$30 DIY C-Stand

Will Vincent

Will Vincent

Ok, it actually cost me $39, but $5 of that was for the bit and hole-tap, and $30 sounds better than $34.

I started with the basic idea as laid out here (Giving credit where due), but wanted to make a few changes. My changes have alleviated at least one if not two of the three cons listed there.


So, why DIY a c-stand you ask? Well, a few reasons. Firstly, they are incredibly useful on set. Secondly, commercially available stands cost at least twice what it costs to build one, if not 3 or 4 times as much. The cheapest I've seen them on ebay is roughly $65, before shipping. So for that amount you can certainly build two, but if you look at the more spendy ones, they are around $120ish (or MORE), so that means with shipping costs included we should be able to build 4 for the price of one.

What does it lack over a commercial c-stand? As opposed to the original version I loosely modeled my design after, it does have "folding" legs, so the only missing piece is the grip head that allows for attaching a boom arm. These aren't terribly expensive though, so you could pick one up if you need it. Still working out a diy solution there, but I'm thinking it might come from drum kit parts (something along the lines of this).
However, you probably wouldn't want to cantilever a very big light on a boom arm with this stand, I don't know how safe it would be (haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure). But a simple arm to hold a flag or bounce shouldn't be a problem. Either way though, using sand bags to weight the legs down would be a wise choice. (I plan to do a Sandbag DIY solution tutorial soon)

My DIY c-stand is a two section telescoping stand with three "folding" legs weighing in at about 15lbs (heavy duty baby!). It will safely extend from 5 1/2 feet to a height of roughly 9 1/2 feet. (A full 2 1/2 feet taller than the original design). These heights could be modified simply by changing the lengths of the two telescoping pieces.

Parts List
  • 1 - 5/16" x 1 1/2" - 18 thread Thumb Screw
  • 1 - 3/4" x 48" Nipple Pipe
  • 1 - 1/2" x 48" EMT Conduit (this comes in 10 foot lengths, you can cut it with a pipe cutter or hack saw, it's very inexpensive stuff)
  • 1 - 1/2" EMT Conduit Set Screw Adapter (I could only find these in packs of three, but it was under $2 for three)
  • 1 - 1/4" x 3" Nipple Pipe
  • 1 - 1/2" x 6" Nipple Pipe
  • 3 - 3/4" x 12" Nipple Pipe
  • 1 - 3/4" x 10" Nipple Pipe
  • 1 - 3/4" x 6" Nipple Pipe
  • 1 - 3/4" x 2" Nipple Pipe (This might be a 2.5", it said 2.5" on the shelf, but the receipt said 2" -- It should be the next size up from the "close" size, and less that 3")
  • 1 - 1/2" x 3/4" 90 degree Elbow
  • 2 - 1/2" x 3/4" Bell Coupling
  • 1 - 1/2" x 1/4" Bell Coupling
  • 2 - 3/4" 45 degree Elbow
  • 3 - 3/4" 45 degree Street Elbow
  • 3 - 3/4" Cap
  • 2 - 3/4" Tee
You will also need a 5/16 drill bit, and 18NC hole tap. I found these as a kit. Additional tools you may or may not need:
  • Power Drill (or Drill Press)
  • Hack saw (or Pipe Cutter)
  • Pipe Wrench
  • Pliers (or tap wrench)
If you find that your pieces are not staying tightly together, you can use a thread locking compound (like loctite) or drill through the joints, tap the hole and use a screw. I didn't have any problems with joints not being tight though. But it is very important that they do hold tight, if one of the legs should twist it will likely cause your stand to come tumbling down, with whatever lights, etc are mounted on it.

Here's a look at the finished DIY c-stand:

(Click for full size)

It may look like it's leaning in the first image, but that is due to angle the photo was taken from. You may also notice it looks like the foot on the top leg is lower than the other two. There is a little play in the legs however, so they even out and it stands mighty straight (I didn't check it for plumb, but eyeballing it it looks pretty darn spot on).

The only thing I have left to do is spray on a coat of paint, but for a quick trip to the home center and about 20 minutes of assembly I have a very functional c-stand. I definitely plan to make many more of these!

