The Really Simple-to-Build Jib ArmPlans ©2005 Richard Maritzer. All Rights Reserved. Please don’t copy and distribute - I’m poorer than you are. Really.

Introduction: Hello and welcome. Let’s get down to business. I built a Jib Arm last year from parts I got exclusively at my local Home Depot. They’re all completely standard hardware parts, with the possible exception of the pulleys, so your local Home Depot, or any other home improvement store should have them all. I’m not endorsing Home Depot specifically, but they did have everything (except those pulleys) on one aisle at the local stores, so it sure does make it easy if you have one nearby. And don’t get worried about the pulleys. They’re just on a different aisle. Even if your local store doesn’t have them, I’m supplying you with the manufacturer’s name and address here too. With the current (2005) prices at (again) Home Depot, all the parts total up to just under $39.00 (not including local sales tax). Your prices may vary, depending where you are, but it shouldn’t be by much. PLEASE: Read this whole thing through and examine the photos so you get an idea of how things should turn out, and how they work.

Tools You’ll Need:Unlike some of the other plans available, you won’t need welding supplies, a lumber yard, or lead-lined gloves for this job. You’ll need a few basic household tools. The kind of stuff that if you don’t own it, you probably should anyway. Or you can borrow from a neighbor for an hour. Don’t forget to return them, as neighbors can get angry about that kind of stuff, and not let you shoot video in their backyards when you need a location shoot.

• A couple of adjustable wrenches and/or pliers. You have several nuts to tighten. I don’t mean your brother-in-law. I personally like the self-grip pliers that have the quick release.

• A drill. You can be macho and use a hand-powered drill, but I recommend a Makita or similar power drill, or better still, if you have access to one, a drill press. You’re going to need to drill a couple of holes through the main jib pole, and it’s ever so easier if the pole is held in a vise and you can just lower a drill to it. Otherwise you just have to be careful to make the holes line up.

• A Hammer. Again, not for your brother-in-law.• A Dremel or similar device. Depending on what your tripod mount is like, you may need to file down a

single screw, to allow it to fit into the tripod mounting plate - the thing that then screws into the bottom of your camera. I use a Bogen 501 Fluid Head (which I highly recommend - you shouldn’t be using a jib on anything but a heavier duty tripod than a dept. store $15 set of sticks), and the supplied screw isn’t long enough to go through the jib’s mounting plate and through a washer and be securely tightened. So again, you may need to make one of these files screws, depending on what tripod you have.

The Parts List:I’m listing the parts and quantity you’ll need and showing you pictures as well, so when you’re searching the aisle(s) you have a better idea of what the heck a turn-buckle is. If you’re like me, you’ve never heard of half these things until now. Soon you too will be intimately familiar with thumbscrews, carriage bolts, and of course, the infamous turnbuckle eye.

The Jib Pole:Home Depot has these ready cut in an 8 foot (115.2cm) length of square aluminum tube. These are light-weight, and does the job fine for anything up to a several pound camera (and counterweights). If you want to get yourself a steel square tube from another source that’s stronger, or longer, go for it. Steel won’t weigh much more, may cost less (plus gas and travel) and you can get any length you want. Note that I’ve got these plans set up for 8 feet - I wouldn’t really try for an insane length unless you have one helluva sturdy tripod. The one advantage (however) you might have in getting a pole from another source is you can make your jib “collapsible” - have it in two sections, using one tube that will fit into the other, that you can secure with thumbscrews. (see photo below) That way it would be two four foot or so lengths, instead of one long jib. More work to do, but fits into your trunk. So - assuming we’re staying with the stock plans here...

If you're going to make the 2-piece jib, you'll want like a 54" x 2-1/2" (or so) tube for one section, that's rectangular, and slightly wider than the other piece that should be 54" x 1" (or so). They should look something like this when they fit together, and you secure them with the extra set of thumbscrews you'll buy. (this is a picture of a commercially available jib.)

Most of the rest of the parts do not have alternate variations...

