To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The Scooter Workshop

Workspaces sized between 265 and 485 squarefeet.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Camera Gantry

This is a slightly larger update to my shop.

I mentioned earlier in the thread that I had been making YouTube videos. One of the issues for me (and the reason it took so long to actually make my first video) is that there are few things I despise in this world more than tripods. The very last thing I wanted to be doing in my shop was constantly tripping over the tripod legs.

In the context of a workshop, tripods mounted on benches are especially awful, as they jump around when you are pounding on the bench. This makes for pretty terrible video.

So, I built a camera gantry. Because of course I did. And I built it largely out of unistrut. Did you think it would be anything else?

This actually took some doing. I needed sticks of strut channel that were 16 feet in one direction and 11 feet in the other direction. This wasn't something I could pick up at Home Depot, but a local plumbing and fittings yard had 20' sticks in stock from a previous order that never got picked up. I also needed to have parts of the system welded together (so as to be as low profile as possible) and that required removing the galvanization from the ends. And *that* ended up requiring a wooden rig to hold the ends of the strut channel 16 feet in the air while the other end got dipped into a bucket of acid. Fun!

gantry-1.jpg


gantry-2.jpg


I also cobbled together a bunch of pieces -- camera cage, pistol grip tripod head, and assorted fittings -- to make the whole thing aim-able in any direction:

gantry-3.jpg


The business end of the gantry is the arm from an operatory light -- what you would colloquially call a "Dentist Light". I bought it used off of eBay and modified it to hold a camera rig:

gantry-4.jpg


Also hanging off of the base (via a standard camera rig cheese plate) is a Magic Arm, which will articulate and then hold that position when you tighten the central knob. I use it to hold a variety of supplemental lights -- the one shown here is the largest I've used.

gantry-5.jpg



The arm is mounted to a central post suspended to a trolley up near the rafters. This also took some doing -- the operatory light came missing the other half of the interface it is normally mounted to. A machinist friend of mine made an adapter on his lathe that interfaces to the original operatory light pivot and slips inside a steel tube, which is then welded to a flange. That's mounted to a piece of plywood with four standard unistrut trolleys, and slides right-to-left on the 11' section of track:

gantry-6.jpg


That, in turn, rides on more unistrut trolley wheels on a 16' section of track that runs front-to-back at the edges of the soffits:

gantry-7.jpg


gantry-8.jpg



Shooting a video takes an enormous amount of time, and getting everything set up is time consuming. The last thing you want to do is to change the camera battery every half hour and then have to set everything up again. The fact that the gantry moves in X and Y makes hardwiring power extremely difficult, so I have to rely on battery power. Since I already had a bunch of DeWalt batteries on hand, I decided it would be best to harness those via a couple of adapters.

This monster battery powers the light through a DeWalt USB adapter that I've removed the electronics from (it burned out in an unfortunate incident :sad: ) and now just runs straight 18-ish volts from the battery. This is right within the range of the light I'm using, conveniently:

gantry-11.jpg



The second battery is attached to a purpose-built DeWalt adapter made for the photo world, and puts out 14.4V. I run that through a cable placed inside the dental arm down to the business end, where I can plug in a variety of adapters. In this case, I'm running straight into a dummy battery adapter that I kind of hacked together from parts. There's a DC buck converter in there that drops the voltage down to about 8V for the Lumix GX8 camera I'm using at the moment:

gantry-12.jpg



I have also experimented with using other cameras in place of the Lumix, specifically a DJI Osmo Pocket and a DJI Osmo Action. All of the cameras I use have WiFi interfaces of some kind, and I can frame the shots and start / stop recording from an iPad or an iPhone out of frame.

The setup isn't perfect. The long 11' section suffers from predictable geometry issues, and sometimes racks, binding the trolley wheels against the inside of the strut channel. I've mitigated this somewhat by adding some bearings on the trolleys that help keep the trolley off the sides, but it still binds a bit sometimes. Generally, if I am pushing from the middle, it will glide right along.

The whole thing also moves quite a bit. This generally isn't a problem once it settles, as it doesn't really get touched once a shot is set up. But sometimes I have to wait for it to stop swinging after I set up a shot.

Overall, the gantry has been a huge boost to making videos. I can move the camera around quickly and aim it at whatever I'm working on, and allows me to switch angles often to keep things interesting. Nobody wants to watch the same angle for 20 minutes. I can move down low to almost the surface of the bench, or go up high and do an overhead shot.

If I had it to do over again, I would probably make an articulating arm from scratch that ran along a narrower central track. That way I could still move front-to-back within the shop, and side-to-side via the articulating arm.

