Iphone camera video stabiliser. Diy project. 2013

This project grew out of my dissatisfaction with the results I was getting from videoing my other projects. I use an iPhone to film and I found that unless you have it mounted on a tripod the results are in the main unwatchable, and of course if you use a tripod then your movement is very restricted. I had seen steady cams online and on ebay but most were bulky and nearly all were expensive. I decided to make one that was small, easy to set up and cheap to make.

So was born the RetroSteady. It's handle is made from bakelite, all the fittings and gimble are stainless steel and the body is made from anodised aluminium. The iphone holder is a standard tripod mount available off ebay for a couple of pounds.

 I have a main site where I hope to sell them eventually .... www.retrosteady.com. I called them the retrosteady because I think the design and black and silver colouring looks very similar to the old film cameras of the 50's and 60's.

Check out the video on this page or search RetroSteady on YouTube for a look at how the stabilizer performs.

The screw knobs on the stabiliser as seen in these photos were all I could get hold of at first but since then I have found a company that supplies very neat thumb screws that will replace them and look less bulky.
 All in all the materials cost me about £20 ..... $30. I created a wooden form to bend the shape of the main support arm and since then have made about twenty of them.

I am currently selling this item on eBay for £39.00 in the uk. You can check it out here ....

RetroSteady on eBay     Just £39 !

How to make recycled pipework bedroom shelves. Salvaged timbers

This is a set of shelves in my sons bedroom made from recycled timber from a salvage yard and some industrial steel pipe work and fittings.

His bedroom was completely stripped ..... new plaster, new wooden flooring, completely redecorated.
The sourcing of the materials took far longer than the building of it as my son chose the rarer smaller size of 3/8 bsp for the framework.

If you would like the dimensions of the project, drop me an email and I will get them out to you.
All in all the material costs were about £130 ($200), not bad considering he now has a wardrobe, shoe rack, shelves and high level storage.

Admittedly the timber shelves do look very rough but it was the look he was aiming for and he is happy with it. The boards were power washed then left to dry for a couple of days. Then we sanded them down and finally added a coat of dark oak wax. The branch for the hangers was treated in much the same way.

How to make and sell small 'Shaker Style' peg shelves.

These shelves are so easy to make. A Kreg pocket hole jig and a router are all you need to knock one up.
I have seen these sell on eBay for £25 ($35) ..... they will cost you just a couple of ££ in wood.
Watch the video and have a go yourself.
Thanks for looking in at shed projects

The RetroSteady ............ iPhone or small video camera stabilising device.

This is another project I am currently working on......

 www.retrosteady.com

I make these small hand held devices out of aluminium, stainless steel and bakelite.They work really well, taking out all the shakes and bumps from hand held video filming. They are really easy to make using basic tools and a few supplies.

I will be uploading a video shortly detailing how you can make one of these.

If you feel making one is a step too far or you don't have the time, no problem, I will be selling them from the website above.www.retrosteady.com

Small DIY Project. Door support jig.

This is a small jig I built to help when working on doors or large pieces of timber and boards. I was giving a friend of mine a lift replacing 12 internal doors. This involved planing to width and fitting hinges. Without this small jig it would have been a very difficult job holding the doors while doing the work, but with it, it was an easy one man task.
The jig is made by glueing together two pieces of scrap 1" plywood and cutting out with a jigsaw. One thing to be aware of, make sure the angle on the wedge and the angle on the main body are the same, otherwise you will not get a good square grip on the door.

How to make a Pine Country Kitchen Shelf DIY Project

This is a solid pine country kitchen shelf unit. It can be left plain with just a light oiling or waxing or it can be painted. I have made several of these and currently have two in my kitchen, you can see the colour options on the video.

Finally used the corks!

