Salil Sundresh Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've been looking to purchase a grip arm or two and some grip heads. I've noticed the Matthews' arms have a grip head attached that cannot be removed, but I found calumet has an arm with a removable grip head: http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/MF7011/ Being able to remove the grip head would be more versatile IMO and save money on buying more grip heads. My question is, are there any other companies that offer this? I couldn't find a reviews on the Calumet grip heads so I'm a little hesitant until I can try it out. Having a removable grip head may not matter to those that are working with a 5 ton grip truck of stuff, but being an individual with limited funds I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck. IE: Say I wanted to boom out a light from a stand, I don't necessarily need 2 grip heads to do this, I could remove one of the grip heads and use it to mount a flag or net on another stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Metzger Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I'm pretty sure american cstands (or heads) are able to slip off, and they have a hex key on the side so you can completely remove the head and have just a pole (arm without a head). I think you don't want the latter though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisConnelly Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 the head on a newer-style Matthews arm is completely removable, it's just bolted to the arm with a 3/8x16 bolt with a 5/32 allen head. the bolt is threaded exactly the same as the lockdown t-handle and goes in the same hole as on a separate grip head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanjay Sami Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Buy just the Grip head. You can buy 5/8th stainless tube from a hardware shop, why pay a film company for something available off the shelf at any hardware store. Cut it to whatever lengths you want. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Metzger Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Buy just the Grip head. You can buy 5/8th stainless tube from a hardware shop, why pay a film company for something available off the shelf at any hardware store. Cut it to whatever lengths you want. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com *duh* was the first thing to come to mind after reading your idea sanjay! Great idea and so obvious, I can't believe I missed that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salil Sundresh Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Buy just the Grip head. You can buy 5/8th stainless tube from a hardware shop, why pay a film company for something available off the shelf at any hardware store. Cut it to whatever lengths you want. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com Ya, i guess i just assumed it would be some non-standard size so I was hesitant to look into that. I'll have to check out the depot this weekend! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Peters Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Buy just the Grip head. You can buy 5/8th stainless tube from a hardware shop, why pay a film company for something available off the shelf at any hardware store. Cut it to whatever lengths you want. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com Thats what I did - and saved a real bundle. Got 5 arms out of 1 length of stainless. Used Grip heads from Kupo which are very well made and cheap in New Zealand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Wallens Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Speaking of, does anyone know the: -OD -ID -Wall -Steel alloy -Grade (Austenite/Ferrite) used in c-stand arms? just curious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanjay Sami Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Speaking of, does anyone know the:-OD -ID -Wall -Steel alloy -Grade (Austenite/Ferrite) used in c-stand arms? just curious... OD is 5/8th of an inch. That size is standard for many things (Cardellini, Baby pin included) Wall Thickness - i use 1.5 mm stainless. it gives me a lot of strength for rigging as well. I use 5/8th clamps for rigging some stuff also. ID ... ID = OD - (Wall thickness x 2) Regular stainless steel works well. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele Peterson Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Having a head that can be removed or slide up and down the length of the arm is something highly desired. It comes in very handy when rigging in tight spaces. Out of the big grip manufactuers, American does have it, Norms does not, but I don't recall about Matthews and Modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salil Sundresh Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 OD is 5/8th of an inch. That size is standard for many things (Cardellini, Baby pin included)Wall Thickness - i use 1.5 mm stainless. it gives me a lot of strength for rigging as well. I use 5/8th clamps for rigging some stuff also. ID ... ID = OD - (Wall thickness x 2) Regular stainless steel works well. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com Just curious, where did you manage to find this stainless steel pipe? I searched home depot, lowes, and menards in the chicago area with no luck. The only thing I found that was proper size is a copper pipe, but I'm afraid it may not be strong enough. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Wallens Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 OD is 5/8th of an inch. That size is standard for many things (Cardellini, Baby pin included) Doh! Of course. Duh. I guess i wasn't thinking when I posted... just went ahead and listed all the variables. Wall Thickness - i use 1.5 mm stainless. it gives me a lot of strength for rigging as well. Thank you. Is 1.5mm the industry standard for arms? Or do you use this especially for added stability? ID ... ID = OD - (Wall thickness x 2) Again, duh on my part. Sorry. :) Regular stainless steel works well. This part I'm not so sure about. What do you mean by "regular"? Stainless comes in grades of T321, T316, T304 most commonly, and there are others as well (in addition to various fabrication processes). Here's a good reference on just the different grades: http://store.microgroup.com/materials_reference.cfm#1 Is there one that is more "regular" than all others? Salil, I am far from an expert on steel manufacturing and distribution, but generally standard retailers are not the best place to get what you're looking for. A stainless fabrication supplier would be best. Depending on where you are located, here might be a good place to start looking: http://www.zycon.com/Products/Stainless-Steel-Tubing.