$1 DIY PVC Mini Foldable Tripod Stand/Grip for GoPro

Most GoPro accessories are quite expensive, so I decided to make my own mini tripod. I wanted to do time-lapses and other projects where the camera would have to be held steady for long periods of time.

This Mini Tripod Stand will be made out of PVC. It uses only about 30 centimeters of 10 centimeter diameter, 1mm thick, PVC pipe.

You will need:

1. A source of heat
2. PVC pipe
3. Some bicycle spokes or other straight pieces of metal (for hinges)
4. Some pliers
5. 2-3g of cyanoacrylate (superglue)
6. Very sharp knife (I use ‘DORCO’ blades, VERY GOOD!!!)
7. 3M protective glasses (superglue sprays and in case the knife breaks and flies off randomly)
8. Tweezers
9. Steel ruler (to cut against)
10. Compass, pencil and eraser
11. Paint + paintbrush

The PVC will be probably in the form of a pipe. Cut off a short piece, cut lengthwise along the pipe. Then, heat up over a kitchen flame or other source of heat. Lay the limp PVC on your cutting board or other surface not sensitive to heat. Use a flat object to flatten out completely. Get your other tools out for the next steps.

Cut out a hexagon that is 4cm wide. Draw a circle using a compass and keep the radius (2cm) constant throughout the process. Place the needle part of the compass on the circle itself and mark a cross where it meets the circle again. Repeat, by placing the needle on the previous cross. Use a knife to cut out.

To attach the legs and the hinges, glue on 1cm long and 2cm tall pieces of PVC onto the hexagon. Draw lines connecting opposite vertices of the polygon. You will notice that small triangles appear on the side: three of them. Glue the small pieces on, referring to the image above. Cut out a triangle to fit in-between the 6 pieces, and glue that on as well.

I made 15cm long legs. You can make them however long you want. Their width also depends on the width between the two pieces on the main body. This time, do not cut all the way through the plastic. Stop at about 4/5 the way through so that the plastic does not break as it bends. run a bit of superglue down the creases to make it stronger. I added a small piece on the inside to make them stronger. Make three legs.

On one leg, make another brace like you did for all three, but extend one side out into a triangle(picture). The diagram that shows all three legs is bottom view. This is so that the legs fit together when folded, and do not fold into an awkward jumble.

Heat up the end of a piece of metal that you will use for the hinge. Push it through the PVC main body in the middle of the side (vertical 2*1) pieces. Repeat to make holes in the legs themselves. This way, when you pass the piece of metal wire through the two holes on either side, with the leg held in the right place to allow the metal to pass through, you will be able to open and close the legs. Repeat 3 times, for each leg.

I had to bring the top of the legs down 2 or 3 millimeters so that they would open enough. If I had mounted them all the way at the top, then they would not be able to open.

The legs would open all the way until they were the flat. To prevent this, I added little pieces of PVC onto the leg and onto the main body itself. These pieces also improved the aesthetics. Add a few pieces to cover the metal and the open ends of the original triangles.

Add little pieces to the end of each foot. Glue on some pieces of rubber to improve grip. I cut off thin pieces from an eraser.

FOR GOPROs:

Glue two pieces of the PVC together so that the thickness matches the gap between the GoPro mounting fingers. Make three fingers and glue them on the top plate of the tripod, appropriately spaced. Drill or melt a hole through so that you can thread in your screw/bolt from your GoPro. A nut must be attached to one end so that you can tighten it.

FOR OTHER CAMERAs:

Make an attachment to the top plate that works with your camera. However!!!, note that this tripod is not very strong so anything above around 200g might become a bit too heavy.

Add pieces of rubber to the triangle you made inside one of the legs to improve the strength and feel of the tripod when using it as a handle/grip.

Make it how you want it! I painted some areas silver and some areas black. Little splashes of orange add to the excitement!

Timelapses of rolling waves, or of clouds floating overhead can be very pleasing to watch. Now, with your new tripod, head out and create some great content!