Building a Camera Box (Pictures, etc...)

[everymansaved 0]

Well, the winter is long, and I decided I'd try my hand at fiberglassing my own box for my PC-120. If anyone ever tells you fiberglassing is fun, I want you to punch them in the nose! In all seriousness, the basic elements of the project are pretty simple, but putting it into action is a little interesting so far.

I decided to use the lost foam method, which basically entails making a foam mold of whatever you want to make (in this case, the camera), and then setting up your fiberglass on top of that, then disolving the foam out with a solvent such as gasoline, acetone, etc... I also found out (after an untterly failed first attempt!) that if you opt to use the blue construction foam which is readily available as I did, that it's important to cover the foam with something such as duct tape so as to prevent the resin from disolving the mold prematurely, as happened to me.

Below are pictures of the first few stages of the project. Everything from the raw foam up to the first coat of fiberglass. The foam mold was created by taking two pieces of blue construction foam (one was not wide enough) and gluing them together using Elmer`s spray adhesive, which takes about 15 min to dry. (Picture 1) I then spent a couple hours with a caliper, a square, a coping saw and some sandpaper and made the mold. I made mine quite form fitting, even including the lens, so if I get another camera or lens, I will have to make a new box. It would also be possible to make more of a generic mold that would hold several PC style cameras. I forgot to take any pictures of the completed foam mold, but I did get some of it once it was coated in a layer of duct tape (Pictures 2 & 3).

Next came the fiberglass... All I can say is wear gloves! I only wore one pair for the first coat, and for the next one, I will definetly change them 2-3 times, as they get very goopy and resin coated. To begin, mix the resin and hardner as directed on the package. I used polyester resin which is suitably strong and far cheaper then it`s counterpart, epoxy resin. I noticed how well the width of the duct tape worked for covering the mold, so I cut strips of fiberglass cloth (not mat, which is more suited for large, flat areas) into 2 inch strips. I then fully coated the stips in resin, then squeezed out the excess before laying it up on the mold in the same fashion I did with the tape. (Picture 4) The hardest part is definetly the corners. The cloth doesn`t want to lay flat on the corners (as noted in picture 5) so before the next coat is applied, I`ll have to cut off the pieces that have stuck out at the corners and then make more relief cuts in the cloth before dunking it in resin to allow it to lay flatter.

From my understanding, I`ll need three coats, and possibly four. I`ll attmpt to guage the strength and thickness after the second coat and find out if I need 3 or 4. I plan to lay up every coat except the last coat in strips as I did with this one, and do the last one in one large sheet with plenty of relief cuts to achieve a smooth outer surface. Another trick I`ve been told is to coat a piece of vapour barrier or similar plastic sheeting with car wax and adhere it to the outside of the box after the last coat, before the resin is dry. Once the resin has dried, the car wax makes it possible to remove the plastic, leaving a smooth finish.

I`m off to work now, and will be quite curious to see what it looks like in the morning once it`s cured.

I will continue to take pictures of my progress for the benefit of others who want to do this, so that you may learn from my mistakes. If anyone else has done this, or any other fiberglassing and has any tips or tricks, etc... feel free to add!

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[sinjin 0]

can you list materials cost in your next post please, thanks posting and sharing...

p

dont let life pass you by

[everymansaved 0]

Basically the only cost so far has been the $24 for the fiberglass cloth, resin and hardner. The foam was free scraps from a construction site, and I already had the glue. I had to buy a coping saw and the caliper, but I don't really count that towards the cost of the project, as they are tools, not materials. As far as I can tell, the only other costs will be a hinge (with fastening hardware), 4 screws/nuts to fasten it to the helmet, and paint.

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[mircan 0]

I did my first camera box in similar way. It had to be custom made because of the camera model.
It was rough and jagged when I finished with the resin. Grind it, sand it. Then I took it to car painter who filled the rough parts/small bubble holes with filler and did some extra work with sand paper. Painted it with spray car paint. Total cost was about 30 euro (except mine and my friend`s work). We also made custom chin-cup this way.
Resin is a bitch to work with , but there is great amount of satisfaction when you are done.

just my 2`c
blues!

dudeist skydiver #42

[everymansaved 0]

You know, I never even thought of using bondo to make it smoother, that's a great idea, I'll probably use it. Thanks!

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[freefalle 0]

You can also mix micro balloons with the resin to give it a thick consistancy I like using micro balloons with the resin over using bondo, I think its easier to work with.

[everymansaved 0]

Well, the second coat is complete. I still don't have this thing completely down pat, but I'm getting better... I think. Instead of dunking the cloth in resin and then squeezing out the excess with my fingers, this time I laid it on dry, then brushed on the resin until the cloth was completely saturated. It worked way better! I was able to make it adhere where I wanted way better. Not perfectly, but better. I've laid out and made the cuts in the piece of cloth I'll be using on the third and final coat, but unfortunately, I won't be able to apply it while the second coat is still tacky as I'd hoped. I'll have to wait until it dries so I can work some of the rough stuff out first. The "roughness" can be seen in the pictures below. For those who have done this before, did you find 3 layers to be enough? It's sure seeming like it will be, but I have this eerie image in my mind of watching my camera get ripped off the side of my head on opening or something...

