Machine Shop Steadicam Merlin Clone

[LegHistEnt]

A beautiful, elegant piece of engineering, and clearly fantastic craftsmanship. Could you supply a set of engineering drawings??

[freerobotsex]

@LegHistEnt Thank you, I never made physical drawings of it, I just have it in Mastercam. Hopefully sometime this year I will start modifying the parts of it that need improving.

[GoPlayer1248]

awsome

[BalvanzEnterprises]

Beautiful piece of work. Very detailed, and looks to be some tight machining tolerances.

[freerobotsex]

thank you.

[Admiralos686]

gr8 job

[Fredonia2k]

It's obviously a great piece, but this isn't a DIY. 

[freerobotsex]

thank you. I removed the diy from the title.

[islandsavage]

Damn bro! If I had your skills and craftsmanship...I'd be a millionaire! And be a superhero like batman! Real talk!

[saivasekar]

Email me price if u selling. Tks.

[saivasekar]

Good job

[tikikongjrjr]

Dude what do u do for living that thing is so engineard its crazy hot :) !!!

[freerobotsex]

@tikikongjrjr CNC Programmer/Machinist

[jasemali1987]

how do you control the direction of the CAM? it seem to point only to a fixed direction.

[freerobotsex]

@jasemali1987 At the base of the camera mount there is a place to control panning 360 degrees. It takes a very light touch to alter the direction of the camera. Can be controlled with practise.

[ShelterRevolution]

Sure, wave this in front of me and then say not for sale. :-( Why not make 'em and sell 'em? I'd rather send you the $800 (+ postage) than give it to some smartass guy who insults me on his video. Let me know, k? 

[freerobotsex]

@ShelterRevolution I'd have to mass produce them to get the cost down to $800 plus I'm pretty sure, since I ripped off their design, Steadicam would have a problem with that. Thanks for watching

[ShelterRevolution]

@freerobotsex --- well thanks anyway. But I thought that was the American Way? "What's mine is mine - what's yours is mine." Just put a Korean name on it and the American government will pay you to make 'em! Good for the global community and all that... ☺

[Epkencijus]

Hello Dear freerobotsex,

I want to send you a message, but Youtube did not let me do that, because the firs You must approve me as a You friend in Youtube. Please do You can approve me in You friends?

Sorry for my English.

Thank You very much!

Best Regards,

Evaldas from Lithuania.

[freerobotsex]

@Epkencijus Approved

[defnyung]

Beautiful design! I've searched but don't see how much it cost you to build it. HOw much?

[BlueberryButts]

Would you build one for commission?

Im out for s steadycam and I dont have the budget for professional quality parts

[kenyee88]

Wow...nicely done. Should I even ask how much time it took and how much it cost you? :-O

[freerobotsex]

@kenyee88 about 40 hours all together after work and $40 in hardware.

[JBLAZE999]

excellent engineering.

[rgs11]

That's just freaking incredible. I would buy the plans if you had them; would buy one for that matter if it were feasible for you to build one.

I would kill for a mill.

[germang2]

Awesome design!

Could you share the specs for your mounting plate?

[maravillo]

Nice, thanks for sharing. The music was horrible :(

[freerobotsex]

Thanks. As far as the music goes it could be worse.....like if I used acoustic guitar music.

[UnderlinedDesigns]

@freerobotsex hey......... i like acoustic guitar!!!!

[wfgigglemonkey]

@freerobotsex TUT PLEASE?!?!?!?!?!?!

[alanstarkie2001]

If I only had a milling machine... but I don't, so I bought a Hague MMC that looks like it was thrown together using scrap metal!

[coolmanak]

What did you use for counterweights? They look almost like the Tiffen ones.

[freerobotsex]

Machined from 303 bar stock.

[guachito2rico]

@freerobotsex Do you think this design could support the Canon 5D MarkII camera? If so, I have access to a machine shop, can you send me your Mastercam files?

[guachito2rico]

@freerobotsex Can I get the Mastercam files I need one ASAP for a project and would love to use this design.

[mclmatty]

nice camera :D

[DIYfilmaker]

nice design.. i think it's a well balanced unit..

[supermanrocs]

damn that thing is steady.

[chinatest1]

Hi! I like your design very much. Can you please sell one to me? I have a sony HVR Z1 U and I want to use it for wedding videography.

Thanks

Palden

[jacksoni349]

how much is it? haha

[DonGregorioYJack]

I see you have attached a wide angle camera, can you tell me the model?

[freerobotsex]

Sony HDR-SR12 Its not a wide angle camera, but a HD camera with a lense hood attached.

[DonGregorioYJack]

@freerobotsex

Ok, and I can say is this lens, I am interested because I also I have a Sony HDR-XR520VE, and I want to buy it.

Thank you.

[danadriel]

Hi.Im from malaysia.Can u make one for me & i'll pay you?

[freerobotsex]

Sony HDR-SR12

[1981DMC]

0:22 beautiful craftmanship.

[Ainars2010]

What is it about the Sony camera?

[freerobotsex]

What it is indeed.

[TheWarRoomInc]

Great job! Yours look perhaps better than the original. If you decide to go into business, I'd take a chance and buy one from you. The craftsmanship and parts look great. If you decide not to make and sell, how bout a list of parts and instructions.

