made my own cx100 box

[roostnureye 2]

Hey guys and gals i didnt want to dish out the $200 for a box so i decided to try and build one, it only took about 4 days and cost me about $15.00.
I integrated the hypeye into it, nice and clean. i didnt want to gaffer the led to the top of the helmet so i drilled a hole for it. let me know what you think!!! and yeah thats carbon fiber with a green gelcoat tint added to the epoxy!!!

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[c10edges 0]

That is very impressive.

[Teigen 0]

Wow! supernice! really well done for only 4 days of work!

you got the Opteka too? great lens!

[sdctlc 0]

Looks great! How much to make one for me?

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[TomD 0]

Wow, I made my own too but yours looks even beter! Nice one dude!!

[raceface 0]

prototype of mine, extra slim for sidemount
(cx-105 + raynox-3032)

my pictures

[roostnureye 2]

Quote

prototype of mine, extra slim for sidemount
(cx-105 + raynox-3032)

looks nice man, how are you going to attach the hypeye? looks as though its made for a right side mount, thats where the hypeye cable goes into the cam. does it use a screw to attach the cam to the box???

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[HSPScott 0]

Where did you get the supplies?

[Blink 0]

I too cringed at the thought of forking over $200 for pieces of plastic, carbon fibre, or aluminum.
I didn't create a box, but I did machine a custom cage for my CX100, details in my thread:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3506875;page=1;mh=-1;;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC

[roostnureye 2]

i bought the carbon from composite envisions,
its a 2x2 twill 5.7oz,
I got the epoxy from resin research.
its the 2100 hardness system 21 with slow kick hardner. I had the materials left over from making a carbon fiber surfboard. you can pick up the gelcoat tint at any boat store, they have red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[danielcroft 2]

So 4 days if you know how to build a CF surf board?

Nice work, I was wondering why it was so long up until I saw the hypeye in there too.

I'm looking to get a Gas so that I can get my CX on there too actually.

[TomD 0]

Mine's painted, didn't look anywhere as nice as your two's until it'd got a fair bit of paint and filler on it!!

I made the entire lot actually, helmet and box. This is Mark II, the first one was a bit bulkier and the original box was made to cover the raynox 5050 lens, i've since decided that i didn't like the massive lens so downsized to a royal 0.5x.

Let me know what you think, i made 2 boxes and 2 helmets and the whole lot took about 3 weeks (Christmas vacation from Uni) to complete.

Edited to resize photos

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2940/img2779h.jpg
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5379/img2796e.jpg
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/7252/img2801fr.jpg
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4048/img2803nb.jpg

[roostnureye 2]

Quote

So 4 days if you know how to build a CF surf board?

Nice work, I was wondering why it was so long up until I saw the hypeye in there too.

I'm looking to get a Gas so that I can get my CX on there too actually.

naa man the surfboard took me a couple of weeks to finish, i wish i could pop those badboys out in 4 days.
as far as the cx100 on the gas, its great, i was kinda worried about the chin strap situation, and shaking of the video, none at all! very impressed

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[danielcroft 2]

Sorry, poor punctuation, what I meant was that if you're capable of building a CF surfboard then you could probably build the box in 4 days. I'm not so gifted so I believe it may take a little longer and I may end up stabbing someone.

Cool, thanks for the info btw, good work.

[Blink 0]

I forgot to mention earlier:
Your camera box looks awesome! Good to see others are making their own.

Off topic: That surfboard looks amazing!

[roostnureye 2]

hey everyone thanks for all the props on the box!!!
i actually had my buddy that worked for action craft boats help me with the surfboard, i got the idea of how carbon and epoxy work together.
in all seriousness the box was really pretty easy. just make sure its above 50deg. the hardest part was sanding and lining up the holes for the flatlock. if anyone needs help feel free to pm me.

thanks for the props on the surfboard, it was my first attempt and came out amazing!! i am a gulf coaster in fl, so we get really steep beach break, one nose dive and its all over, hence the carbon fiber.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[VectorBoy 0]

Quote

i bought the carbon from composite envisions,
its a 2x2 twill 5.7oz,
I got the epoxy from resin research.
its the 2100 hardness system 21 with slow kick hardner. I had the materials left over from making a carbon fiber surfboard. you can pick up the gelcoat tint at any boat store, they have red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black.

Very clean lines. What did you use for a mold?

[roostnureye 2]

i found a stand that you would use to hang a television on the wall with, (the old style tv not flatscreens) and used the plastic cover that conceals the bolts you use to anchor it to the wall.

i used that and cut it down to the size i wanted, then plastic welded it back together, then traced the bottom on a piece of aluminum for the flatlock to attach to.

after that i wrapped the top of the mold in carbon and epoxy i let it kick, then popped it off the mold and inserted the aluminum base, then wrapped the bottom in carbon and let it kick.

then sand the hell out of it. recoat with epoxy, then dremel the door and holes, attach hinges and bungee. mount the flatlock and drill a hole for the camera screw.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[VTmotoMike08 0]

It looks awesome, nice work!
Got any pics of it opened up? I'm wondering if you had to shorten (trim) the wire on the hype eye or if its bunched up inside there?