Note that the main tube has to be wide enough for a center-drilled hole and bolt to not interfere with the second piece that is fitting into it. It will slide in about 6 to 8 inches, and you'll have to drill threaded holes through both tubes so you can screw thumbscrews in and secure the two halves together. Definitely more work, but again, fits in the trunk that way. Me, I wanted cheap and easy, so for the rest of these plans, I'm assuming you're sticking with the one-piece tube.

Qty Size2 3/8" x 3" hex bolts(if you get the recommended pulleys [see page 4]these bolts are supplied with them.)

Qty Size2 3/8" Hex Nuts

Qty Size12 3/8" cut washers

Note: If your store has Nylon washersin that size available, you may want to trygetting 4 of the 12 as Nylon, to make the jib move just a little smoother. Not required though. Note to neophytes! Make sure you do notlock washers. you want simple, thin, flat circle washers.

Note: These too come with the recommended pulleys. But, if you think you won't ever be dis-mantling your jib arm, you can substitute locking hex nuts for these, which you won't have to worry about tightening every so often.

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Note: These are normally used in building to secure beams to cement, but we will use them as the mounting plates for the camera and the tripod. Note: That's only $0.45 per

foot. And if you're making a bigger jib, get longer wire.

Qty Size1 1/2" x 10" carriage bolt

This is what your counterbalance weights will hang on, and isused as your handle to raise and lower the jib arm. Some peoplewrap it in a foam piece or grip like a bicycle handlebar. Me? No.

Qty Size2 1/2" cut washers

Qty Size2 1/2" hex nuts

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Qty Size1 pkg. 1/4" x 1/2" thumb screws

Qty Size2 2-1/2" x 4" angles

Qty Size9' 3/16" Wire Rope (uncoated)

Qty Size4 1/4" x 1" Fine Thread Cap Screws (or hex bolts)

Qty Size4 1/4" Fine Thread Hex Nuts

Qty Size1 Turnbuckle Eye/Eye

Note: if you're going tomake the 2 piece jib, getthe one pictured on theright edge of the photo - aneye/hook.

Note: One of these is what'sused to attach your camera tothe jib. If you have a NON-STANDARD size mount hole,you'll need to get a (thumb-) screw to fit your camera. Most mounts are 1/4". If you're making the 2 piece jib, buy a second pack of these.

Qty Size1 pkg 1/8" aluminum Ferrule & Stop Set

Qty Size1 1/4" screw and nut to fit it. They'll be for the tripod mount.

Qty Size3-4 1/4" hole wide flat washers

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OPTIONAL:(but recommended)You'll want this kind ofstuff to put on the mounting plate for the camera, so it doesn't slide around. However, while Home Depot used to carry this stuff in 6" wide strips that you could buy by the foot, they no longer do - you have to buy a whole roll. So my advice is either get this narrow stuff they do have for a few dollars, or try a different (plumbing supply?) store for the wide strips by the foot.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE:2 3" Garage Door PulleysThis does all the magic. And after struggling for weeks to find a supplier of pulleys my eyes alighted upon it, right there in Home Depot. It's in the "garage door" supplies section. You need 2 of them. IF your H.D. doesn't carry them or they're out, etc. etc., here's the info on them:Prime Line (www.prime-line-products.com)P.O. Box 9910, San Bernardino, CA 92427

They do NOT sell direct (philistines!), but require you to order through your local store (H.D., Lowe's, Menard's, Sears, OSH, CRL). Their catalog number for a single pulley is GD-52109, and they also have a 2 Pulley item numbered GD-52189. They say they'll ship within 6 days.

THE PARTS LIST, checklist form:q 1 1" x 96" square aluminum tubeq 2 3/8" x 3" hex bolts (comes with Pulleys if you buy the Prime-Line ones above)q 2 3/8" hex nuts (comes with Pulleys if you buy the Prime-Line ones above)q 12 3/8" cut washersq 1 1/2" x 10" carriage boltq 2 1/2" cut washersq 2 1/2" hex nutsq 4 1/4" x 1" fine thread cap screws (or hex bolts)q 4 1/4" fine thread hex nutsq 1 turnbuckle eye/eyeq 1 pkg. 1/4" x 1/2" thumb screwsq 2 2-1/2" x 4" construction anglesq 9' 3/16" wire rope (uncoated)q 1 pkg. 1/8" aluminum ferrule & stop setq 1 pkg. self-adhesive safety treadq 1 1/4" screw and nut for tripod mount (see pic)q 3-4 1/4" hole wide flat washersq 2 3" garage door pulleys (Prime-Line #GD-52109 or 2-pulley set #GD-52189)

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ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

I’m making the assumption you will be creating the basic jib that I did, without any enhancements. I’ll cover some of those at the end, and some ideas to make the jib even cooler - you may want to look at those NOW as some of them are easier to implement before the construction gets going.

