For all those newbies - I don't get it??!!!

[Charles King]

Mike and I were discussing something a couple of days ago about all these ventures,deals and sales that have been happening here recently. We got to talking why don't you guys jump on the chance of these offerings? The most recent sale was for a  Model 1 gimbal. If you would know the actual price of this particular gimbal if purchased second hand from a pro operator you will think twice. I mean the deals that go on here are for you newbies to take advantage of since money is the big issue here. The second socket block venture that Gorden organized; didn't pull much interest. Why is that? I'm just curious because HBS puts together some of the best deals or ventures by far. In fact we are the only internet-forum based group to do such a thing. As far as I know.

Tim gimbal would be the greatest buy by far for a beginner or someone with not much funds to start with. Regardless if this is your first and it doesn't have to be a 1.5" post compatible. You can start with a smaller post and develope from there. Later on you can sell it and get something better. Remember this gimbal was used on some of the earlier steadicam models and can handle heavy film cameras.

I just want to know what you newbies think about and how you rationalize your builds. I think some of the older and more advance builders here are curious as well.

[Alan Dague-Greene]

Maybe I can shed some light. Most people who visit this site are planning on building something themselves, and most likely have not built something like it in the past. The cost of creating these parts is unknown to them.

I don't remember how much Jon Gordon's gimbal cost, I think it was in the high $400s. At first, that sounded like a lot of money to me. Of course I was going to build my own, I don't need to spend that kind of money! I ended up spending over $600 making my own. (It works well, but it's not all machined and integrated like Jon's.)

So now I know. That's to say nothing of the newbies who (like me) ambitiously thought they didn't need to follow other people's designs, instead coming up with unique solutions for the various components. That's a great way of thinking, but in my case, it didn't yield the best results, and sometimes it simply didn't work at all. Once I came up with an idea for a gimbal/post locking mechanism, drew out all the plans and was ready to send it to my welder for a quote. At the last minute I realized that it would prevent the sled from panning.

I think some amount of experience is necessary before you can really wrap your head around what it takes to make this stuff work.

[Michele Coser]

Charles, where is that gimbal you're talking about?   I'm interested in a new gimbal for a new sled.  But my budget is very low; i have also my camcorder almost broken and i need to buy a new one (hopefully a prosumer one).

I have seen the Gimbal that Richard Lewis was selling but at the time i was nearly at zero.

If Jon Gordon put another venture for a gimbal i'll probably sign-in.

[Andy Morris]

i guess i joined too late, i didn't see those deals.
Andy

[jose maidana]

Well guys, as you know I´m a machinist and I´m in the building process of my own steady. My gimbal is done on cast parts, and I have built the dies for all of them.
Charles, if you want I can start a new thread. I can sell a complete new gimbal (http://hbsboard.com/index.php/topic,2411.0.html) for 200 U$S with generic bearings or 280 with SKF.
Plus shipping if you are out of Argentina 
The gimbal is made for 1 1/2 post, but I can machine it to fit 1 or 1 1/4 post. The original gimbal weights 1005 grams, but I´ll make a couple of modifications to make it weights less than 1000 grams including pack (for the mail quote to be cheaper).
See you.

[Andy Morris]

Jose,
That's great. let us know if you get some ready to sell. 
i will be glad to get one.
Andy

[jose maidana]

I´ll have one for the weekend. Thanks for your replay Andy.

[Charles King]

Well guys, as you know I´m a machinist and I´m in the building process of my own steady. My gimbal is done on cast parts, and I have built the dies for all of them.
Charles, if you want I can start a new thread. I can sell a complete new gimbal (http://hbsboard.com/index.php/topic,2411.0.html) for 200 U$S with generic bearings or 280 with SKF.
Plus shipping if you are out of Argentina 
The gimbal is made for 1 1/2 post, but I can machine it to fit 1 or 1 1/4 post. The original gimbal weights 1005 grams, but I´ll make a couple of modifications to make it weights less than 1000 grams including pack (for the mail quote to be cheaper).
See you.

No Problem. That would be great. Thanks for that Jose.

[Charles King]

Charles, where is that gimbal you're talking about?   I'm interested in a new gimbal for a new sled.  But my budget is very low; i have also my camcorder almost broken and i need to buy a new one (hopefully a prosumer one).

I have seen the Gimbal that Richard Lewis was selling but at the time i was nearly at zero.

If Jon Gordon put another venture for a gimbal i'll probably sign-in.

See the private classifieds for Tim's gimbal.

[Charles King]

Maybe I can shed some light. Most people who visit this site are planning on building something themselves, and most likely have not built something like it in the past. The cost of creating these parts is unknown to them.

I don't remember how much Jon Gordon's gimbal cost, I think it was in the high $400s. At first, that sounded like a lot of money to me. Of course I was going to build my own, I don't need to spend that kind of money! I ended up spending over $600 making my own. (It works well, but it's not all machined and integrated like Jon's.)

So now I know. That's to say nothing of the newbies who (like me) ambitiously thought they didn't need to follow other people's designs, instead coming up with unique solutions for the various components. That's a great way of thinking, but in my case, it didn't yield the best results, and sometimes it simply didn't work at all. Once I came up with an idea for a gimbal/post locking mechanism, drew out all the plans and was ready to send it to my welder for a quote. At the last minute I realized that it would prevent the sled from panning.

I think some amount of experience is necessary before you can really wrap your head around what it takes to make this stuff work.

Thanks for your input Alan. Well put but with deals like this you can save yourself the hassle in the meantime. You can always learn how one works when finally have the real thing in your hand. Learning process doesn't have to be doing it yourself but with hands on experience you can learn about it even quicker. Trail and errors can be expensive, I know. I've been doing it for over 8 years now. It's been fun but have made some shallow pockets

I was just hoping some people would be more eager when opportunities come around, that's all. I guess the learning process is a fuel for the aspiring mind And that's a good thing.

[cosmin rotaru]

Well, Charles, you can give me one for free, and I'll still try to do another one myself 

But you are right. There are users that just want "the plans" because they need to shoot something next month. These deals should be perfect for them. And for many others. You can get a gimbal, but you still have a lot of work to do, for the DIY guy. Also, the gimbal, the socket block... are very labor intensive and if you have the money, it's perfect not to bother DIY these parts.

[Charles King]

Also, the gimbal, the socket block... are very labor intensive and if you have the money, it's perfect not to bother DIY these parts.

Absolutely Cos. That's exactly the idea of why I think the newbies should take a shot at these ventures. Most that come on this board always ask for plans for this and that and that's why I am a little surprise I don't see a huge jump on these deals. That's all. Hope you are well.

[cosmin rotaru]

You're right Charles.

I wonder, what would happend if:
Q: "Hi all, great site, give me the plans..."
A: "sure, here they are: www.blblbl... only 500$" 

Just kidding.
You know, when I first came here, I knew NOTHING about stabilizers. I don't even remember how did I found the HBS link. How did I found something I didn't searched, because I didn't knew it exists?!  Anyway, because I knew nothing, I tried to learn, and I did learn. I think I spent some months just reading, before drawing the first piece... But maybe the new users, or users not from the 3rd world (where a stabilizer is verry exotic stuff) like myself, already know what this thing is... They know how it works?! They UNDERSTAND, but they don't want to reinvent the wheel, so they ask for already tested plans, and maybe it's OK. (I mus admit that I feel angry when someone asks for the plans, when I know how many months, nights I spent on them...).
Then again, they should jump on these offers! Those offers have the material in them, the labor, and the f&$ing plans already!! And they are cheap! A gimbal, like 1/4 or less from a regular wage in US or EU. I'd jump right on the offer! GOD!