If you're wondering, I bought my materials at Menards, but you can easily find all the pieces at Lowes, Home Depot, or most any other Home/building supply store, and they may actually be a bit cheaper there too

The build is pretty straight forward. Unfortunately my firewire port died on my video camera, and I've not yet gotten my HD camera, so I don't have a video to share. Instead I have a series of photos, which will follow in a few additional posts in this thread that clearly mark where each piece is attached.
 
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This is the bit and tap I used to make the hole for the thumb screw:


This is what the package of EMT Set Screw Adapters looked like:


Lets start from the bottom and work our way up...

When assembled the legs will look like this:

 
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The top and middle legs float freely on the 1/2" x 6" bottom piece, how tightly you crank down the bottom leg will determine how easily they rotate, I recommend leaving a little play so they are not terribly difficult to rotate. This will make set up and tear down a bit easier.


Once assembled it will resemble this:


And we can continue up to the telescoping joint...

This is the most difficult part of the build, because you have to drill and tap a hole for the thumb screw that keeps the upper segment in place. Not that it's really all that difficult, but compared to twisting pieces of pipe together the difficulty level is a little higher. Note: I had no problem with my EMT conduit sliding nicely through the 3/4" x 1/2" Bell Coupling. If you do, you should file down some of the threads inside the couping on the same side as the thumb screw, this will leave the threads on the opposite wall so that it gets a good "bite" when you tighten it down.

 
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Finally, before we can slide the conduit into place, we must attach the top assembly.



Another look at the telescoping joint:


There you have it. Aprox. $30, a quick assembly, and you're ready to go!

I tried to use all "Black Pipe" as it's a bit cheaper than the galvanized, but could not find all the attachments in that kind of material. So it is part black pipe, and part galvanized. I do plan to paint it though, which will make it nicely uniform looking.

Have fun, and good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.
 
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Awesome Will. Totally Awesome.

This is about half the price or less than I can get even the cheapie century stands from amvona or a related seller. I'm tempted very much to make one. And since I'm outfitting a grip truck, if it works I might make me 5 to get me through until I can get some real ones.

Got any DIY flag tutorials?
 
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Funny you should ask...

I actually went to the home improvement.. er... DIY store (:lol:) intending to figure out a solution to DIY some flags. Then decided to just get parts to build the c-stand, because I haven't worked out the details of the flags yet.

But, I'm working on a wire-frame rigid flag, with the little pole for attaching to a griphead, and a velco flap to extend the overall size of the flag to 2 or 3 times its size (these extended bits would not be rigid, so you would have to use another clamp, but it's the way the flags I've used in the past have been.

Not sure yet on cost, but if I had to guess I would say probably in the neighborhood of $15-20 for a 36x18 that will extend to 36x52...

EDIT: Some quick checks online for pricing has it looking like it's about $15, before the inner frame and flame retardant treating chemicals. So, I'm now estimating final cost to be in the neighborhood of $30. This is prorating the cost of a few pieces between the total number of flags they will make (example, a $12 roll of velcro should be enough to make 5 flags, so cost per flag is $2.40)

Not too bad, since the cheapest I saw on the B&H website was the $27.50 18x24 Matthews road rag, but that's without the frame (the frame is $69.50) and it's tiny in comparison.

EDIT2: I've built a flag, see here. Final build cost before treating with a fire retardant spray: $36. Build time: ~2 hours (depends on sewing ability)
 
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I've been shopping some Century stands for about the last two or three months. I am still trying to round out my lighting and grip kit and was trying to figure out a way around the cost equation. I've overblown my personal budget big time between the camera and everything to go with it so I have to get back to basics. I am very much a do it yourselfer so thank you very much for this. I will build a couple.
 
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Oh for cool!

I just picked up a copy of "DV Rebel's Guide", and as such thought I'd join the forum the author set up to support the community of people who buy his book. Well I posted this and my DIY flag tutorial there and it ended up on his blog.

There's my latest "brush with fame".. If you're not aware, the author Stu Maschwitz is one of the three founding members of The Orphanage, the highly respected visual effects house responsible for giving us the cool Magic Bullet plugin, and lots of great effects in films most if not all of us have seen.
 
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