This project is a pretty easy build, and should only take you about 20 minutes to a half hour. All the parts are available at any home improvement store, and will cost in the neighborhood of $30.
I started with the basic idea as laid out here (Giving credit where due), but wanted to make a few changes. My changes have alleviated at least one if not two of the three cons listed there.
So, why DIY a c-stand you ask? Well, a few reasons. Firstly, they are incredibly useful on set. Secondly, commercially available stands cost at least twice what it costs to build one, if not 3 or 4 times as much. The cheapest I've seen them on ebay is roughly $65, before shipping. So for that amount you can certainly build two, but if you look at the more spendy ones, they are around $120ish (or MORE), so that means with shipping costs included we should be able to build 4 for the price of one.
What does it lack over a commercial c-stand? As opposed to the original version I loosely modeled my design after, it does have "folding" legs, so the only missing piece is the grip head that allows for attaching a boom arm. These aren't terribly expensive though, so you could pick one up if you need it. Still working out a diy solution there, but I'm thinking it might come from drum kit parts (something along the lines of this).
However, you probably wouldn't want to cantilever a very big light on a boom arm with this stand, I don't know how safe it would be (haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure). But a simple arm to hold a flag or bounce shouldn't be a problem. Either way though, using sand bags to weight the legs down would be a wise choice. (I plan to do a Sandbag DIY solution tutorial soon)
My DIY c-stand is a two section telescoping stand with three "folding" legs weighing in at about 15lbs (heavy duty baby!). It will safely extend from 5 1/2 feet to a height of roughly 9 1/2 feet. (A full 2 1/2 feet taller than the original design). These heights could be modified simply by changing the lengths of the two telescoping pieces.
Parts List
If you find that your pieces are not staying tightly together, you can use a thread locking compound (like loctite) or drill through the joints, tap the hole and use a screw. I didn't have any problems with joints not being tight though. But it is very important that they do hold tight, if one of the legs should twist it will likely cause your stand to come tumbling down, with whatever lights, etc are mounted on it.
Here's a look at the finished DIY c-stand:
(Click for full size)
It may look like it's leaning in the first image, but that is due to angle the photo was taken from. You may also notice it looks like the foot on the top leg is lower than the other two. There is a little play in the legs however, so they even out and it stands mighty straight (I didn't check it for plumb, but eyeballing it it looks pretty darn spot on).
The only thing I have left to do is spray on a coat of paint, but for a quick trip to the home center and about 20 minutes of assembly I have a very functional c-stand. I definitely plan to make many more of these!
The build is pretty straight forward. Unfortunately my firewire port died on my video camera, and I've not yet gotten my HD camera, so I don't have a video to share. Instead I have a series of photos, which will follow in a few additional posts in this thread that clearly illustrate where each piece is attached.
I started with the basic idea as laid out here (Giving credit where due), but wanted to make a few changes. My changes have alleviated at least one if not two of the three cons listed there.
So, why DIY a c-stand you ask? Well, a few reasons. Firstly, they are incredibly useful on set. Secondly, commercially available stands cost at least twice what it costs to build one, if not 3 or 4 times as much. The cheapest I've seen them on ebay is roughly $65, before shipping. So for that amount you can certainly build two, but if you look at the more spendy ones, they are around $120ish (or MORE), so that means with shipping costs included we should be able to build 4 for the price of one.
What does it lack over a commercial c-stand? As opposed to the original version I loosely modeled my design after, it does have "folding" legs, so the only missing piece is the grip head that allows for attaching a boom arm. These aren't terribly expensive though, so you could pick one up if you need it. Still working out a diy solution there, but I'm thinking it might come from drum kit parts (something along the lines of this).
However, you probably wouldn't want to cantilever a very big light on a boom arm with this stand, I don't know how safe it would be (haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure). But a simple arm to hold a flag or bounce shouldn't be a problem. Either way though, using sand bags to weight the legs down would be a wise choice. (I plan to do a Sandbag DIY solution tutorial soon)
My DIY c-stand is a two section telescoping stand with three "folding" legs weighing in at about 15lbs (heavy duty baby!). It will safely extend from 5 1/2 feet to a height of roughly 9 1/2 feet. (A full 2 1/2 feet taller than the original design). These heights could be modified simply by changing the lengths of the two telescoping pieces.
Parts List
- 1 - 5/16" x 1 1/2" - 18 thread Thumb Screw
- 1 - 3/4" x 48" Nipple Pipe
- 1 - 1/2" x 48" EMT Conduit (this comes in 10 foot lengths, you can cut it with a pipe cutter or hack saw, it's very inexpensive stuff)
- 1 - 1/2" EMT Conduit Set Screw Adapter (I could only find these in packs of three, but it was under $2 for three)
- 1 - 1/4" x 3" Nipple Pipe
- 1 - 1/2" x 6" Nipple Pipe
- 3 - 3/4" x 12" Nipple Pipe
- 1 - 3/4" x 10" Nipple Pipe
- 1 - 3/4" x 6" Nipple Pipe
- 1 - 3/4" x 2" Nipple Pipe (This might be a 2.5", it said 2.5" on the shelf, but the receipt said 2" -- It should be the next size up from the "close" size, and less that 3")
- 1 - 1/2" x 3/4" 90 degree Elbow
- 2 - 1/2" x 3/4" Bell Coupling
- 1 - 1/2" x 1/4" Bell Coupling
- 2 - 3/4" 45 degree Elbow
- 3 - 3/4" 45 degree Street Elbow
- 3 - 3/4" Cap
- 2 - 3/4" Tee
- Power Drill (or Drill Press)
- Hack saw (or Pipe Cutter)
- Pipe Wrench
- Pliers (or tap wrench)
If you find that your pieces are not staying tightly together, you can use a thread locking compound (like loctite) or drill through the joints, tap the hole and use a screw. I didn't have any problems with joints not being tight though. But it is very important that they do hold tight, if one of the legs should twist it will likely cause your stand to come tumbling down, with whatever lights, etc are mounted on it.
Here's a look at the finished DIY c-stand:
(Click for full size)
It may look like it's leaning in the first image, but that is due to angle the photo was taken from. You may also notice it looks like the foot on the top leg is lower than the other two. There is a little play in the legs however, so they even out and it stands mighty straight (I didn't check it for plumb, but eyeballing it it looks pretty darn spot on).
The only thing I have left to do is spray on a coat of paint, but for a quick trip to the home center and about 20 minutes of assembly I have a very functional c-stand. I definitely plan to make many more of these!
The build is pretty straight forward. Unfortunately my firewire port died on my video camera, and I've not yet gotten my HD camera, so I don't have a video to share. Instead I have a series of photos, which will follow in a few additional posts in this thread that clearly illustrate where each piece is attached.
