Introducing Leadfoot! A new way to sandbag cheap lite stands

[MagicCat]

Here is a little goodie I made up a while back. It breathed new life and use, into my light-weight Tripod-style light stands. If you have ever tried to sandbag one of these Aluminum Tumbleweeds, you know how priceless something like this is. I have another with holes in the footplate, so it can be staked down to the ground.

If you have a grip handy, let them stand on it for run and gun stuff. I can actually step on this and lean on the stand with my whole person, at a 45 degree angle without flipping. I cannot say the stand is to happy, but, it works well. The stand in the pic is a cheezy import job I got from Dodds. The Leadfoot makes it totally usefull for situations I would have never attempted to use them in before.

The whole thing slips right off in a snap with two wingnuts. The bottom is rubberized so it can be used in a studio or on delicate flooring. All steel construction means it will probably outlast me. I have a half dozen I keep with me at all times. I have even wedged them under a door to keep my stands from falling over. Kinda works like a Mountain leg too. Im workin on one that is adjustable for C-Stands and other SUPER light weight stands.

Put your weight on this, not the cheezy aluminum legs!! I called it The Leadfoot.

Copy away folks!! Enjoy!

 

[Jason Miller]

looks cool, looks like it could add to the life use of tfe stand. however it looks like it would either add a lot to the setup time, or if they stay attached add to the storage space the need, would like to know more.

 

[MagicCat]

You are correct, it adds a little to the production cart as well as the space in the truck. Good news is, I am looking into another incarnation that uses Fiberglass Feet instead of steel. They will fold in thirds, so it becomes about the width of the pole it is attached to. I will put a little strap on it so the folded foot flips up and locks onto the leg. Problem solved.!! As it is Right now, if the foot is left on, your assessment is correct, it is a little clunky.

Regarding setup: I do news from time to time so that was a HUGE concern of mine. Setup time is no biggie. Honestly, it takes about as much time as it does to unfold a stand. You Slip it on, set the stand on the ground so the leg is even with the bottom of the foot, and spin the nuts with a flick of your finger. An additional turn or two clamps it down. You DO NOT want to tighten this very hard, you will squish the leg. Not only will that compromise the stand's structural integrity, it could ruin the leg permanently. I try to find solutions, not add to the problem...

None the less, It has some Tacky rubber on the backside of the Angle Iron that grips the stand's leg too. That is why you don't have to tighten them down much.

Thanks for the input!!

I get them on in under 20 seconds, and Im a clutz wth lobster fingers!!!. I appreciate your concern, That was a big concern of mine too when I started toying with the Idea.

 

[Justin Kuhn]

I like to use two lead weights in either end of a sock, myself. Cheap weight for a cheap stand.

 

[pmark23]

Clever. And you could get away with carrying less sandbags too.

Once I get my welder back I'll make a couple.

 

[MagicCat]

I suppose that is true, especially if you are inside. We have placed furniture or whatever else we could find in the room on top of them, wedged them under doors, put the producers chair on them ETC. Outside, we stake them into the ground put your production cart on it. For longer shoots, park a car on top of it. Of course, there is always the Intern/PA Weight. Point is, you don't really need anything special at all and you arent going to hurt it.

The Gripping concept behind this is: the stand will naturally want to tilt when overweighted. Because this slips on at a 45% angle, you dont need to tighten the hell out of it. The stand cannot slip out to easy because it isnt just pulling UP, but OUT, against it. If you line the inside of the angle iron with something Tacky. You are good to go.

Lastly, you can also put a little hinged hook (so it lays flat when not in use) on the topside of it. You can easily run a cable from that, to the top of your stand close to the stud, effectively strengthening the cheesy aluminum pole.

Is this a lot of work? Sure!, it is a little more setup time. BUT, if you could shave off 50 to 100 pounds of C-Stands for projects where you can get away with a little less, that is worth it in my book.

Tip: find some old fiberglass skii poles at your local goodwill thrift store. Cut them to length and stick them inside the aluminum legs of your light stands. Use a little Aluminum Duct/Muffler Tape to make them bigger diameter if they are a little small. Slip them in, Re-drill the holes for the screws that go through the legs, (use the exsisting holes as templates!!) and presto! You have a much beefier stand without adding much weight at all. Nobody will ever see it. You will get several more years of life out of your stand. I also do this to the top telescoping tube on all of my cheapo stands.