamps may be too close together for this. It's for small cameras only.
 
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groveChuck said:
Got my Igus parts today! Noticed a slip of paper that says the parts are made in Germany, even though Igus sells out of RI, hadn't seen that in the thread.

What incredibly elegant, simple, well crafted parts!!!

Went to Home Depot, got taps and screws.

Trying to come up with different "feet" for low floor shots and end caps.

Hope to be slidin' tomorrow...
Click to expand...

Make sure you tell us what you came up with...post some pictures & footy too!
 
tbanucci said:
Sounds like a great idea, like the Glidecam Shooter.

I'd be more interested in making these either rubber or a rubberized plastic type material, so that we can put down the slider anywhere, even glass tables. Aluminum may work if we can powder coat it or something.
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Yep, they will be covered...it's always been the plan. I remember as a kid, my father had this liquid rubber stuff that you can dip tool handles in. Once it set, it was a very protective grip.

I hope they still make the stuff. Home Depot here I come!
 
Having just made my own slider, I thought I would post a few random thoughts:

1. It doesn't matter whether you tap the thread from the bottom up, or the top down. Start on whatever side you wish. The thread turns the same way no matter.
2. Rather than use one of the 9 holes already drilled in the rail, I chose to drill fresh holes. The existing rail holes are beveled (for countersunk screws/bolts), with a result that your bolt would be holding onto only about 1.5mm of metal. If you drill your own, the "bite" between the two pieces of metal increases about fourfold.
3. After practicing on some scrap aluminum, I decided to buy an inexpensive drill press so that I'd be sure my holes are drilled perfectly straight. I had hoped to be able to keep my taps straight too... by manually turning the chuck with the tap in it, but the tap has a square shank and the chuck has three jaws... meaning the tap could never be centered. So instead...
4. To keep the tap perfectly vertical, I used the drill press to drill a hole in a block of wood about an inch thick. ( The drill bit used for this job was fractionally larger than 3/8 inch.) This gave me a "guide" to start the tap out. Once the tap seemed certain of its direction, I removed the wood and tapped the thread in the normal manner, using 3-in-One oil to lubricate the tap (this or WD-40 works on aluminum). I managed to do four holes in a row that were perfectly straight, with no mangled threads.
5. Early experiments showed that if I simply supported the rail in the center, then the weight and motion of the camera/fluid head would make the tripod unstable. So I opted to drill 3/8 tripod holes on either end of the rail. I'm using two smallish manfrotto tripods to support the rail.
6. After earlier deciding the supplied holes drilled in the rail were of no use, I realized that if one were to screw decently long bolts just a little ways into the far holes, that would make for perfectly good safety stops. So I tapped those holes as well, and now have a good enough safety system for not accidentally pushing the camera off the rail. (easy to do when you're concentrating on looking at the LCD).
 
Dale B...FYI
1. You can order the rail with no holes pre-drilled by adding an "S" to the end of the part number: Part Number WS-16-60S

2. You don't need support on both ends if you use a fairly beefy tripod. I use a bogen 3046 I bought on eBay for $125. The whole idea is to make this an easy tool to use. Mine is always on the tripod, even if I'm not doing a slide or dolly shot. It allows you to re-position the camera quickly & easily. Take a look at the photos here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/album.php?albumid=214

You can see how I add three 5lb. ankle weights to the tripod spreader. Never had a problem sliding right out to the end. Keeping it on a single tripod really is the way to go unless you want the camera to travel through an object.

3. Bolts for end-stops...yep, again, look in the ZazaSlider photo album.

Enjoy your sliding. Please post pictures of your build & footage you've shot.
 
ZazaCast said:
Dale B...FYI
1. You can order the rail with no holes pre-drilled by adding an "S" to the end of the part number: Part Number WS-16-60S

2. You don't need support on both ends if you use a fairly beefy tripod. I use a bogen 3046 I bought on eBay for $125. The whole idea is to make this an easy tool to use. Mine is always on the tripod, even if I'm not doing a slide or dolly shot. It allows you to re-position the camera quickly & easily. Take a look at the photos here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/album.php?albumid=214

You can see how I add three 5lb. ankle weights to the tripod spreader. Never had a problem sliding right out to the end. Keeping it on a single tripod really is the way to go unless you want the camera to travel through an object.

3. Bolts for end-stops...yep, again, look in the ZazaSlider photo album.

Enjoy your sliding. Please post pictures of your build & footage you've shot.
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I think it really depends on the length of the slider. For heavier camera setups like mine, you probably do need 2 tripods. Especially if using a longer slider. One in the center wasn't sturdy enough and had some movement. I really like the 2 tripods without spreaders setup. I can go low, high, uphill, downhill without the setup budging. I am going up to the 5 foot slider and I think the 2 tripods is a requirement at this length.
 
mcginnis said:
Ok, I didn't want to read through 122 pages of this post but is there a reason people are spending ~$160 to build a slider instead of buying one here> http://www.indifocus.com/products_indislidermini.htm
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1) The Indislider mini is not nearly as stable, and the weight capacity is much lower. Comparing what we're building here to that is like comparing the Indielisder mini to the Glidetrack HD ($300). So you aren't even making a fair comparison.

