Quick N' Dirty Phone Tripod Mount

I am typically not the type of person to choose a phone over a professional camera any time, but there are times when these little smart devices can do what a standard DSLR cannot. In this case I wanted to shoot a quick 360° panorma of my workspace for my website (braytonlarson.com), now could I have taken 30-40 shots with my camera and then found a stitching software that would serve my needs? Of course. But that would take much longer than necessary. In order to get a decent quality out of the phone app with minimal stitching errors, I wanted to more than just stand and spin in a circle, I needed a fixed point to rotate around, in this case, a tripod. You can find extremely cheap phone clamps for tripods online, but as I mentioned above I needed speed in this case. I dug around in my parts bins and found the stuff I needed, the result actually works extremely well and can be adjusted to virtually any phone size.

This project shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to assemble and you most likely have the parts needed laying around your house, so let's get started.

This is a very short list of materials needed and can be adapted depending on your device's size.

- 4 in 1/4" 20 Bolt (Shorter/Longer depending on the size of your device)
- 1/4" 20 Lock Nut
- (2) 1/4" 20 Nut
- 1 in Pipe Clamp (1/2" may work as well, or be better if you don't have a thick case on your phone)

1. Thread the firt 1/4" nut onto the bolt, about 3/4 of the way up

2. Put the pipe clamp onto the bolt

3. Thread the second 1/4" nut onto the bolt, about 1/2 of the way up

4. Thread the 1/4" 20 bolt into the nylon side of the lock nut, just a few turns enough so it doesn't just pop out.

5. Thread the other end of the lock nut onto the tripod sled (or whatever mounting plate), make sure it is tight. (you may have to back off the 1/4" 20 bolt a bit).

6. Thread the 1/4" 20 bolt down into the nut the rest of the way into the nylon.

Pop your phone into the mount, set the height with the bottom nut then tighten the top nut to secure.

This is my first Instructable, i know its super simple, but I'd love any feedback you may have. Also check out my website which I am starting to become more active on, I'll be posting the finished panorama there soon.

Thanks!