Diy tripod, plans, advice and links to plans please

[GoodOldNorm]

Anyone made their own wooden tripod for 4x5 camera? Best options for economy of work, strength and stability.

[Tin Can]

You could start by studying all these great tripods

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...ripod&_sacat=0

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Anyone made their own wooden tripod for 4x5 camera? Best options for economy of work, strength and stability.

Hello from France!

A friend of mine has built for himself a variety of wooden tripods and stands, just for pleasure.
He is a professionnal carpenter. He chose ash wood (en français: bois de frêne) exactly like Berlebach tripods (auf deutsch: Eschenholz).
I do not know which wood is used in famous US-made tripods.

DISCLAIMER: THOSE TRIPODS ARE NOT FOR SALE
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43175600@N00/5739975243/

[Mark Sawyer]

I do not know which wood is used in famous US-made tripods.

The Ries tripods are made from Hard Maple/Rock Maple/Sugar Maple (all the same), though the company has recently been offering other woods on "custom" tripods.

[Greg]

Over the years I have acquired 2 tripods with broken leg(s). Finding them hard since owners of tripods with broken leg(s) value them as unusable and worth next to nothing. I have never come across a broken tripod on eBay or FS in Newsgroup or forum. One a very large Ries and the other I forgot the brand name of. Took them apart (easy part), refinished the metal parts, replaced the wooden legs, and reconstructed the tripods. Hardest part was finding quality wood to use. Acquired the wood for one from excess pieces of wooden flooring that I bought for next to nothing from a local flooring store, and the other from dumpster diving outside a Kitchen store who regularly threw out their demo kitchen cabinets. Both number 1 fully dried hardwoods. Used my table saw and a milling machine that had access to. In the end one tripod was more like a slightly above ground tripod, and the other almost 8 feet tall and actually quite stable when used in the field.

[Eric Woodbury]

I've made a couple. Wasn't hard. All wood. Sitka spruce legs with one extension. Cherry wood block where the legs come together. I still have and occasionally use one of them. I used it for about 10 years, 30 years ago.

It's downfall, with only one extension, is that it isn't short when collapsed. It doesn't fit in carry-on luggage. One the other hand, it doesn't car about water or sand. If something were to break, it be fixed at the hardware store.

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[Jody_S]

Don't know where you're from, but if you're looking for aged, dimensionally stable ash wood, I suggest using old hockey sticks. Hardwood flooring will often twist and buckle when it gets humid, hockey sticks won't.

[LabRat]

You should also look at surveying tripods... Strong, steady, tough, and inexpensive new or used... You just have to figure out how to attach a head to it...

Steve K

[Mark Sawyer]

At my age, I'm wondering whether a balsa wood tripod would work...

[Havoc]

Well, balsa is a hardwood...