20120211

Cameraphone Tripod GET!

This is a mini tripod with a cameraphone adapter to maximize the quality of your cell phone videos and snapshots, and make it easier to capture anything you like in pics or video, even if you didn't bring your bigger better camera. 

 This one will reside here in the 23b Shop, enriching the lives of all who it touches, like a magical sunshine blessing of rainbow sparkle flowers and tickly pony feathers from angel unicorns.

The mini tripod came from our Purgatory Bin.  You can use any tripod with a standard 1/4-20 thread, or make your own genius type construction with a 1/4-20 bolt to hold a camera or phone in place anywhere.

The cameraphone adaptor is made from a scrap of Lexan polycarbonate sheet. (This specific scrap was from a racecar windshield which was cut out in the shop this one time.) The scrap was band saw cut, and the edges and corners were sanded smooth. A heat gun was used at 450C to bend the scrap into a U over a metal bar. 

A spot was then heated in the center of the bend and a 1/4-20 nut (to engage the tripod bolt) was pushed into the Lexan. I attached the nut to a 2" bolt to push against the table edge. The nut was glued in place and aligned by moving the bolt head. A bit of soft wax like chapstick rubbed into the bolt threads prevented the glue from sticking to them. The bolt was then removed and a hole was made through the plastic for the tripod bolt.
Any minor discrepancy between the nut's actual finished angle and the desired angle is compensated by the tripod head.  This eliminates the costly and annoying rework phase of breaking the incorrect glue and regluing, should the nut be slightly misaligned.

The square hole was beveled with a high speed rotary carbide tip and filed smooth to fit the keys on the Android phone.
The neoprene pad glued in place keeps the phone snug in any orientation.


 
 
Shoots video or pictures from directly over your project

Captures drawings accurately and easily, with the phone completely flat to the table
Captures a class, event, or session on video

Make a electric postcard for your Mom!