Jason Love Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Does anyone know of a way to make cheap DIY C-stands? Or some way of holding up diffusion/silks/flags etc... They cost £90 (in UK) [probably $150 or something, i dunno] I cant afford that for just a pole... I thought about using a cheap hat/coat stand with some clamps but not sure if i can find the right cheap clamps.... Any thoughts please... Thankyou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Does anyone know of a way to make cheap DIY C-stands? Or some way of holding up diffusion/silks/flags etc... They cost £90 (in UK) [probably $150 or something, i dunno] I cant afford that for just a pole... I thought about using a cheap hat/coat stand with some clamps but not sure if i can find the right cheap clamps.... Any thoughts please... Thankyou You will find that what you spent in prototyping and figuring out how to do it cheaper will cost as much as a real c-stand. It definitly wont be as durable and effective and all around reliable as a real c stand. for the shizzy on low budget DIY check out www.rondexter.com Ron is an old school DP and gadget man. He has a great informative website. he has tons of inventions and DIY projects on his site including a grip helper. It is not a c-stand but it is workable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e gustavo petersen Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 You might want to call some rental houses in your area and see if you can purchase some used c-stands. Rental houses occasionally sell off older gear when new gear comes in or when they purchase a huge lot in auctions. That might be better and safer then kludging something together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Yeah, c-stand rentals are usually really cheap. Look 'round :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Kevin Zanit Posted August 13, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted August 13, 2007 Here its a $2 a day rental from Wooden Nickel, you will see them for no more than $8 a day each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Love Posted August 13, 2007 Author Share Posted August 13, 2007 Thanks for the help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Alessandro Machi Posted August 13, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted August 13, 2007 If you can find the C-stand knuckle and extension arm at an affordable price for your budget, you can then use your own light stand to attach it to. However only the more hardy light stands should be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted August 16, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted August 16, 2007 Hey, Call Martin Hill. (www.martinhill.com) You never know what he has in stock at any given moment, so, you have to call him. If he has lots of c-stands piled up from a fresh acquisition, then he might be willing to negotiate. I can't tell you what I bagged a dozen off of him for, but, it's worth a call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted August 16, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted August 16, 2007 Try ebay, too. C-stands are extremely simple pieces of gear, I doubt you can improve on them. I also doubt you can make them cheaper than you can buy them, unless you own your own machine shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Magee Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 (edited) Hi I'm not sure about the rules about naming companies on here, so if i am in breach could someone point it out and i will delete this post but, calumet do their own c stands for about £50 for the 40" version and about £ 15 for the 40" arm ( plus vat) I just got some last week, so they are current stock I do not work for them - I just found them look and work just like the real thig Edited October 18, 2007 by Kevin Magee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Stewart Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 http://hv20.com/showthread.php?t=2761 There's some instructions on making a DIY C-stand. It seems somewhat legit, but probably wouldn't be a good idea for anything heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Maier Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 You can pretty much use any stand with a 5/8" stud as a C-stand. I normally use a MSE back light stand for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted December 2, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted December 2, 2007 I quite like the one made out of pipe fittings. The problem is that in rip-off Britain it'd cost very considerably more than £50 to do that - by exchange rate it should be under £20, but of course... this is the UK. All those incredibly cheap cast iron pipe fittings are many pounds each, and there's a dozen of them. The idea of being able to rent C-stands for $8 a day and under would be funny if it wasn't so sickening. This is probably the reason why small indie shoots in the UK absolutely never have enough grippery. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Sprung Posted December 3, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted December 3, 2007 There's some instructions on making a DIY C-stand. It seems somewhat legit, but probably wouldn't be a good idea for anything heavy. Indeed not. The EMT is nowhere near strong enough, and will be much weaker when it gets some setscrew dings in it. Maybe 1/4" black pipe would work. There's also no head or arm, which are the really important parts of a C-stand. -- J.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 There was no discussion of creating or adding a baby pin in the DIY link either. If a person was going to make a quantity of stands, the legs would be be stronger and cheaper if they were made from bent pipe instead of cast fittings. Crutch tips instead if pipe caps. A 1" electricians bender isn't very expensive or difficult to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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