While working on the new design for my powered camera slider I thought it best that I also include the option of being able to mount it to a tripod. As with the camera slider portion of the project I wanted to keep the cost down so I again have my 3D printer in mind for some of the more intricate parts that need to be created in this build. This is what I came up with.
I am very happy with the design of the slider itself so I wanted to make a tripod mount that I could be equally happy with in it's design, cost, and ease of construction. The camera slider is mounted to the tripod mount through the "A" shaped legs at both ends of the slider.
In the image above this entire assembly seems rather larger but in actuality this is deceiving. The upper rail that the camera platform rolls on and the two bottom tubes the make up the tripod mount are only around three inches apart. Overall length of the complete assembly has not changed as I wanted to keep this as small a package as possible and still have a sizeable slider when the project is completed.
Here is what the tripod mount by itself looks like. The aluminum tubing is 3/4 inch in diameter and a little over 32 inches in length. If this turns out to be to long when being used on a tripod the tubes and the main camera platform rail can be cut to shorter lengths to get it dialed in further if need be. For now I think this will work as planned.
Here is an underside view to show you how the camera slider tripod mount will be attached to a tripod. The center 3D printed tube bracket is slide on to both lower 3/4 inch tubes. These are bolted into place to secure the tube in the correct positions. On the bottom of this mount is a tapered rectangular block that fits into a quick release receiving cavity on the tripod. This makes for a very easy and solid mount to use when setting up or taking down the assembly after filming has been completed.
Here's a closer look at the center mount for the camera slider tripod mount. On both sections of the mount are two bolts that compress the upper portion of the mount to grip the 3/4 inch tubing that slides through the mount. I did not want to drill holes through the tubing to mount this piece as I thought it would be stronger if I left the tubing intact.
Here's a good view of the setup on one end of the camera slider and tripod mount. The "A" shaped leg is bolted to the black mount for the tubing at the bottom of the image. The bolts are slid up from the bottom of the tripod mount between the tubing and into the "A" leg and receiving nuts are located at the base of each lower portion of the leg. The rectangular shaped portions of the leg are cavities in the leg where the nuts are located. This was a simple and effective way to do the setup.
The bolts for the tripod mount can easily be removed so the camera slider can sit on top of a table or on any hard surface when a tripod is not needed for filming. At this point I do not have an estimate on the weight of the camera slider and tripod mount but just guessing I would suspect that it would be less than five pounds. Maybe even a lot less. Something I will have to keep in mind to tell you about when I have this project completed. Cost for the tripod mount will be under $15 so that is also a good thing for the project. Have a good day in your shop and I'll post more about this project when I get more parts made or in the mail to get it all together.
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