Build a tripod?

[lkWinnipesaukee]

Hey guys,

I was thinking of building a tripod just for kicks. I was thinking of taking three 5' metal poles and a plate of some sort and finding a way to connect them all together so the legs can extend in and out on a hinge (not telescope). Then i can just mount a ready-made head on it.

I don't care if it is heavy, just that is ultra stable. I'm into sailing, so I was thinking of using mast sections or ~6' booms (or another spar) as legs.

It would just be a fun summer project, something for a somewhat immature teenager to be able to say that he built a tripod out of sailboat parts. :greenpbl:

Has anyone seen something like this done before? Would anyone have an idea about how to go about doing this? My main concern would be attaching the legs to the plate at the top.

Any erm... advice... would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[jstuedle]

I say go for it. Do you have access to a machine shop? Any competent machinist can help you on the mounting plate. Even something simple like a flat plate with a pair of welded angles for each leg to bolt to would work well. You will need to tie the legs together about half way down there length to stabilize the pod, but you can engineer that as you go. Good luck, and post pics of the finished product.

 

[deanimator]

How about this ...?

fits on a bottle...pretty nifty huh?

 

[mysteryscribe]

I had thought of hinges to mount the legs to a triangular piece of wood like a bit of 2x8 cut into an equalateral triangle. One hinge on each leg of the tripod and then a piece of wood for each leg not telescoping at all.

The same principle as the bottle cap to hook the the camera to a second piece of trangular wood the same size as the base plate. then henge the two pieces together so they could tilt the camera with a simple wedge to adjust the amount of tilt.

Of course there would be no way to level it except to change the angel of the legs a bit.

Oh a chain between the legs to limit the amount of spread.

Was planning it for some of the antique cameras I have been messin with but moved on to something else instead.