measurments for the male block and the Flyer, help?

[PeterWong]

Hi

I saw the video, pdf and stills of the SteadiCam Flyer.  It was great information.

Can any kind soul post the diameter for the insertion rod of the male block and the diameter of the female block?  Also, can anyone tell me the guage/thickness of the metail used in the SteadiCam Flyer?  Also... if there are any variation of the thickness?

thanks

[michael carolan]

If I remember right its a half inch rod.I'm not sure which bits you mean when you ask about the thickness of the metal.
If you are thinking of making a flyer style rig check out   HBS Member's Systems

new runsteady rig - first pictures « 1 2 »

SteadiStang Complete Rig Progress

These are great places to start and get a bit of inspiration as well as the other stuff you already checked.
Good luck
Mike Carolan

[Tom Wills]

The main pin on the Flyer socket block is 3/8" from what I know, but I may be a little off here. A full size socket block uses a 5/8" pin.

[PeterWong]

thanks for the quick reply.

I'm sorry that I wasn't detailed enough...  the thickness of the 'rod' I was inquiring about is the single shaft on the male block (arm side).  Also, it's length.

Are there photos of the blocks along side a ruler and photos of the blocks with a ruler sitting on top of it?  I know I can't make an exact match without actually having one in my hand; however, a fairly close one would be nice to own.

As for the Flyer, I totaly blew the question... let me clarify.  From the closeup that Charles provided in his review, I noticed that it was all sheet metal....and I was wondering what thickness were the bones and "joint" pieces.  Also, if they were steel or aluminum?

I'm leaning towards a design like the Flyer and Cody's.  They are simple and doesn't require complex machining.  I'll be happy to make soemthing complex but I don't have the spare 600.00 US to drop on a cheap, no-name table top milling machine.

thanks

[michael carolan]

Peter..There are a few designs  for similar socket blocks with drawings on the site eg
http://www.newstarship.com/socket.html
Cody has a drawing and Robert Eder has a complete blueprint.
The rod you refer to is 70mm long.
The socket block is such an important part and requires close tolerances that its not easy to do yourself if you dont have the proper machinery.In Codys first rig plans there is a simpler version which a home builder can easily manage and I believe works ok.
I'm sure most of the metal in a flyer is aluminium although there are many different types of alu.. the thickness of an elbow is one inch.
Good luck
Mike

[michael stevenson]

The flyer arm is about 98% aluminum. The wall thickness is about .150" That's the same .150 as I told Tim in the machining forum to make his wall thickness on his bone.