Any advice on where to get the materials that won't cost as much as the commercially available boxes? Your cost was clearly brought down by economics of scale and leftover surfboard materials. Most sites sell CF by the yard and resin or epoxy by the gallon, and obviously you don't need those volumes to make a camera box- and it ends up costing more than the cookie or bonehead boxes.

I seems like most of the carbon fiber part kits out there cost almost as much as the boxes from cookie, etc.

The simplest that I found was this:
http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/Products/Carbon-Fibre-Laminating-Starter-Kit__CMCFLK300.aspx
By the time you buy the mold, the fabric, resin, (both of the kits) and ship it all to the USA it comes to over $130. Still cheaper than buying the cookie box but I would like to get a little more savings if I'm gonna put in all that time.

I think I'm gonna try to make one, but mine will be permanently mounted to the top of a FTP helmet and I'm gonna try to make it drop in and have padding to hold it in place instead of a camera screw.

[raceface 0]

Quote

Quote

prototype of mine, extra slim for sidemount
(cx-105 + raynox-3032)

looks nice man, how are you going to attach the hypeye? looks as though its made for a right side mount, thats where the hypeye cable goes into the cam. does it use a screw to attach the cam to the box???

becouse it is as narrow as possible (handstrap needs to be removed), hypeye sticks out of box, just behind helmet's sidemount flat surface.
there is very tight fit around lens and battery, so if you rely on locking system, you do not really need bottom screw.

my pictures

[raceface 0]

Quote

...after that i wrapped the top of the mold in carbon and epoxy i let it kick, then popped it off the mold and inserted the aluminum base, then wrapped the bottom in carbon and let it kick. then sand the hell out of it. recoat with epoxy...

cannot even imagine doing it this way

but appreciate your design (copying diameter of lens to have it protected), i never understand the point of having camera covered in box while large lens sticking out (which is most vulnerable part)

my pictures

[raceface 0]

Quote

I seems like most of the carbon fiber part kits out there cost almost as much as the boxes from cookie, etc..

smaller amounts = higher prices (significantly, for these materials)

if you are going to start directly with carbon fibre,
i wish you good luck and lot of patience,
you will be surprised how much material (+ time and nerves) you will spend to achieve acceptable result.

my pictures

[roostnureye 2]

hey guys composite envisions sells carbon by the yard for $35.00 thats 36"x50" and you can go to west marine and get a pint of epoxy for $15.00. i dont know why everyone thinks this stuff is gold... and carbon is really easy to work with if u tape the edges before you start. then the carbon dosent fringe on the edges. carbon is pretty stiff stuff even when wet, let the epoxy kick off a little before wrapping it around a radius it will stick allot better.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[Sangi 0]

So 132 jumps..

Camera flying..

Wingsuit flying..

And nobody's here complaining? Am I at the right site?

"Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean

[roostnureye 2]

Quote

It looks awesome, nice work!
Got any pics of it opened up? I'm wondering if you had to shorten (trim) the wire on the hype eye or if its bunched up inside there?

Any advice on where to get the materials that won't cost as much as the commercially available boxes? Your cost was clearly brought down by economics of scale and leftover surfboard materials. Most sites sell CF by the yard and resin or epoxy by the gallon, and obviously you don't need those volumes to make a camera box- and it ends up costing more than the cookie or bonehead boxes.

I seems like most of the carbon fiber part kits out there cost almost as much as the boxes from cookie, etc.

The simplest that I found was this:
http://www.carbonmods.co.uk/Products/Carbon-Fibre-Laminating-Starter-Kit__CMCFLK300.aspx
By the time you buy the mold, the fabric, resin, (both of the kits) and ship it all to the USA it comes to over $130. Still cheaper than buying the cookie box but I would like to get a little more savings if I'm gonna put in all that time.

I think I'm gonna try to make one, but mine will be permanently mounted to the top of a FTP helmet and I'm gonna try to make it drop in and have padding to hold it in place instead of a camera screw.

heres a pic of the inside, i just bunched the wire up on the inside of the box.

and this box i used 2 layers of carbon, so i used no more than 2'x2' piece of carbon

and as far as incorporating the lense into the box, im not a fan, i want to be able to remove the cam from the box w/o removing the lense from the cam.

also i dont want the box touching the lense for vibration purposes. (rubber is better) plus the baby death lense has such a small lip on the lense it would be damn near impossible to fit carbon perfectly around the edge of the lense.

i personally prefer my lense to take the moisture and keep it out of the box, im of the opinion if you have a gap between the lens and the box you will get air/moisture inside. just my opinion

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121