DIY Steadycam Vest & Arm: Build Your Own Pro Steady Rig for Under $250
by
Dave Harris
[Editor's Note: This article will allow you to make your own steadycam vest and arm, which will work with inexpensive camera steadying devices, The Glidecam 2000 & 4000. The 2000 sells for $299 and the 4000 sells for $399. As such, the combined rig, including this DIY vest and arm and Glidecam would run you a total of between $550 and $650, a fraction of the cost of purchasing an official Pro Steadicam setup that behaves similarly. In a future tutorial, Dave will look at showing you how to create a DIY version of the steadycam itself, so that you can build everything in this rig yourself. If you would prefer to download this great tutorial in .PDF format and print it out, just click here to download. -JTH]
ARM:
7 1/2' of 1" square aluminum tubing, 1/16" wall thickness
2' of 1 1/2" square aluminum tubing, 1/8" wall thickness
10" of 1 1/2" aluminum angle, 1/8" thickness
24” of 1 ½” wide flat bar aluminum, 1/8” thickness
(22) rollerblade bearings
(4) 3/16" X 2" eyelets (machine threads)
Nylon Locknuts for above
(2) small turnbuckles, about 4" in length (3/16” size? Rated for 70#)
(2)-12.3 lb. (1-1/16” x 5-1/2”) springs (Lowes, Mfg. by “Hillman co., Cincinatti, Ohio”- Part# 543013)