PS: What are micro balloons?

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[mircan 0]

Quote

did you find 3 layers to be enough?

yes. my first attempt of d-box had 3 layers (was bad for other reasons). We tried to smash it with a hammer, but could not.

Quote

I have this eerie image in my mind of watching my camera get ripped off the side of my head on opening or something...

in that case, what do you think will happen with your head?

seriously, just keep a good head position on opening (search posts for that, or watch latest Norman Kent`s DVD).

dudeist skydiver #42

[freefalle 0]

Micro balloons are a thickening agent It kind of reminds me of clay You mix the resin and the hardener and then add the micro balloons to thicken the resin the desired thickness. IMHO it is easier to work with see my post on building my CCM and you can get an idea of what I've used them for.

[mircan 0]

Yes. You should read freefalle`s post.
It is full of good info.

dudeist skydiver #42

[everymansaved 0]

Sweet, thanks guys, I'll keep you posted.

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[gearless_chris 1]

I've found that the mat works around corners better to get you a smoother outside. You already have the cloth in the first 2 layers for strength. Bondo is a good idea also for smoothing everything out. Be sure to let everything cure good before you start painting though. The solvents take a while to evaporate so if you paint too soon sanding scratches will show up later. After you've finished the glass work on the box you might want to mount it to the helmet and get everything lined up. Once you've got it in the right place you can glass it to the helmet so you have no seam between the box and helmet for lines to catch. Here's my newest helmet, I made my box from aluminum, it's bolted and bonded to the helmet with JB weld. The box took many hours to fabricate but I have considered making a fiberglass mold so it can be duplicated. I still need to add a still camera mount and will probably make a fiberglass cover for the whole still camera.

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[everymansaved 0]

Hmm, they told me @ the fiberglass place that cloth was better for curves, etc... Weird. I just put the outside coat on, and used mat. I decided to forego pictures because in all honesty, they look just like the first two coats, just a lot smoother. I'm planning to let it cure for a day or two, then get out either the Bondo or resin with micro balloons as was suggested earlier and do some cosmetic work. Well done on the aluminum box!

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[everymansaved 0]

Well, the final coat hardened, and I'm on to the "filler" stage. I decided to go with Bondo, mainly because I had it lying around, and was unable to get to a fiberglass shop to pick up micro balloons! It's actually in better shape than it looks in the pictures, believe me. It's quite smooth, and will probably only need to be sanded, one more coat done, then sanded and painted, etc... Probably, but not for sure. As for adding to the materials cost, I had the can of Bondo already, and am only using a very small amount of it, but the entire can was probably $10-15. I can't remember for sure though, it's been a long time since I bought it.

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[everymansaved 0]

Well, I'm so close now I can taste it! Over the past day or two, I have sanded, cut the box (gulp), removed the foam, made sure everything fit, attached the hardware, removed all the hardware, masked it and painted it. I'll go through it in a little more detail for those interested:

Sanding: Pretty self explanatory. I probably didn't do quite as good a job as could have been done by a pro, but I think it's smooth enough to work.

Cutting: This one was tough on hte psyche. I'd just put a lot of work into this thing, now I'm going at it with a hacksaw!?!? In all seriousness, it went a lot smoother than I'd expected. I made the cut loosely based on a Cookie BlackBox, as you can see in the photos. The important thing here is that no matter how you cut it, you need to remember to cut the hole for the lens with at least half of it on the lid portion, or you will be unable to insert the lens into it. I know that sounds kind of confusing, but trust me. I used an ordinary hacksaw I had lying around, drew the lines with a sharpie with the assistance of a square on both the front and back of the box, then cut.

Removing the foam: When this method was innitially described to me, I was told that gasoline "melts the foam away." When I did this step, I was expecting a very dramatic process. What I got was the exact opposite. I found that the gasoline was very inneffective. I ended up just working my fingers between the box and the foam, and then prying it out. Both sides handled this quite well, with both pieces of foam coming out in a single piece. I was somewhat concerned, as I had not remembered to coat the duct tape on the outside of the mold with wax to expediate removal, but the duct tape removed easily on both sides.

Making sire it fit: So next came the very suspenseful part of making sure the camera fit. I was very nervous about this, as the lens is not centered on the camera, nor is it completely at one side, so when the mold was made, there was a lot of measuring, and a mit of guessing as to where to put the lens. In the end, it worked! It fit perfectly into the box, exactly as I had planned.

