Carving adapter for tripod

[David Bolson]

I can’t be the first person to have this idea. I have a heavy duty tripod with a heavy ball head that has a standard 3/8 x 16 screw to hold a camera. My thought is to use an adapter to hold a 1.25 x 8 chuck. I have looked around the net and can’t find anything that would work.

Is this a bad idea? Any ideas for adapting a tripod for mounting a chuck? Thanks.

David

 

[Paul Paukstelis]

I don't know that such a thing exists. For me, I would design it in CAD and 3D print it. I use 3D printed wall-mount chuck holders to hold all my chucks. Printing the threads is no issue.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

You can get 1 1/4"-8 threaded rod at McMaster Carr and epoxy it into an adapter block threaded for your tripod stud. Here's one potted into a bowling ball vise.

 

[john lucas]

Don't think a tripod would be heavy enough. Maybe for light carving with a rotary too. It would beceasy to make an adaptor. Just a short piece of threaded rod that has been drilled and tapped for your tripod thread. I can probably do that if I have the threaded rod in your chuck size.

 

[William Rogers]

I’m going to agree with John about it being not being heavy enough. It wouldn’t be the carving, but rather the weight of the chuck and piece to position it. I have the Trent Bosch stand and have it bolted down. The homemade version like Kevin’s also works.

 

[JeffSmith]

I’ve got an older Bogen ball head (I think it’s the biggest one they made) on their heaviest tripod, I have no doubts this ball would adequately support a typical piece for carving. It used to regularly hold a monorail 4x5 camera (and even a 8x10 camera on a couple of ocaisions) without too much of a problem. We used an identical ball head on a Large Foba studio stand for many years; these things are beasts. Compared to the procut carving stand that I use, the tripod/ball head is massive. Making an adapter shouldn’t be too much of a problem…pardon the dust, that old tripod doesn’t get pulled out very often these days.

If you’ve got a drill press and some time, a chunk of 1-1/4 threaded rod can be drilled and tapped to attach it to the ball head. One consideration that makes these stands very handy is to add an adapter for using with a vac chuck. My ProCut stand is used that way most of the time. The head can be mounted in a similar way to a piece of rod to hold it in your banjo, or a flange to bolt to a table.

 

[hockenbery]

I’m going to agree with with John a William the tripod is too light and and may get tipsy with a big object and force tout to have it over a leg.
You may find the legs in your way.

The Bosch is an excellent device. It can be held in the lathe banjo. Or the holder can be screwed to a bench or a post or a half wall.
It doesn’t have a ball but does rotate on 3 axis and add the movement of the banjo

 

[John K Jordan]

I have a number of tripods here. The only one I would trust to adapt to a carving stand with a chuck is a very heavy-duty one made for my Meade SC telescope. The telescope mount is heavy and strong and the lags are far sturdier than any of the camera or videography tripods in my “collection”. Even then, I might make a weighted plywood base and devise a means to confine the lets.

Far easier: sdince I have a workbench in the shop with a vise, when not using the BTW carving/finishing stand on the lathe banjo I put it in the included bench mount screwed to block of wood held in the vise. Very sturdy! I can use a mallet and gouge to make cuts in any direction.

JKJ

 

[JeffSmith]

I took the OP to be asking about the ball head on his tripod more than using the tripod itself. Simple enough to remove the ball head from the tripod and devise a mount for banjo/vise/workbench. The tripod itself as a support could be problematic without something to stabilize the legs. Mine has a dolly with wheels that can be raised so it is settled directly to the floor with the legs locked in place. The ball head I show actually has tremendous holding power - even with weight leveraged out a ways. If I didn’t have the ProCut stand, I’d be comfortable modifying it to use.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I think everyone is hung up on "camera tripods". He is not using it now but Sammy Long used to use a heavy (probably angle) tripod with the Bosch head to carve spirals. So yes you can use a tripod just depends on what type. Secondly we are all making assumptions based on words without specifications on the ball or tripod.

 

[john lucas]

I have been a photographer for 50nyears and used a lot of tripods abd owned that ball head. I've also done a lot of varying. It would work for light carving with rotary carvers and maybe chip carving. Possibly even reciprocal carving. Hand carving with gouges way too light even the biggest tripods I've used.