Trashy Camera Buddy…

Welcome to Hollywood studio on a budget! This is a project on a shoestring, I love these types of projects appearing out of necessity and opportunity.

I have the ambition to document my process so I can share how and what I make. What stops me is often the lack of space for my camera setup. My workspace is crowded and to make room for a tripod is often laborious.

With this creation, I can have it follow me and be accessible from all angles and heights, floor to ceiling.

This was made from what I had laying around my workshop, for some it may look like trash, to me unpolished treasures!

Luxor style lamp, flexible arm

Curtain rod

Old lamp base, heavy

Caster wheels X3

Leftover IKEA shelf angle support

Handle

Hose clamp

Screws (for the base and wheels)

Tools:

Drill

Metal saw

First off I needed a secure base. An old lampstand with a metal cover and a slab of concrete inside was a good start. Along with an old 220cm curtain rod I had the trunk. Leftover from an earlier project was a threaded 12mm metal rod which I could screw to the bottom of the lampstand (this also added some weight and stability). I cut into the end of the hollow curtain rod so I could fasten it to the metal rod with a hose clamp.

I added an old wooden plate from a discarded wire drum (one left:-) for a wider base. I glued it to the lamp base using Tec7. I also added 3 rubber studs for stability.

Here are 2 favorite projects I saw before making my own version, you decide which one is most related to mine…

Yet again 3D printing shows its true winning potential. Using PETG filament for the lamp arm fit, I had a flexible attachment to the stem. A magnet inside this piece holds it in place but I added a locking top part to secure the holder. Later I also printed a locking part for the stabilizing legs, which you'll see in step 6…

One thing I did during this step was to print just sections of these parts to see that I had the right measurements and fitting correctly.

In one of my treasure-trash boxes, I found a screw locking thingy… I only had to print a fitting inside for it to match the curtain rod. I could have built this into the 3d model for the lamp arm of course, but…

First off I had no wheels and would just pick it up if I needed to move to a new location. Well that didn't turn out to be good enough for long

I quickly started looking at adding 3 wheels for greater movement. I was able to bend thick steel plates at an angle so the base would be as close to the floor as possible for best stability.

Since I'm lucky to have access to welding gear I welded the caster wheels to the metal legs, I could have tapped and screwed them on but… hey if you can weld, you WELD!

The support legs in the making. Bending and fitting this took a little time but oh so satisfying when done:-)

I have a box or two with IKEA leftovers of course…

When I thought the project was done I put it to use right away, but soon realized the curtain rod alone was swaying too much. The solution came quickly out of my scrap metal stand. The IKEA shelf angles were cut in half and voila, I had 3 supporting legs with predrilled holes for attaching to the base.

So I designed a cuff to hold these 3 legs using yet another PETG printed part.

After a while, I realized that due to the height it was difficult to keep it steady. I knew I had some leftover concrete so I made a base attachment. I was a little to eager to test it and broke it in half, but a Tec7 to the rescue. Now I have much more weight and is easy to pull around on my workshop floor.

I made a mold for the concrete base, as you see I made it so it could slide in from the side.

What I really like about this simple camera rig is its range. It is super easy to move and it will go all the way up and extend it's arm and if I want I can bring it all the way down to the floor.

As you probably realized this rig is meant for smaller cameras, but in my case, the iPhone is more than I'll need for this type of filming/documenting. So my DSLR is left for the big picture:-)

A little helper is hanging on the stand, Bluetooth remote camera clicker.

Hope you enjoyed this build and maybe you have parts laying around that fit this build, I'd love to see!

Want to see more projects like this, please follow along over at my Instagram: @smogdog