Step One: Create the mounting plates that attach to the square tube.For these you’ll need the metal “Angles” and the pulleys (and more shortly, but these first). Looking straight on, the Angles look something like this:

And the Pulleys look something like this:

What we want in the end, is for these two to attach to each other. We need to mark off where two holes of the pulley are on the angle (at either 2 o’clock & 8 o’clock, or the ones at 10 & 4). and drill holes there.

By the way, there’s a short side and a long side to the angles. You’re drilling in the short side, as the other is where the camera needs to sit (or for the other set, mount to the tripod).

You’re going to be fitting the 1/4” x 1” fine thread bolts through these, so drill 1/4” holes. Hopefully that was obvious. Once you’ve drilled all four holes (that’s two per angle/pulley), you can put them together, so you get two of these:

Step Two: Drill the square tube.You need 4 holes in the square tube, so you can attach the pulley assemblies. They need to fit the 3” x 3/8” bolts to go through (along with six washers). You need to drill through the tube at a 90 degree angle. That is, when the bolt goes through both holes, it needs to be perpendicular to the tube. This is best and most easily accomplished with a drill press, but if you don’t have one, make sure to measure cross hairs on the tube as exactly as possible, and drill with a hand power drill. More than a bit of deviation, and your pulleys will be cockeyed, and not turn like they need to. Take your time on this, get it right. You want one set of holes at 2 to 2-1/2 inches from the end of the tube (enough that the pulley won’t be hanging over the edge), and the other set I personally have drilled at 4’ 8” in (measured from the same end of the tube as the first set of holes). You can go farther, and thereby make the arm have a longer reach of movement, but you’ll need more counter-balance in the end (and longer wire rope) since you’re not putting the fulcrum in the middle. If you’re good at physics and mechanical engineering, go to it. I’m not.

Front view Side view

X marks the spotsto drill.

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Step Three: Assemble the jib and pulleys.The bolt supplied with the pulleys should be long enough to go through the assembly you just made, then three washers, the square tube, three more washers and then be bolted on the other side with either the supplied nut, or a locking nut. You might want to hold off on the locking nut till you know you’ve got everything working right, and then replace the standard one. Also, if you got the nylon washers, put those sandwiched in each group of three. They were sold out of them when I made mine, but three metal ones work fine. Nylon just makes it move a tad smoother. Okay. You should now have a 10’ tube with two of these pulley/mounts attached. They should turn reasonably freely. When you attach the wire shortly (next step) you’ll want to wind up having the end platform aligned so the plate is on top, and the center one aligned with the plate on the bottom (see photos on page 7).

Step Four: Add the wire rope.You’re going to loop your nine feet of wire around the pulleys shortly, but first you have to prep the ends.Unscrew an eye bolt from either end of the turnbuckle, and get the ferrule and stop set handy. I’m guessing the “stop” is the little one, and the “ferrule” is the bigger one with two holes. And I don’t know what the stop is supposed to do, but I’m not going to question thousands of years of engineering and not use it, so, put the stop on first and slide it down about 8” or so. Then slide the ferrule on the wire, and bring it within a couple of inches or so of the stop. Loop the free end of the wire through the eye-bolt, and into the remaining hole in the ferrule. Now slide both of those down within a couple of inches of the eye-bolt. You don’t want to have too much “extra” wire at the terminus.

before after

Before you pound the aluminum ferrule and stop with a hammer to tighten them in place (or use a vise), you want to do the same with the other end, loop the wire around both pulleys, and loosely attach the turnbuckle, to make sure there’s not too little nor too much wire for the turnbuckle to tighten up for a firm attachment. Play with it a bit, and you may have to adjust where your ferrules are and how much slack to take up. The end result you’re shooting for will be that this wire will be very taut, so that when you move one pulley, the wire will be gripped, and it will move the second pulley.