2) This is the DIY section. For some, it's a matter of cost. For others, it's just the challenge of making their own contraptions. Either way, if we wanted simply to buy one, we would.

We know what's out there, and what can be purchased already made. But this is a group of folks who want to build something... and by true comparison save about $100 in the process.
 
Yes, the 36'' Indislider is $499 and the 36" Glidetrack HD is £275, which converts to about $445 (+ shipping, of course).

I'm not even much of a DIYer, yet I'm having a blast making mine!

Finally got all the parts for feet and end stops, but still need time for drilling the feet, modifying the stops and finishing.

The holiday season is a, let's say... challenging period to try to find the time to build a slider (not that it actually takes much time).
So of course that's when I started ordering my parts and commuting for 3 days to Home Depot!

So now I have an incomplete slider (no feet or stops) that I am SO tempted to take on a holiday road trip to see family, departing today. Hmmm.. we'll see...

I've got such an itchy thumb to roll some tape with this baby!!!
 
groveChuck said:
Yes, the 36'' Indislider is $499 and the 36" Glidetrack HD is £275, which converts to about $445 (+ shipping, of course).

I'm not even much of a DIYer, yet I'm having a blast making mine!

Finally got all the parts for feet and end stops, but still need time for drilling the feet, modifying the stops and finishing.

The holiday season is a, let's say... challenging period to try to find the time to build a slider (not that it actually takes much time).
So of course that's when I started ordering my parts and commuting for 3 days to Home Depot!

So now I have an incomplete slider (no feet or stops) that I am SO tempted to take on a holiday road trip to see family, departing today. Hmmm.. we'll see...

I've got such an itchy thumb to roll some tape with this baby!!!
Click to expand...

Do it! The very first version I made didn't have any end-stops of anything. Just don't slide it off the end. :happy:
 
Tommy K said:
I think it really depends on the length of the slider. For heavier camera setups like mine, you probably do need 2 tripods. Especially if using a longer slider. One in the center wasn't sturdy enough and had some movement. I really like the 2 tripods without spreaders setup. I can go low, high, uphill, downhill without the setup budging. I am going up to the 5 foot slider and I think the 2 tripods is a requirement at this length.
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Yes length matters! (at least that's what I've always been told :embarasse)

The poster said he ordered the parts I listed...meaning the 3' version. You do not need two tripods for the three foot version...and if you do, you are using a light duty tripod...or doing something else wrong.

My 3' slider is on a Bogen 3046 tripod with three 5lb. ankle weights on the spreader. I have a DVX100b with Red Rock M2 hardmount, nikon glass, follow focus and a mattebox. I can slide from one end to the other without any trouble. I even slide the camera all the way to the end and tilt it straight down without any tipping.

I'm just saying, you really don't need two tripods with a the three foot version.

One of the main reasons I love this slider set-up so much, is that, even if I'm not doing a sliding shot, it allows me to reposition the camera fast for the next shot. I can quickly move the camera 1 1/2 feet in either direction (from the center) or a full 3' (if I'm shooting from an end) and crank up or lower the height in a matter of seconds. With just a tripod, you have to move the whole thing and depending on the tripod, adjust the legs to a new height and re-level. The slider advantages are numerous.

picture.php


Anything more than 3' and I'd use 2 tripods too....then again, I'd probably just use my regular track dolly for those shots.
 
Hey Zaza,

You posted the order as
"WS-16-60 Drylin 'W' rail 1000mm"
"WW-16-60-10 Drylin 'W' carriage"

Well i went to place an order today and either im on the wrong page or things have changed in the time between orders..

This is the page i found:
http://www.igus.com/drylin/drylin1.asp

I went down to the "Drylin® W - 10 mm round bearing, double rail, with shuttles"a
and when i went there, you can only choose 40mm and 80mm width.
I understand the length to be 1000mm, but which do you recomend, the 40mm or 80mm width?

Thanks so much and thanks for posting this in the first place!
 
TellLiesVisually said:
Hey Zaza,

You posted the order as
"WS-16-60 Drylin 'W' rail 1000mm"
"WW-16-60-10 Drylin 'W' carriage"

Well i went to place an order today and either im on the wrong page or things have changed in the time between orders..

This is the page i found:
http://www.igus.com/drylin/drylin1.asp

I went down to the "Drylin® W - 10 mm round bearing, double rail, with shuttles"a
and when i went there, you can only choose 40mm and 80mm width.
I understand the length to be 1000mm, but which do you recomend, the 40mm or 80mm width?

Thanks so much and thanks for posting this in the first place!
Click to expand...

Yes... you're on the wrong page. Again, I recommend calling the order in. You can talk directly to a salesperson...you can even mention "ZazaSlider" and they know the parts.

You might want to order the rail without any pre-drilled holes...if so, just add an "S" to the end of the part number. (WS-16-60S)
1-888-803-1895

This is where you want to be:
http://www.igus.com/show_dw.asp
 
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