I've been teaching myself to tig weld, so maybe that project will happen. Someday.

Oh, and here's a video of the gantry in motion.
 

Huxley

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
210
Location
Colorado
Re: Camera Gantry

Who has red tools AND yellow tools. Unheard of!

Some diagonal bracing in the gantry might go a long way to preventing racking.
 
Last edited:
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Re: Camera Gantry

Who has red tools AND yellow tools. Unheard of!

I know, right?!?

I was actually all yellow until a few weeks ago. And just to be clear, all of my DeWalt stuff has served me extremely well. I practically built the whole shop with a DeWalt 12V drill and driver.

There were a couple of tools in the Milwaukee M12 line that I really wanted, though, so I decided to move out my DeWalt 12V tools and switch to Milwaukee for all the smaller 12V stuff. I'm keeping my DeWalt 20V Max stuff for now. Too much invested to switch.

Some diagonal bracing in the gantry might go a long way to preventing racking.

Yeah, it would definitely help. The main problem is that the whole thing can rotate sideways, which binds no matter what. I think I have a long-term plan, though, so I'll probably hold off on any major changes just yet.
 

sakurama

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
1,458
Location
Portland - the cool one.
Wow, just wow.

I have been considering something similar but not the gantry. That’s next level. But I have a Foba combitube kit that I’m planning on using on the ceiling. Look up Foba stuff as an option for arms and such.

Very cool as usual!

Gregor
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
I have been considering something similar but not the gantry. That’s next level. But I have a Foba combitube kit that I’m planning on using on the ceiling. Look up Foba stuff as an option for arms and such.

Love the Foba system, and it was systems like that Foba that I was drawing inspiration from. I just wanted to do something cheaper and custom-fit to the space. Plus, I can't resist an ambitious project.

In retrospect, the movement of my system is definitely limited by the crudeness of the unistrut trolley wheels and the flex inherent in the system, so it's debatable whether I went the right direction. :)

Still, it works.
 
Last edited:
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Mobile Vise

Another little project for the workshop. I've been dissatisfied lately with where my vise is mounted. It's on a rolling tool bench, which is awesome, but grinding or cutting metal in that particular corner of the shop gets messy, and for various reasons the cabinet has to stay there.

What I really wanted was a way to take dirty jobs outside (I say that now, when it's perpetually sunny in California) and work out there. As it happens, a friend of mine gave me this great shop-built stand which used to hold a Beverly shear. The top is excessively small, so that constrained what I could use it for, but it dawned on me that a vise would almost fit.

I had to make a few modifications, though. The three mounting points on this particular vise would not all fit on the top. Given that this will primarily be used for work holding, though -- cutting and grinding, and not pounding, bending, or otherwise reefing -- I figured I could get away with only two heavy-duty 1/2"-13 mounting bolts. The stand will lift off the ground long before the bolts will break, anyway. Five minutes with an angle grinder and a diamond blade (and some finish work with a flap disc) and I was in business.

So here's my multi-function, multi-purpose mobile vise. The rotating jaws give me the ability to hold vertically or horizontally (or anywhere in between) and of course it has built-in pipe jaws. To be clear, the vise itself is a PoS vise -- unworthy of the Vises of Garage Journal thread, for sure. But it's versatile and it was relatively cheap, and I certainly didn't mind cutting it up literally on the day I brought it home.

Voila!

mobilevise-1.jpg


mobilevise-2.jpg


mobilevise-3.jpg


mobilevise-4.jpg


mobilevise-5.jpg


mobilevise-6.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Haha I randomly watched your corner cleanup Vid the other day and just saw this post about your gantry haha nice work. No you've put all that effort in to a gantry lets see some more vid's eh ;)

Working on one now. It’s a slow process, especially when I have to stop work in the middle to order materials and then wait for them to arrive. Some video projects occupy my bench for weeks at a time.

You’ll recognize the project from the corner cleanup video. I am rebuilding the rolling butcher block table that I collapsed at the end.
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Bandsaw Table Shimming

This weekend feels like a complete loss. I worked hard, and accomplished something, just not what I wanted to accomplish.

A ways back I bought a Roll-In metal cutting bandsaw at a public auction. It was pretty well abused, but it cleaned up okay. I've never really gotten it to cut straight, though. I've always been a bit confused by the fact that the blade is out of square in different directions, depending on where on the table you check it for square.

