I’ve purchased a Manfrotto Modosteady 585. It is a knock-off of the Steadicam Merlin. It is meant for very small cameras. In order to balance the camera on top of the device, there is a knob to shift the camera from side to side.
My problem is that the balance knob cannot shift the camera far enough. In order to balance it, I need the 1/4" mounting screw one inch further to the side.
I’m imagining a piece of metal with a threaded hole on one end and a screw and knob on the other.
Photo Dopers? What is the name of the thing I am looking for?
The screw is a normal 1/4" coarse threaded bolt. My problem is, if I took bar stock, I could easily drill the hole to mount the camera on one end, but tapping a thread into the other is a bit trickier. I don’t own any taps, and it is a pricey tool for a single use.
My suggestion would be to call a small (mom and pop type) mechanic or welder. They’ll probably have the know how and tools to do a small machining job for you.
Any modestly equipped machine shop could make you one in less than an hour. That might be pretty expensive work though, because of shop time, tool set up…
Perhaps you can find a hobbyist to craft one for you, or you could perhaps cast one from plastic using a kit from a craft store.
If I were doing it I would use plasticine/playdough(1 dollar a can at wallmart). Use PAM or spray canola as a mold release(walmart or commercial release stuff at the craft store). But dont bother with the commercial stuff .
Make a little rectangular mold form in playdough, 1/4 inch deep or so, and place one bolt upwards in the mold(get 2 bolts from home depot). Place the other downwards sinking it into the dough, leaving the head above the 1/4 mold line.
Mix up the cast-able plastic and pour it in, letting it level at the 1/4 brim. Let it set.
When the instructions say its firm, you can peel and wash away the plasticine.
Now that I think of it, the hobby/craft stores have a type of moldable plasticine that you can bake in the oven. Thats even easier. Any of these techiques mitigate needing to thread anything, and you dont end up with a sharp mess.
Since you are in the Chicago area, I am sure one of the people around the dope can recommend some resources if you dont want to do it yourself.
take bar stock to the length needed. drill a hole for a bolt to fit into the device. an inch away and (if more needed) at 1/2 inch increments drill holes to mount camera. you can use standard 1/4 inch short bolts, washers and lock washers. no threading needed, only fabrication is cutting to length, drilling and filing the sharp edges of the bar extension.
Except that he has to mount the plate onto the existing 1/4" stud, and can’t use a nut to secure the plate there because the camera body will cover it. Unless I’m not understanding the request.
Exactly. I’d have to tap the threads into the bar stock. I could buy a tap and a tap handle, but I really dislike buying tools that I’ll only use once.
You might be able to find a tripod quick-release mounting plate that has a tapped hole and screw offset by the appropriate amount. Quick-release mounting plates usually have a captive 1/4"-20 screw; sometimes they also have a tapped hole so that you can leave the plate on your camera and mount the plate to another tripod if you need to. (Mine does; it’s from a discontinued Bogen style, though.) If you’re lucky you might be able to find one where the two holes are offset by the appropriate amount; if not you might still be able to drill a new hole for the captive screw. I suggest trying a local camera store with a good selection of tripods; I haven’t had any luck finding images online at a good enough resolution to tell which have tapped holes.
You might also be able to find something at an optics supply place like Edmund Scientific (1/4"-20 is a standard mounting size for optical equipment), though I didn’t see exactly what you wanted in the Edmund optics catalog here.
I wound up going to the local hardware store and got them to cut a piece of Plexiglass, and I drilled and countersunk holes. The piece is working great.