You may remember a few post ago I asked if you had any ideas for a bag full of corks that I had. Well the majority of the replies were in favour of a cork board. So here it is.
I've incorporated a few extra bits on there like a corkscrew and an old nutcracker.
The corks were all mounted on to a 3/4 back board of MDF and a surround of 2x1 softwood. I still have to finish the board, not sure whether to varnish the whole thing or maybe just wax the outer surround.
The board measures approx 28" x 16". Not sure if i should mount it vertically like in the picture or horizontally. I tried to make the design not only practical but pleasing to look at aswell, hence the extra pieces.
Visiting a local craft fair recently I saw the same thing but smaller for £25. The whole thing cost me about £7 (minus the wine).
This is an easy project for anyone to try and gives really nice useable results.
Give it a bash!

Jewellery Box

Hi again. Here is a short video showing a jewellery box I made a couple of years ago. The original design was by Steve Ramsey - the producer of 'Woodworking for Mere Mortals' website and YouTube channel.
I have a link to Steve's page here -------------- >
If you would like to make one of these I suggest you have a look at Steve's YouTube page where he posted a very comprehensive video of him making it.

The box is made from Ash, Walnut and I think boxwood.

Gate is Finished

I don't think there was enough work in mounting the gate to warrant video, so I'll just write the main points here.
The top hinge had to be raised by about 4 inches to line up with the crossledge on the gate. This is just mounted by four screws in to a mahogany stile.

I had to drill a one and a quarter inch hole through the gate and brace to mount the lock. Originally I was unsure whether a lock designed for indoor use would stand the test of time outdoors, but the lock is probably in it's 10 or 11th year now and with just a couiple of squirts of WD40 now and again it is working fine.

On top of the door I have mounted a strip of 2x1 as a rain guard for water running on to the end grain. The wood is rebated on the bottom about three eights of an inch so it overlaps on each side.

I have also fitted a small hook and hasp latch at the top of the door as extra security if the lock is on latch. This is because we have two dogs and the kids are always leaving the gate open.

Prior to mounting the gate I left it soaking at each end overnight in Cuprinol 5 Star wood preserve. This soaked up inside the door and hopefully will provide years of protection. The rest of the gate has had a liberal brushing of the same.

Next stage is to colour the gate with a mid brown stain called fencelife. This will have to be repeated each year as the stain faids in sunlight.


I mentioned in my last video that I used a homemade door stand for planing and working on the gate. In my next post I will show some photos and instruction on how to make this handy tool.

Ledge and Braced Garden Gate

Following my post earlier this week, here is the video showing how to make a simple ledge and braced garden gate. It's quite a long video but it covers all the relevent parts.
In a few days time I will be hanging the gate so I'll put that video up as well.
If you have any questions, drop me a line and I will help where I can.

Norm's three drawer chest (With Secret Drawer)

This is my latest project. Its a softwood 3 drawer chest designed by Norm Abram from the New Yankee Workshop. He originally aired it in his season 12 episode 12 show. His version is made from cherry wood however that would be far too expensive so I'm using some softwood boards that I bought at IKEA for about £4 ($6) each.
It incorporates a box top and a secret drawer which was quite challenging for an amateur like me. The original can be seen at this link. I've just ordered some water based pine stain from a company called fiddes, I've used it before and it gives a superb natural English country pine finish. The octaganal door handles were about £1.50 each from a discounted range at a local ironmongery store called Woodfit. If you have any questions or would like to know any of the sizes, just subscribe to the blog and drop me a line.

New Shed Blog

Hi.
A brief introduction to my blog.........
I've made many projects over the years in my small (8x12) shed. I hope to show you some of these on these pages and maybe inspire you to get out in to your shed and create a few yourself.
I've a few videos of the stuff I've made and I'll also post links to these on YouTube.
Most of the projects are woodwork and carpentry but as a mechanical engineer there are going to be a few welding and steel construction jobs aswell.
You really dont need a fully equiped workshop to produce some good results, like I say, my shed is only 8x12 and at times it can be tight but with planning and clever use of space it can be very productive.
The shed itself was one of my first woodwork projects and I'll cover that in a later post but inside I've made collapsable jigs and fixtures that help to make maximum use of the limited space available.
So, if you have a shed and are keen to get a few projects built, follow my blog.
Thanks for looking in. Graeme