At long last it occurred to me to put a machinist straightedge across the table to see if I could figure out why things were so wonky. Lo and behold, the cast iron table is not nearly flat.

shimming-1.jpg


shimming-2.jpg


There was nearly 40 thou of dip in the center of the table. And the rear edge of the table where the slot starts was completely misaligned.

The likely culprit here is that one of the main frame rails that the table sits on tips inward a bit. These two squares kind of show the incline:

shimming-3.jpg


shimming-4.jpg


Having the table tightened down in a misaligned state for 20-odd years seems to have left the table permanently warped. Even without being bolted to the frame, the table has a dip in the middle.

Time to break out the shim stock.

Two days later (mixed in with other household tasks) and countless bits of shim inserted and removed, I managed to get the dip in the center down under 0.010", and the rear halves at the slot almost lined up:

shimming-5.jpg


I must of tightened and loosened the four bolts holding down the table at least 100 times. I probably could get it even better, but frankly I am completely over it at this point. I just want the damn saw to kind-of-sort-of cut straight.

Here's my final test cut:

shimming-6.jpg


Good enough. Onward!
 
Last edited:

jimmie jam

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
490
Location
fort lauderdale, fl
Well, I just read through this entire thread...sooo it's not a "thread" for me anymore...It's a lifestyle. Excellent throughout indeed! Your attention to detail is exceptional! LOTS of great ideas here for just about everyone. Well done, well done...
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Well, I just read through this entire thread...sooo it's not a "thread" for me anymore...It's a lifestyle.

Some of these build threads do tend to morph into an ongoing journal, and I guess this one is no exception. There's not much in the way of "construction" going on with the shop itself, but the shop still slowly improves.

I don't often post about the things I do in the shop that aren't about the shop, but maybe I should. What was this shop for again? I'm starting to forget. :lol_hitti

Excellent throughout indeed! Your attention to detail is exceptional! LOTS of great ideas here for just about everyone. Well done, well done...

Thanks much! I sometimes wonder if I'm just typing into the void, so I do appreciate hearing that people are still out there reading this thread.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
I admire your work but don't post often. Know that a lot of us are visiting even if we don't post.

Thanks for the note, Bob. I appreciate it.

FWIW, I read many threads in Garage Gallery (it's where I spend most of my time on GJ) and often struggle with what to say on a thread. Often, I say nothing because I have nothing to add, even if I very much enjoy reading the content. So I certainly don't hold it against anyone who is lurking.
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
On another note, I am still somewhat dissatisfied with the squareness of the cuts on my metal-cutting bandsaw. Maybe it's unrealistic of me to expect it to cut square. It's got a blanchard-ground table, though, which sort of hints that the machine was intended with at least some modicum of precision.

Alas, this table is warped. And the slot has been massively opened up in places due to blade drift. I've just gone ahead and ordered a new table from the company (thankfully, they're still in business -- this saw is 20 years old) and some nifty accessories. I am determined to get good, repeatably square cuts out of this thing.
 
Last edited:

Zippercat

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
828
Location
TN
Jess, like a bunch of other before me on GJ, I’ve completed my binge read of your complete thread. Don’t know how I missed this enjoyable read all these years. Many things to learn and enjoy and many great ideas to borrow!

Thanks for posting it. All of it. Please keep it going. (An advantage of a binge like this: the pauses in posting only last a few minutes.)

Your chickens must be pretty old birds by now. Is it too late to acknowledge them here? And how’s the passive HVAC working? Haven’t seen an updated graph for a bit.......
 
Last edited:
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Jess, like a bunch of other before me on GJ, I’ve completed my binge read of your complete thread. Don’t know how I missed this enjoyable read all these years. Many things to learn and enjoy and many great ideas to borrow!

Thanks for the note. I really do appreciate it.

Thanks for posting it. All of it. Please keep it going. (An advantage of a binge like this: the pauses in posting only last a few minutes.)

Hah! Yes. I am actually in a bit of disbelief that this thread is something like 8 years old now. Some of the pauses have actually lasted years at a time. Hard to wrap my head around that.

Your chickens must be pretty old birds by now. Is it too late to acknowledge them here? And how’s the passive HVAC working? Haven’t seen an updated graph for a bit.......

The chickens lived long and productive lives and spent their post-laying days in easy retirement. They were gradually replaced by new chickens, and as far as I know the flock is still going today.

The passive ventilation system is in the midst of a re-do right now. I set out to replace the main fan with a bigger variable-speed model (something like 1000 CFM range), and then I decided I would move the original fan to the other side of the shop. That necessitated pulling new conductors through the conduit down the center of the shop, which got me thinking about the mess of wiring for the on/off switches of the fans, which got me thinking about alternate ways to control the now THREE fans... you see where this is going? I go to replace a fan and I end up re-doing the whole thing. I've got part of the system up and running now with low-voltage DC switches for manual control and new relays for the actual AC switching. I'll do a post when I have something solid to show.
 

