Well, I was thinking half or three-quarter inch stuff. Don't believe I've run across any full inch versions just yet.

OK, now bear in mind the stuff I am describing has an actual O.D. of a little over an inch, which is what I think they call 3/4, and the stuff that's just under an inch must be what they call 1/2. But I could be wrong. When constructing things, I only think about the physical dimensions as I measure them, not nominal pipe gauges.

Oh...okay. My terminology needs work; when I said "three quarter", I was referring to the OUTSIDE diameter that I merely PERCEIVED the tube as having. I'm not really positive how big the stuff is, I only estimated.

I built mine out of square aluminum and hardware for around $70. Go to any hardware store and look around. You can find a lot of interesting stuff there.
Oh yeah- it wasn't home Depot either. It was one of the True Value places. The one piece that cost me was the tripod mounting plate which I had to have welded ($30). Was able to find pulleys and everything else okay.

It's very sturdy, but I need to move the weight in back - back another foot and a half to lose some of the counter weight I need to pile on right now (50 lbs!). There's several places mentioned earlier that have good plans. Need a sturdy tripod for sure.

Good luck.

Jeff Patnaude

Good idea using square, Jeff. I like it better than round for its bend-resistance, plus easier to get a precise fit-up when welding.

Robert, just for the record, here's what my trusty dial caliper tells me about the two sizes of this EMT: actual OD of .93" and 1.16" respectively, with a wall thickness of .06" on each. I'll leave it to the electricians to tell us what the official sizes are called. I just happened to use it cuz I had so much laying around and it was handy to work with for the above-described projects.

Yes, I see how that stuff would be desirable over the gas pipe; easier to work with, lighter, but still strong. I would most certainly use that if I were building a crane.

Though I have to be honest, I just designed and built (well, truthfully, my father designed and built it--he's better with these things than I am) a camera support system out of inch and a half PVC. I may not like the stuff for drainage piping, but for camera supports, it seems to work quite well.

And it's good for instruments, too.

Instruments? You must be in Blue Man Group!

Have fun and stay warm!

Heh, no, not IN it, but a big fan. Keep telling myself I'm gonna build one of those things....

Guys,
This may be a fascinating discussion but it has really wandered far from the original topic of the thread, started months ago. Consequently I'm closing it to new entries.