[freizeitlichTV]

song?

[EditSwag]

hey can you make me one il pay you

[Rotaks]

The only thing I need stabilizer for is when I walk, run, or ride a bike...and want to prevent jumping up and down.

Does this stabilizer provide this ? I think not because you can move camera with your hand up and down - so it wan't prevent when you hole body (with hand) will go up and down when you walking.

Am I wrong ?

So, what for are these all home-made stabilizers ?

[DetroitRockCityMusic]

all right I'm nit the first but what did it cost to make?

[freerobotsex]

about $40 and roughly 40 hours of my time.

[thepiecesfit]

Any plans on selling these things ?:) Great work

[mbrenne72]

Wow, very impressive. Any plans on posting a parts list and "how-to" video?

[quynam9]

it looks so nice. i want to make it. Can you tell me what part of steadicam and where i can buy it, thanks

[Sytrusze]

wow ahahhaha that is amazing... seems so smooth like it doesn't weigh anything! great

[T3yue]

how much would you sell this utility for????

[arpozzo]

Great job..your steadycam is awesome.

can you post the measures of the arms ?

[GeorgeGraves]

from a guy that has 100 hours or so on a old steadycam JR - this thing looks awesome. Good work! Where can I find more info on your build or how to build one just like it?

[AZNFlipy12]

i want one

[reticulan5]

Put me down for one.I'm definitely interested if you can make one for me

[ryanscottwright]

I'm sure you have been asked this question, but any chance of offering your device for sale?

[section1productions]

whats that in the front of the camcorder ? i have the same camcorder and id love to have it on it :) and i mean that thiing looks like a cover ? thanks and great video!

[freerobotsex]

It's a Mennon DV-s 37 Screw Mount 37mm Digital Video Camcorder Lens Hood with Cap found on Amazon

[Alexjohnson85]

yay best Ive seen so far. from a certified Steadicam operator...good job friend!

[freerobotsex]

thank you.

[daytonasand]

Very nice! I have access to SolidWorks, AutoCAD, and Rhino3D, so I should be able to open your MasterCAM files if you ever publish them. I really like your design, very clean looking. The linear bearings on the head are sweet! Great job!!

[HyperColours]

I've been looking at DIY steadycams on Youtube for hours and this is the best steadycam by far!

Its like filming on rails! well done.

[JO3JITSU]

Let me know if you have plans on putting up the materials on your site or anything like that. Thanks

[DjMaCiD]

THX!!!!

[DjMaCiD]

oooh pleace do you know the name of the song??????? pleace!!!

[freerobotsex]

"Out of the blue" by System F

[plavskojezero]

Very good work. Perfectly!

Can you please give us the CAD? I would like to gladly also build it. I would be pleased much. Thank you

[OnceAPunAThyme]

Is it black, yet!

[wes001tech]

OMG. Truely the best DIY Steadicam System on the Web..Are you taking any order soon. Any drawings plan available. Thanks so much for the posting...Very Nice !!!

[freerobotsex]

Thank you. The only plans I have are the Mastercam files that I created. Those most likely won't help anyone. Cheers!

[istTS]

Really great work. How did you fix the (threaded) rods in the boreholes? With grub screws? Did you modify the endings of the rods?

[freerobotsex]

I milled flats on the ends of the rods and they are held in place with 4-40 set screws. I did this so I could break everything apart for anodize.

[pipoquercia]

You made this steadycam??? Amazing job!!

[JStylezTS]

O..o holy crap it looks almost exactly like the actual thing o.O

this is the best merlin I have ever seen!

gratz!

[jeffbrent]

where did you get the balance weights from.

[freerobotsex]

I made them out of 303 Stainless steel bar stock on a CNC vertical mill. Although one could easily turn them on a lathe as well.

[latheworks]

Do keep us updated! I was about to start on one of these but will hold off until you tell us more. Where did you get the design from???

[freerobotsex]

I will post a more detailed video this weekend. I designed it based on online pictures of the Steadicam Merlin. I re-designed some of the parts so they are easier and faster to make.

[definitionxmk]

Nice! i'll buy one off you =)

[freerobotsex]

Thanks...but I only have one :)

[fugeeboy]

nice job

[sexyenrique]

Wow incredible. Are you an engineer or did you have use of a machine shop?

Can't wait to see more vids from you about this steadicam. A++++

[freerobotsex]

I am a programmer/machinist. I reverse engineered the merlin from photographs but had to simplify things in order to make them in a timely fashion.

Thanks for your remarks.

[WSCLATER]

What a nice piece of work!

Please tell me, where did you get the universal joint? These are hard to find, at least here in the UK. The Traxxas joint I use is good - fairly strong and low in friction - but I would like something stronger and more precise.

Are you tempted by other colours - like blue?

I look forward to seeing more.

[freerobotsex]

Thank you. I bought the universal joints off of Ebay. OFNA OFN15000 Universal joint for Ultra GT. Around $25 dollars for two. I will post more of my stabilizer in detail very soon.

[ccbravo78]

Hola, muy limpio el prototipo, casi diría que es una merlin original, nada mas que le falta el color negro, :)

[freerobotsex]

Thank you. I will anodize it black after I prove the design and function out.

I will post more of it up soon.