Step 5: The counterbalance.At the far end of the tube, drill a hole all the way through the tube, so that the 10” carriage bolt can go through it (with a washer AND nut on either side, as illustrated below). My advice is put it sticking out from the opposite side that the pulleys are on (i.e. to the right). When you have a camera and the counterweights on, it will help keep everything from leaning to the left. For counterweights you can use inexpensive barbells from any sporting goods store. I need 7 1/2 lbs to balance my Panasonic DVX100.

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Step 6: No-slip strip.Add self adhesive rubberized no-slip tape to the top surface of the camera-end pulley mount, as shown below. It will simply help hold the camera in place, and not scratch things up on the metal of the angle bracket. Trim a hole in the center as shown, so the camera will be able to mount there.

Here are some photos of completed assemblies. Hopefully you have looked at this before doing the whole project, and had an idea of how things were supposed to look. You’re almost done!

Note which side of the plate is facing up here, to mount the camera. The center mount should be facing down, to mount to the tripod (with the pulley above the level of the tripod.

I recommend putting the carriage bolt on the right. I put mine on the left, and curse it daily.

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Step Seven: Attaching to the tripod, and mounting the camera.The method for mounting to your tripod is of course dependent on what tripod you have. I use the Bogen 501 Fluid Head, which does a great job. BUT the supplied screw(s) for the mounting plate (see pic) are not long enough to go through the plate, the jib mounting plate, and a washer and a nut, so you must make your own, using a longer screw that will need to be filed down with a Dremel or similar device. Wear SAFETY Goggles. I’ll only tell you once.

The reason you need to file the end near the head is so it will slip into the mounting plate. There’s a rubber removable stopper in the plate that lets you take out the supplied screw, and put this longer one in.

Here’s how the Jib Arm is mounted to the tripod. The screw you filed is inserted into the mounting plate, comes up through the jib plate’s rather large hole, and is secured by a large washer and hex nut. Tighten with a wrench so it doesn’t twist around when you move the jib.

before after

rubber stopper

new screw in place

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Similarly, the camera mount uses one of the thumbscrews through 2 large washers (unless you cut off part of the screw so it’s shorter). Hand tightening is usually enough, especially if you’ve used the non-slip tape.

two washers stacked for a tight fit.

The complete rig, with counterweights in place. REMEMBER to have someone hold the camera endwhen you remove the weights, or your camera could fall to the ground!

Okay, here’s an interesting option - you can add an external monitor to your rig, if before all the construction, drill two more holes in the tube to allow an long RCA cable to thread through, from the camera end to just past the tripod pulley. You can either spring for an expensive LCD external screen, or Best Buy (and other electronics stores like them) have extremely inexpensive (like $30) battery-powered/12v black and white TVs that allow a video-in signal. That way you don’t have to crane your neck to look at the fold out screen on your camera as you use the jib.

I hope this all made perfect sense for you, and it all goes smoothly. If you run into trouble, I can try to offer some email support, but no guarantees. Try me at ram@valnac.com (And you can see short films I’ve made at www.valnac.com using the Jib Arm!)

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These instructions are ©2005 Richard Maritzer, All Rights Reserved, and are sold AS-IS with no warranty for their effectiveness. Proceed at your own risk. They worked fine for me, and I expect they will for you as well. But that being said, I accept no liability for any damage to property, life or limb from the use of these plans. I make no claims, trademarks or patents on the design of this jib arm, as it is a compilation of several different styles developed by innumerable filmmakers, engineers, and laypeople.

Again, please. If someone else you know wants to build one of these, have them send me $15 thru Paypal (ram@soundandfury.org) and you can pass the disk on to them. It's not like this is a $600 software package that an amateur filmmaker can't afford. Treat this like "shareware". I'm not wealthy, and it would be nice to pay the rent this month. Which reminds me — thanks for your purchase.

cheers,Richard Maritzer