TinkerTrac Video Camera Slider Is Completed

As promised here is my completed video camera slider project that I have been working on.  My version of this piece of video equipment I call the TinkerTrac.  It was designed and built around existing materials I had laying around the shop from  previous projects that I had worked on  or no longer needed. 

As you can see from the photo above once again I have been successful at turning out a nice piece of equipment for my video productions. The TinkerTrac is made up of extruded " L" shaped aluminum, standard skateboard wheels, skateboard bearings, and various bolts, nuts, and 3D printed parts.  The final tally for all of the materials for this camera slider come to a grand total of $44.53.  This is better than half the cost of other cheap camera sliders I have found for sale online. You could make this assembly cheaper I am sure but probably not as smooth running as this one nor as professionally looking.  With the materials I already had laying around in my workshop my total cost only came to a little over $15 to make what you see here. So it was worth the effort once again to put this project together.  

The TinkerTrac slider went together very easily and is so strong that I am able to stand on it without breaking it.  Not that I want or need to stand on it but the fact that I can shows me that it's a good strong design that should hold up for years of use without any problems. The camera slider weighs in at just a  shade over four pounds and being only 34 inches long is easy enough carry or put into my car when the need calls for it. 

  During the process of building the TinkerTrac I wanted a decal to  put the finishing touch on my latest creation. I do not own a vinyl cutter to create a decal.  Not that I do not think about getting one as it would have come in handy for this small task.  I was fortunate enough to have some carbon fiber looking sticky backed vinyl left over from a previous project for this part of this project. I figured out how to lay out the lettering and cut and apply the new decals to the camera slider with very little effort. (I still want a vinyl cutter though as a more complex decal would take a lot more time to create I am sure.)  I'll put out another post about this process at a later time to show you how easy it is to create your own simple decals for your next project. 

Here are a couple photos of the camera dolly for the slider.  The wheels are standard skateboard wheels and bearings.  On the lower portion of the dolly are four additional skateboard bearings that keep the dolly on the aluminum rails and also keep the dolly rolling smoothly as it is being used.  The setup is very similar to what is designed for a monorail train. 

  To show you exactly what the TinkerTrac video camera slider does I have put together this little video demonstration of it in use. I hope you will enjoy the tongue in cheek video of my Mini Cooper commercial that is shown below.  Enjoy and Mini Cooper..... I hope you have a sense of humor.