[Shawn] wrote in to tell us about his extremely simple method he used for mounting a webcam on a tripod. His article explains it better, but the basic premise is to glue a 1/4 – 20 nut onto the bottom of it. The hack-worthiness of this could be in question, but the technique could come in handy at some point.
After seeing this tip, I was reminded of a slightly crazier, if effective mount that I made for my state of the art Env2 phone. Referenced in a links post in March, it was made of a 2×4 with a 1/2 inch slot milled in it. After some thought, it was drilled and tapped for a 1/4 – 20 bolt in the other side to mount it on a tripod. So this could be an option in very limited circumstances.
On the other hand, if you want something a bit more hack-worthy, why not check out this motorized camera rig that we featured in July. Sure, it’s more complicated than gluing a nut onto a webcam, but at least it still uses 2 x 4s in it’s mounting hardware!
I have to say, if gluing a nut to a webcam isn’t a hack in the truest sense of the word, then what is? I like seeing the simple stuff like this – maybe in the new site layout there’ll be a place for “quick hacks”?
Totally agree!
Lets call it:
“This might come in handy some day”
Too long?
Isnt a small usefull hack called a kludge?
No duct tape or hose clamps?
You forgot to include baling wire along with duct tape, hose clamps.Cyanoacrylate adhesive has been an item in a hackers let’s kludge something together tool kit for quite awhile now. along with acetone finger nail polish remover in the first aid kit. I find that RTV gasket maker or calk works well as a low strength adhesive for something I want to take apart later. #9 galvanized wire come in handy often enough to keep some in the shop.
I’m reminded of what was a monthly feature in one of the original hacker magazines. You know; Popular mechanic, popular science, home mechanix etc.. A comic book like illustration. That always began with dad looking at a problem, with the proverbial light bulb lighting up. The build details ended up with wife or son using the hack with he is a hero expression on their face.
That was The Wordless Workshop by Roy Doty. It still runs in Make magazine, but now the wife or son comes up with the hack sometimes.
Even better – use one of these and a piece of plywood: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/T-Nut-1XGH6?gclid=CJvNyNqK_LICFQme4AodyQ0A5A&cm_mmc=PPC:GooglePLA-_-Fasteners-_-Nuts-_-1XGH6&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=1XGH6&ef_id=UHheMgAAGpL3ygX6:20121012181514:s
i can’t even imagine how to use that… to me both ‘attachments’ are on the same side.
Those work great for wood, as a countersunk nut on the backside. There are also threaded inserts that have wood screw coarse thread on the outside, machine threads on the inside. One last piece off hardware I’ve found recently is a “well-nut”. It is a piece of rubber with a machine threaded insert that tightens up like an anchor as tension is applied.
I call that a hack and I like. Simple and effective.
I have a 1/4-20 socket to M6 stud adapter that I bought ready-made. I prefer metric, but I know that all tripods have 1/4-20 studs. With this adapter I can attach M6 threaded things to the tripod. I also epoxied an M6 bolt inside the tripod handle, which gives me another attachment point. I use it for amateur radio antennas, which I try to make with M6 threaded parts.
one of my favorite tripod accessories is a hose clamp with a 1/4-20 nut epoxied to the housing for the screw. handy for temporally mounting flashlights, laser pointer, cantennas, or anything else that fits in the hose clamp.
Another easy thing you can do: screw a 1/4-20 eye bolt into the tripod socket on your camera, and tie a 5-6′ piece of nylon paracord to it. If you step on the cord and pull it taut, the tension helps you hold the camera steady.