Tension Stabilizer OR Pocket Tripod

As a former photojournalist, I found that sometimes you need a stabil surface where a tri-pod or mono-pod wasn't the right fit. An old timer told me about this solution my freshman year in 1985, and then whipped one outta of his pocket and told me he never left home with out it.

If you have ever made or played a washtub bass, you understand the concept. Instead of your camera resting on top of a stable platform such as a tri-pod or mono-pod you are providing the stability by pulling against the cord.

What you need:

1 big ass washer

1 1" 1/4X20 bolt (Standard size for ALL camera mounts)

1 "L" bracket

1 locking washer

1 nut

1 length of para cord of your sizing..I won't tell you you need 7' if you are 5'2"...

I made this one a little bulkier than the old timers pocket model because I didn't have a wing bolt like the one shown and he used a thinner nylon cord rather than para cord.

I used a set of bolt cutters to trim off two sides.. you can choose to not do this at all or use whatever means necessary to knock the edges off, making a pair of flat spots for winding the cord around. Once you get the flat sides you will need to drill a hole for the cord to attach to. (side note...I have seen this step done with the addition of a fishing swivel but I thought that was overkill..to each their own)

Make sure that you aren't using the worlds cheapest drill bits...as you can see my gorilla ass made this one look like a black twizzler...Once you get the hole in, make sure you use a file or some Emory cloth to knock down any new sharp edges.

I used a 1.5" L bracket I had laying around for the camera mount because as stated I was just too lazy to go get something that would work the same yet be a touch smaller..hey, I got big pockets so this works for me!

The bracket was a bit long on the ends where the cord would attach as well as where you place the bolt, locking washer, and nut.

since I was using crap in the work shop to create this masterpiece I needed to shorten the ends of the bracket, so off to the grinder we went.

Once I was satisfied with the edges, I made sure to grind the ends smooth so it wouldn't cut the cord eventually.

Then I needed to drill out one of the holes in the bracket because the bolt didn't fit....did I mention I built this with crap lying around? So once the bolt fit in the hole I put the locking washer on, the bolt thru the new hole, and the nut tightened down good.

All's that's left is the cord. i measured mine by standing on one end of the cord and raised my hand out in front of me until I got to shoulder height. marked and cut right there...burn the ends tie one to the mount, one end to the washer and screw the bolt into the screw mount on bottom of camera. Once it is mounted on the mount, step on the washer and raise your camera up to a comfortable shooting level. If you need to adjust the length untie the washer and find what fits you best!

Happy Shooting and I hope you love this and me enough to vote on it!