Nooner

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
21
Many things to learn and enjoy and many great ideas to borrow!.

Indeed - Jess, you inspired me to finally refurbish and upgrade the Harbor Freight motorcycle lift table that I have had sitting around with stuff piled on top of it for ages. I don't think I took any before/after photos, but I removed the HF wheel vise and replaced it with a much larger and more robust one from J&P (https://www.jpcycles.com/product/305-1236/tuxedo-distributors-llc-wheel-vise for anyone else who would like to do the same)

I also took a wire wheel to the table and ramp (which was nearly equal parts red, bare metal and rust) and then spray-bombed it with rust-oleum. It looks great now, and you genuinely are responsible for getting me off my **** to finally do it!
 

tj675

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 9, 2019
Messages
905
Location
The Mitten
Just finished reading the thread and I’m truly impressed. Thanks for taking the time to document your progress.
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Indeed - Jess, you inspired me to finally refurbish and upgrade the Harbor Freight motorcycle lift table that I have had sitting around with stuff piled on top of it for ages.

w00t! Which reminds me that I haven't seen my lift table for a while. It's under my workbench (which rolls over it) and I haven't had a bike on the lift in too long.
 

old_smokey

Well-known member
Joined
May 16, 2018
Messages
409
Location
Manitoba
Binge-read your whole thread in two days and loving it. I wrote down a few ideas to use in my own shop regarding parts organization and general shop build-out ideas. Please keep this thread going, it's fantastic!
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Binge-read your whole thread in two days and loving it. I wrote down a few ideas to use in my own shop regarding parts organization and general shop build-out ideas. Please keep this thread going, it's fantastic!

Thanks for the comments! Definitely having trouble finding the time to keep this thread updated, but I do appreciate the encouragement.
 

zanyad

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Apr 26, 2018
Messages
2,755
Location
NE Ohio
Wall of text incoming...

First off, I'd like to add my thanks for this thread, enjoyed reading it over the past several days. I, too, am much more of a lurker though I do plan to start my own garage build thread sometime soon.

Some key quotes I particularly appreciated

[T]hat's my approach to many, many projects -- do it once and do it right. Of course, then I curse myself when I screw something up and have to figure out how to correct it, but since I'm not actually a master of any trade (except software) I think I will have to accept that.

Overanalysis paralysis, amirite???

I think it's more like a secret society than a support group. We meet under a bridge and gather around a 55-gallon drum fire. It's every 7th Tuesday unless it falls on the first or the sixth of the month. Then it's the Monday before the first or the Wednesday after the sixth (just to keep it simple).

Bob, love your constructive posts. You write in a clear style, and always have some good wisdom to offer.

Today in my workshop, I set out to organize the last really awful corner of the shop. This has been a mess roughly since I first got the drywall up.


I LOL'd at the video.

FWIW, I read many threads in Garage Gallery (it's where I spend most of my time on GJ) and often struggle with what to say on a thread. Often, I say nothing because I have nothing to add, even if I very much enjoy reading the content. So I certainly don't hold it against anyone who is lurking.

:+1: I'll go back to lurking now. :hellobye:




P.S.
giphy.gif

"The chickens are in the coop".
 

TigerFan

Member
Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
16
Location
Athens, Georgia
I’ve also just found and gone through your thread recently, and really appreciate the efforts you took to document what you learned for others. I think the community education aspect of GJ is key, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to members who teach us all so much (I can name many).

Could you post a panoramic shot of whole shop for us? I’d love to see where it is now if you’re willing.

Thanks again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OP
M

Modern Jess

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
1,362
Location
Bay Area, California
Some of you have probably seen this on the front page of GarageJournal already, but I finally finished the monster drill press bench I've been working on for months. I've posted a full build thread in Fabrication and Techniques:

FrankenTable Drill Press Bench

You can see a video of the whole build process here:

Some pictures of the finished bench:

FrankenTable-1.jpeg


FrankenTable-2.jpeg


FrankenTable-3.jpeg


FrankenTable-4.jpeg


FrankenTable-5.jpeg
 

E12-535iTurbo

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Messages
492
Location
The Netherlands
"So now you can drill holes very well.... Why is that important?"

That's the usual reaction and also direct evidence you don't relate to that person. :)

Well done, love the setup!
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom