Cody II Arm

[Adamo Cultraro]

Does anyone have photos of the Cody II arm as it appears on the cover of the book, or is that just a rendering? I'd like to build the II arm for a film I'm shooting next year, and I nearly always use pro crews. It would be nice to have something a little pro looking  - like the II arm. Any help - even unfinished photots wuld be appreciated.

Adam

[Jake Danilchik]

Hey Adamo,

You can look at the full rigs section here at HBS ( link below ).  Mine is the last one ( Jake D. ), it was built using Cody's phase II design however I made my own spring/bone covers,  unfortunately I didn't have access to a CNC mill so everything is either a 90 degree or 45 degree cut ( not a great look but better than nothing ? ).    Also anodizing it black will  help make it look a little more pro. 
Go here :

http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/greyfullrigs.htm

Jake

[Adamo Cultraro]

Hi Jake -

Awesome, nice work!

How does the rig perform? Were the instructions complete?

Thanks,

Adam

[Jake Danilchik]

Hi Adamo,

It flies great, thanks for the kind words ! As far as detail / instruction  in Cody's phase II arm manual, it could use more but if you read here on HBS you'll gain the knowledge you need.  Cody's phase II plans are more or less just machinist drawings and a shopping list, however I have the 1st revision of the phase II arm book.  He may have added more to the second revision.   A few suggestion:  build as much adjustment into the rig in every regard possible.  That means build an adjustable  gimbal ( so the bearing in the gimbal can be perfectly centered in EVERY aspect  ( X, Y , Z  ),  Charles King has suggested this and I agree 100%.   Also the bottom and top stages need to be micro adjustable, and the vest and socket block need to have adequate adjustability.

Something to strongly consider IMHO, if you can figure out a way to allow adjustment of the spring leverage angles you'll be able to use one set of springs for a wider variety of cameras / sled weights.    As it is I am stuck with lighter cameras due to my spring choices.   Maybe widen the bone width too ( from 1.5" to 1.7/8" ? ( not sure if that allow enough clearance )  , this will allow a larger diameter spring.  ( this is hindering my spring choices right now as I have to keep the spring diameter small so they fit between the bones. )
 Until I re-machine a bunch of pieces in the bones I am limited to smaller cameras ( like the one shown in my gallery ).   Oh, and consider making the bones from one solid piece instead using an assembly of parts as Cody's plans outline.    HMMM.. I am not making a great case for using his plans am I ...  well it may behoove you to look at all the full rigs in the rigs section and then learn the names of the parts of the arm and sled.  Then look at Michael Thonfors rig that is based on Cody's design

http://hbsboard.com/index.php/topic,1789.msg16145.html#msg16145

His arm is a work of art and the best example of someone that took Cody's plans and made great alterations.  Note, his spring "covers" are the bones too.  Whereas in mine they are separate parts screwed together ( more work in some respects and also not as strong  :-( .

A lot of this will be over your head until you see the plans and even then you'll need to refer back here on HBS to understand it all.    I think it would be wise to spend $10 on Charles Kings E-book that helps you understand a few necessities before building an arm.  It is aptly named "  Home Stabilizers ... things you should know before building a full rig stabilizer".

cheers,

Jake

[Adamo Cultraro]

Thanks so much for the wealth of info! I appreciate your time!

Adam