Ball clamps - yes, seriously, not a joke

[londonsean69]

As in the title, I need to source some ball clamps:D

These are not the sort you get SWMBO to apply on a Friday night, they allow flexible arm arrangements to be created.

Sample image below
http://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk/general/brackets/ikelite/9577_2.gif

Now, I know where I can buy these, but as they are a brand name (for diving) they are £35 each.
You can buy RAM mounts (for GPS) that are about £10 each, which is more like it, but they are only 1" or 1.5".
I need 1.25", although I could create the arms with a 1.25" ball on one end, and a 1" on the other.

Anybody know where I can find something like this??

OH, it's for diving. You put an underwater strobe on the end of a couple of linked arms, allowing you to position it where you need to.
A bit like this - http://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk/general/brackets/ikelite/sa100r.jpg

I have tried searching for ball clamps (thank heavens for Google, I have been well educated), ball joints, GPS clamps, GPS mounts etc. but the only things I find are the expensive brand name ones, or the RAM mounts.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

[Land Locked]

Make em yourself?

[londonsean69]

Make em yourself?

I have looked into it, but I don't have a mill. Then again, with a decent template and careful use of the drill press, why not?

I will be making the arms, as it is quite easy to turn down a bit of Delrin and thread the end. I can get the balls ready made and tapped for about 70p each (about the price of a can of coke!)

I might well have a go at making them myself, after all, it's only a little bit of Delrin. But, if they fall apart, I have £1100 of strobe hanging by it's £120 cable :( Which is obviously not a good day out.

[Talonmotorsport]

I would'nt want to make the clamp part of that on a drill press unless you've got a very good bolt down vice, plastic type material grabs like a bastard. You would be better off getting that made on a mill with a profiled fly cutter, more control and more likly to keep you hands and wrists safe!

[londonsean69]

That's a fair point.

Also, cutting the recess where the ball sits would be a total pain, unless I had a 32mm ball nosed milling cutter. Which I don't. And they are expensive.

Hence looking for some that are

ready made
a reasonable price


Failing all that, I could farm them out, but that is also pricey for a small run, hence looking for options.

The easiest option is to use 1" ball clamps, that are readily available, and create an 'adaptor arm' which has a 1" ball one end, and 1.25" the other

[Bonzo]

Just thinking a bit outside the box Sean

Could you not make a wooden jig & then use the centre hole for fixing a flat piece of delrin, Finally use a woodworking router & right shape cutter to mill the ball sockets !!??

I have never tried milling plastics so may be talking complete rubbish :o :o :D

With a little luck, you'll find some ready made ones at a sensible price :)

[londonsean69]

Finally use a woodworking router & right shape cutter to mill the ball sockets !!??

I have had a look at router cutters, but so far, the only ball end bits I can find are 25mm. Plus, I don't have a router:(

I'll just have to keep trawling industrial sites, see what pops up.

The other alternative is to find something that can grind the shape in, similar to a Dremel type tool (but bigger). Although the biggest burrs I have seen are 12mm.

[londonsean69]

Just found a 32mm Dia. router cutter, so might have to look into this. Although the cutter is £28.

Always the way, when trying to make a couple of little bits, the tooling and materials will come out to not much less then if you just bought them.

Not too sure about splashing out on a router as well, might just chuck it in the drill press and see what happens - clog up probably:D

As it stands, I only need 3 of them, but if I can keep all my balls ;) the same size, then that is better. I might just replace the current ones as well, making 6 makes it all a bit more viable.

[Davey]

Sorry to be so blunt but why are you looking to save a few quid on kit that you're going to hang over a grand's worth of gear on? surely that's like building your roadster and then putting cheapo remould tyres on it?

Not intending to offend but I really don't get the logic of this.

D.

[londonsean69]

Sorry to be so blunt but why are you looking to save a few quid on kit that you're going to hang over a grand's worth of gear on? surely that's like building your roadster and then putting cheapo remould tyres on it?

Not intending to offend but I really don't get the logic of this.


