View Full Version : New Homebuilt Crane!


Brandon Whiteside
May 13th, 2006, 10:34 PM
So today, I built myself this ass-kicking crane. It is almost done; there is some touchup work to be done such as cleaning up welds, adding a monitor holder and power center plus some more. I spent about $113 in metal:
10' of 2"x1" rectangular tubing (stood on tall end for main arm)
10' of .5"x.5" box tubing (9 foot piece as "tilter," 1' piece for tilt lever)
5"x6' flatstock (used for camera holder and arm holder)
2 6" flatstock discs
1.5"x5' tubing
The crane is held up with a speaker stand, and the aluminum tube for adjusting speaker height is replaced with the thickwall 5' tube. A flatstock disc with a permaenant 1/2 inch bolt is welded to the pipe. The "Arm holder" is wellded to an identical flatscock disc, with a 1/2 inch hole in the center. The whole crane is attached to that, which drops directly on to the welded bolt of the 1.5" tubing.

The tilt mechanisim is auto-leveling AND manual. Auto-leveling is accomplished by putting a bolt through the "tilter" while the camera sled is level. Manual tilt is accomplished by removing that bolt.

I also don't have weights yet, and those will be added on Wednesday.

Like I said before, there is a little more work to be done before it gets powdercoated, and I will get more detailed pictures on Wednesday, because it is at my cousins machine shop.

But here's one pic.

http://www.c-41productions.com/crane.jpg

If anybody wants to know exact specs on anything, feel free to ask away!

Yeah that's me in the pic :)

Chris Barcellos
May 14th, 2006, 12:07 AM
IF that steel, thats got to be one heavy boom. How much counter weight is needed ?

Brandon Whiteside
May 14th, 2006, 05:25 PM
About 35lbs

Joseph McWilliams
May 19th, 2006, 02:17 PM
it looks like you made your own tripod. i would love details on that. the tripod is what would kill me if i had to buy one. your jib is much like what i want to make. you can get some serious height on that thing. bravo!

Matt DeJonge
May 19th, 2006, 02:54 PM
Interested in making me one too, Brandon? ;)

I'm looking into cheap jibs (without tripod)... Alas, I'm no welder...

Michael Elsegood
June 24th, 2006, 08:22 AM
awesome, any chance of some more pictures? Its exactly how i hope to make mine, Is it aluminium or steel? I think I'm gonna go with aluminium.

Cheers

Spike Spiegel
June 24th, 2006, 11:33 AM
Could I get some more specs about that crane? As in, max height, mounting mechanism, max weight it can support, etc. Are you willing to sell a fully built version? I am looking for something that can do 20-30 ft and will easily pay 1000-2000 USD for a crane that can hit 25-30ft.