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanjay Sami Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Just curious, where did you manage to find this stainless steel pipe?Hi Salil, I'm afraid I will not be able to help you on that one ... I live in India, and here it is a very common OD (used to make Autorikshaw/ tuk tuk frames ). I cant imagine it would be that difficult to find in America (you still use imperial measure not metric) The only thing I found that was proper size is a copper pipe, but I'm afraid it may not be strong enough. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please DO NOT use copper. It is extremely ductile (bendy). Use mild steel if you have to, but it will rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 There is no such thing as "regular stainless steel". It comes in several grades (alloys) 316, 440, etc., each having their own properties and varying costs. Try the metal or steel category in your local yellow pages or Metal Supermarket. They have locations in most major US cities http://www.metalsupermarkets.com/msc-home.aspx Or try an on-line supplier like speedymetals or onlinemetal. I'd think about using aluminum tubing for cost reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanjay Sami Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 There is no such thing as "regular stainless steel". You are right. My meaning however is, for a C stand arm, the tensile requirements of the material are of no significance within the larger family of "Stainless steel". Hence the term "regular" was used when I should have said "any stainless tube that you find with an OD of 5/8th of an inch" The alloy you buy within the stainless family will not affect your performance ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 The alloy you buy within the stainless family will not affect your performance ;) Exactly, but the alloy will affect the price, so if you must have stainless steel grip or gobo arms, pick 303 or 316. The wall thickness will determine the arms rigidity, the ones I measured varied between .080 and .100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Another option if surface rust is a big concern. Contact a local fabricator of clothing and display racks. They typically buy tubing buy the truck load. They may have 5/8 od tubing with a chrome plate finish. All you would need to do is cut it to length and plug the end with plastic caps for a professional look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salil Sundresh Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Another option if surface rust is a big concern. Contact a local fabricator of clothing and display racks. They typically buy tubing buy the truck load. They may have 5/8 od tubing with a chrome plate finish. All you would need to do is cut it to length and plug the end with plastic caps for a professional look. Thank you to everyone for your input. I'm still having some difficulty finding an apropriate diamter tube. Are there any online stores where I could order the appropriate tube that anyone has to suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Try the Yellow pages, steel supply, pipe and tubing, etc. On line: Online metals, metal warehouse, metals supermarket, etc. But expect to pay a higher price per foot (plus shipping) than a local supplier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salil Sundresh Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 Buy just the Grip head. You can buy 5/8th stainless tube from a hardware shop, why pay a film company for something available off the shelf at any hardware store. Cut it to whatever lengths you want. Sanjay Sami www.thegripworks.com I was wondering if anyone had a ball park range I should pay per foot for 5/8" stainless steel tube for using as a gobo arm? Chepeast place I found locally was $75 for 20ft (minimum 20ft purchase). So $3.75/ft. Seems like a bit much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 It's not an answer, but why are you fixated on Stainless? What alloy did you price out? 303 , 410? The more Nickle in the Stainless, the more expensive per pound. I bought .625 Al tube with a .065 wall from McMaster-Carr for a little more than $1.25 per foot. And of all the industrial suppliers, they are among the highest priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salil Sundresh Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 I bought .625 Al tube with a .065 wall Is that aluminum tubing you got instead of steel? Is it strong enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Yes it's aluminum and strong enough. Mole-Richardson used aluminum for their grip arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salil Sundresh Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Yes it's aluminum and strong enough. Mole-Richardson used aluminum for their grip arms. Thanks, is there any particular alloy or grade or w/e of aluminum tubing you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) Alloy would only be an issue with machining or welding, you're doing neither. Look at the maluminum available at www.mcmaster.com and drill down through the searches until you hit the 5/8 or.625 o.d. aluminum tubing. I don't recall with alloy, probably 6061 which is usually the cheapest. While you are there you can also order plastic plugs for the tubing to give your grip arms a factory finished look. Edited March 27, 2009 by JD Hartman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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