A good point, and no offence taken.
I am generally one of the first to ask people the same thing.

There may be no need for me to do this whatsoever, I was more thinking out loud.

The strobe can come bare, or in a kit.
The difference in price is about £200. For the £200 extra you get 3 clamps, and a couple of the arms.
I got the kit for my first one. As I intend to have 2, I am just looking at a different way of doing it. However, if a kit comes up at the right price (read Singapore) then I will have that.

Now, the arms might not be a perfect length, and it is always useful to have different length arms for different lighting styles.
The arms cost from 25 to 40 each, and you need 2 per side. As a minimum, you will end up with 8 arms of varying lengths. Lets call this £140.

Clamps are £35 each, I already have 3, so would need another 3. Thats £105.

So, we are up to £250.

I can get the phenolic balls for the arms for about £1 each. Delrin in 12mm Dia is around £4/m and enough 10mm flat to make 6 halves of the clamps is around £25

So for around £50 plus tooling I would have custom made arms, in the lengths I want, complete with clamps.

Now, as I mentioned, I would prefer to buy in the clamps, but don't like paying £35 for what is, in effect, 2 bits of plastic with a captive bolt and thumbwheel. But it might not even be necessary. These are just musings, airing to people who might have knowledge of what I was after.


Not too sure on your analogy though, did you;
Weld your chassis rather than buying one pre-welded?
Refurbish parts rather than buy new?
Slap parts on without refurbing?

Yes, I would be very very pissed off if I lost a strobe, but that's nothing compared to what it would cost if the housing flooded.

And the cost of both of those pale into insignificance compared to dodgy welding making your chassis become 2 pieces at 70mpg in a corner, or those brakes that you 'thought' were alright, so saved a few quid by not refurbing them, will they pull you up when you really need it.

In my opinion, making these is easy compared to building a car, and the consequences of loss purely financial.

There is a saying in the UW world, "Never take anything underwater you can't afford to lose"

As borne out by this:
http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/nocs/news.php?action=display_news&idx=224

£5m quids worth of kit (IIRC) trapped 200m under the ice, 17km from the edge.

[Davey]

You seem to make my case even better than I could!

Just for the record I hold/have held certificates for MIG, TIG and MMA welding across stainless steel, mild steel, aluminium and cast iron across those processes including hydraulic pipework to 7000 psi, most of those have lapsed but I've been there:) .

No I wouldn't use second hand parts without a refurb, I'm a C&G qualified mechanic and auto electrician and I do know how to overhaul everything from a cup holder to an automatic transmission.

I also make bloody good Gluewhein and brandy:D .

It just seemed to me that you were looking to save a few quid on the kit that would be supporting some very expensive gear:confused: .

D.

[londonsean69]

It just seemed to me that you were looking to save a few quid on the kit that would be supporting some very expensive gear:confused: .


I wouldn't really say it's just about saving a few quid, it's about getting exactly what I want/need, plus learn a few things along the way;)
And sometimes, learning when NOT to do something is as useful as HOW to do it

Same reason I am building a roadster (and I dread to think what htey will end up costing me:eek: )

[Davey]

Fair point, lets agree to disagree on this and remain amicable:D .

D.

[londonsean69]

Fair point, lets agree to disagree on this and remain amicable:D .

D.

No problems;)

[Land Locked]

Just found a 32mm Dia. router cutter, so might have to look into this. Although the cutter is £28.

Always the way, when trying to make a couple of little bits, the tooling and materials will come out to not much less then if you just bought them.

Not too sure about splashing out on a router as well, might just chuck it in the drill press and see what happens - clog up probably:D

As it stands, I only need 3 of them, but if I can keep all my balls ;) the same size, then that is better. I might just replace the current ones as well, making 6 makes it all a bit more viable.

Router bits in drill press have worked out not too badly for me in the past. They're just as likely to "clog up" in a router, maybe even more so. My one and only excursion into routing plastic ended up with a good result, 2 guide bearings later and it was just 6 kitchen cupboard doors.

Getting exactly what you want is part of the joy of making things yourself.