Attaching Hardware, etc...: Next came the hinges, box closure, tripod screw, and control access. The hinges are some regular olr hinges I got from Home Depot. I was able to attach them with botch screws on the box, but only one each on the lid, as the camera fit so tightly, there was no room for the screw! The closure of the box was an idea taken from Cookie as well, utilizing a piece of shock cord from my rigging kit. I then drilled a hole in the bottom for the tripod screw. I ended up having to measure and drill, but if you were to use one less layer of fiberglass, you could probably see through it with a flashlightand mark it that way. Then I used my coping saw to cut the access for the on/off toggle and record button on the back of the box, as I plan to use a Hypeye and not a Cameye.

Masking: Now that all the hardware was on, and I was confident the box would work, I took it all off and prep'd it for paint. I decided to mask the inside of the box, as I didn't want paint rubbing off on the camera over time. Nobody will see it once it's closed anyway! I passed a piece of supertack through one of the holes for the hinge on each half and tied a screw to it so I could hang the pieces to paint them.

Painting: For paint, I went with an epoxy based spraypaint, used primarily in painting appliances. I decided on this becuase it's glossy without having to use a clearcoat (gloss matches the helmet), and because the epoxy makes the paint quite strong, and more resistant to scratches and chips. I just hung the pieces from the rafters and painted. I've done two coats so far, and I think that will be enough. Like I said before, The sanding could have been done better, so there will probably be some ridges/imperfections, etc... in the paint, but I can live with that. I don't have any pictures of the painted pieces, because none of them turned out! The glare from the wet paint cause too much of a reflection. I'll try to get some pictures when it's dry.

So, all that's left to do now is wait until the paint dries, re-attach all the harware and mount it to the helmet, all of which should be done tomorrow. I'll post again once it's done with an overview of parts cost, time spent, and thoughts about hos it could be made better, etc...

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[monkycndo 0]

Not bad. Some suggestions.

If the top surface is flat enough, use a single piece of piano hinge. It is stronger and requires fewer fasteners. Look into using truss head screws to attach the hinge with the head in the box and the nut on the outside, they will fit easily. Or use pop rivets.

I've considered building my own box, but the total hours spent is worth more to me then the $ to buy one. Building a Wes CCM is a different story though.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[everymansaved 0]

Yeah, I'd thought about the piano hinge, but I was worried that it would be too "thin" for lack of a better term. I also considered using pop rivets, but decided that I would have no other use for the gun and it would be a waste. Maybe I'll change them to rivets one day...

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[monkycndo 0]

A piano hinge is very strong.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[mccordia 73]

This is looking really good...
Im planning on switching to top mount soon (jumping a side-mount FF2 atm) and this thread definately sparked an intrest in trying to make a D-box myself..

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[everymansaved 0]

Well, I'm done! I accidentally deleted the pictures of the box before I mounted it to the helmet from ma camera, but I have some after it's mounted, which are attached below.

Materials/Cost Breakdown:
Fiberglass Cloth/Resin/Hardner: $25
Foam: Free
Bondo: Can't remember, but I think ~$15
Paint: $7
Hinges: $3
Hardware: $2.50

Total Cost: $52.50

Tools Needed:
Coping Saw
Calipers
Square
Sandpaper
Duct Tape
Container for Resin
Paintbrush(es)
Acetone
Spreader (for Bondo)
Drill
Screwdrivers, etc... for attaching hardware

Lessons Learned:
Be patient!! This is one one of my great traits, and I really had to try hard to be patient throughout the hwole project. Shaping the foam, letting the resin harden, sanding, etc... I could have dome more coats and sanding/smoothing on the Bondo for sure.
Be Precise: I was actually quite impressed with the fit of the box. The camera has to be co-ersed into the box, just barely fitting height-wise, which is what I was going for, but still makes me a little nervous. If it had been so much as 1/8" shorter, the camera would not fit.
Think ahead: I didn't account for the screws on the hinges when I decided to make it fit the camera exactly. There is absolutely ZERO room for two of the hinge screws. It's not a huge issue in this case, as one screw from each hinge is quite solid. I was lucky and found space for the screws to mount the box.

Overall, I am quite impressed with how this project turned out. A functional product, for 75-85% less than buying comercially. Don't get me wrong, it could be better. I'm a little unhappy with the smoothness of the exterior, but that's my fault for not being patient and taking the "it's good enough" attitude while bondo'ing/sanding. This is minor though, it does not affect the structural soundness of the box. I also did not account for the width of the saw blade used to cut th box in two, resulting in a gap where the box closes. Again, not a big deal struturally. I anticipate that my skydiving career will span several cameras, so if I cannot find another PC120 to replace this one when it dies, or decide to switch lenses (quite possible) I'll have to do it all over again, which will give me more chances to do it better each time. If anyone would like more detail on an step, different pictures, or has any questions, feel free to let me know!

PS: All prices in Canadian dollars. You'll have to convert to US pesos yourself!

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.