Boom Arm Counter Weight DIY?

[russellsnr]

Hi, I have been looking for a boom arm counter weight rather than the bags for sand has anyone out there made there own boom arm counter weight?
Have looked online but due to my location the cost of delivery for a ready made one is double the cost of the item.
Thanks
Russ

 

[Kodiak Qc]

•
A long time ago, we fill some small plastic bags with sand or tiny rounded pebbles
and hung a lady's handbag where we placed the small sand bags as needed.
Cheap yet efficient. The style of the contraptions depended very much on the degree
of sophistication of the previous owner of the handbag. ;-)

 

[Cistron]

Hi, I have been looking for a boom arm counter weight rather than the bags for sand has anyone out there made there own boom arm counter weight?
Have looked online but due to my location the cost of delivery for a ready made one is double the cost of the item.
Thanks
Russ

You want something you can shift along the pole to adjust the balance. So really anything that can clamp securely onto the pole, with a hook to hang some weight, will work. Superclamp + 5L water bottle?

 

[EOS_JD]

I have a manfrotto boom and in the sand bag I place tins of Heinz tomato soup or beans

 

[DG Phototraining]

I hang my camera bag off mine, weight adjustments are made by adding/removing camera gear

Dave

 

[HoppyUK]

I have a manfrotto boom and in the sand bag I place tins of Heinz tomato soup or beans

LOL I have the same! And a tin of beans is always useful when the apocalypse comes, but I recently noticed they're dated best before 2007!

Now replaced with cartons of fruit juice that fill the Manfrotto bag better, sealed in a couple of freezer bags in case of disaster. The other thing I would say is, wet sand weighs almost exactly double plain water, ie 1l milk bottle weighs 2kg. They have a handle for hanging though aren't very robust (line with freezer bag). Better alternatives include bleach and engine oil bottles - both tough plastic with handles.

 

[wblati]

I think its safer and better to get a proper counter weight - making your own might break and cause some serious injury.

Your next best bet is a sand bag with an A clamp or a super clamp.

 

[sk66]

Making an adjustable weight should be simple... use a saddle clamp with wing nuts/lock washers. You just need to source the weight and have the ability to drill through it.

 

[redsnappa]

I think its safer and better to get a proper counter weight - making your own might break and cause some serious injury.

And you seriously think that if you buy a counterweight there will never be any issues?

 

[simonbarker]

And you seriously think that if you buy a counterweight there will never be any issues?

He really really didn't say that, it seems an entirely reasonable position to say a standard counterweight is going to be safer and better than someone's very first DIY attempt.

 

[Big A]

ankle weights off ebay work well for me. You can velcro them to either the stand (feet) or pack them into the Manfrotto counterweight bag

something like this works perfectly

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIXES-2K...844204?hash=item5b12c3c6ac:g:2lQAAOSw3xJVaCBj

 

[andyred]

You could get some lead strip and fold it / curl it around the end of the pole and with a clamp etc, could easily be moved up / down to counter weight - wouldn't add much bulk to it...

 

[HoppyUK]

You could get some lead strip and fold it / curl it around the end of the pole and with a clamp etc, could easily be moved up / down to counter weight - wouldn't add much bulk to it...

Lead flashing, used for roofing, is handy stuff. I used to have a big roll of it, bought from a scrappy. You can mould it by hand, with the help of a mallet, even cut it with scissors.

I used a lot of it when my lad was kart racing and needed to add ballast. Which reminds me of these ready-made weights - any kart racing supplier will stock this kind of thing http://www.kkckartshop.co.uk/pc/Lead-Weight-c76.htm

 

[nog]

Used to melt scrap lead and pour my own sea fishing weights, got to be a bit carefull though

 

[Jayst84]

I know you said, 'rather than sandbags', but why not sandbags? Cheaper than anything else, works, doesn't hurt if someone whacks their head on it, and requires no machining or handling of ~300ºC metals.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

I know you said, 'rather than sandbags', but why not sandbags? Cheaper than anything else, works, doesn't hurt if someone whacks their head on it, and requires no machining or handling of ~300ºC metals.

http://standbagsdirect.co.uk/product/stand-bag-medium/ literally £7. add a £3 bag of sand from argos, job done.

 

[sk66]

The great thing about an adjustable position "clamp weight" is that you can (usually) zero out the weight at the pivot... that makes adjusting angle/position a lot easier. With a bag weight hanging off the end it is usually over/under balanced. If you use something "modular" to fill it you can always add/remove to balance I guess.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

The great thing about an adjustable position "clamp weight" is that you can (usually) zero out the weight at the pivot... that makes adjusting angle/position a lot easier. With a bag weight hanging off the end it is usually over/under balanced. If you use something "modular" to fill it you can always add/remove to balance I guess.

indeed, pumpkin weights like this are the standard: https://www.calphoto.co.uk/product/...ter-Weight/MF6805?tracking=|searchterm:weight however they're also a bit of a pain in the backside