DIY Video Housing a success...

[ShoalDiverSA]

Matt and Bobby,

I must comment on the build quality of your housings. They truly look superb - well done!

I feel like buying a video camera now, just so that I can build a housing...

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[Padipro]

I second that comment. You guys have done a great job. This is why I love this DIY stuff. Someone comes up with a simple design that does the job but my not be the best idea and others take that design and improve on it until you have something really great. The same thing happened with the canister light. My first design was pretty crude but after posting pictures of the light and talking to others building their own we improved everything until it looked like something you could buy at the LDS for hundreds of $$$ and worked just as well. Keep up the great work and please post these pictures on my MSN Group.

You guys have inspired me to build another housing for my digital video camera, this will be my third housing. I'll post the pictures as the project progresses.

 

[MATTKINZ]

Bobby_M, Beautiful job on your housing. Your housing uses off the shelf items and looks easier to construct too.

On mine, The leak was in the cut and routed edge of the rings. Your design used preformed pieces and really looks good.

Mine was taken on a stone crab hunting dive to 39 ft. this weekend. Housing functioned perfectly.

My video wasn't so good however. I have something to learn about video technique. Hopefully, soon I will get to test to 70- 100 ft.

BTW, someone on another post commented on buying multiple o-rings of different sizes . This would get expensive, the use of bulk o-ring material is cheap and very easy. A single butt edge cut with a single edge razor blade on both ends of the ring makes the joint and it securely glues up with superglue. The glue solvent welds the neoprene of the ring. You just put a drop of glue on one side, then use your fingers on each sice of the joint to push the ends straight against each other for about 5-10 seconds. Very simple.

Bobby_M , I hope your housing gets tyo be tested on a great dive soon.

Scott, I love this stuff too. Without your inspiration and advice, I wouldn't have even attempted it.

Also, Do you know how to inexpensively make glands for controls, or do you recommend Ikelight's ones. My LDS wants $25 per gland if ordered from Ikelight. MK

 

[MichiganDiver]

In an earlier post Bobby_M mentions having a way to make a clean, square cut in PVC pipe. Our local hardware store sells cut-to-length pipe. I asked how they get such nice square cuts, and they told me they use a chop saw like you might use for trim and moldings. I plan to borrow my neighbor's saw when I'm ready to make my housing.

It looks like Bobby_M's camera fits inside 4" pipe without any problems. My camera, like MattKinz', is just a little too big for 4" pipe. I'd rather not use 6" pipe because of the additional buoyancy compensation and bulk. My plan is to make the outer rings as Matt did, then glue them onto the pipe. I have access to a small metal lathe, so I hope to face (square up the end) the pipe/ring assembly, then cut an o-ring groove. After the o-ring grooves are cut, I will heat the assembly and shape it over a wooden form to fit my camera, as Matt shows in his pictures.

I am hoping that the pipe/ring assembly is round and true enough to cut an o-ring groove into, and that the o-ring groove does not distort too much when I reshape the housing. I am also considering using two thin o-rings instead of one thick one for the seal, under the logic that a double seal will be more certain.

Any comments on any of these points?

 

[Bobby_M]

If I remember correctly, my 10" compound miter chop saw wouldn't make it all the way through 4" pipe, and certainly not through a coupling that has an O.D. of at least 5". If he has a 12" saw, or a sliding compound miter, it might do.

A double O-ring might be nice, but you would have to use a very cross-sectional diamter O-ring. The width of the gland has to be larger than the O-ring diameter to allow for ovaling as it crushes. Either that, or you would have to use two outer rings to give you enough area for two glands. I wouldn't try to cut a groove larger than 1/8" in a 1/4" wall thickness. That's still only leaving 1/16" on each edge.

Think of it this way, if the O-ring doesn't leak in the first 10feet, it's probably not going to at all. As pressure increases, it seats the O-ring more and more, making a better seal.

By the way, I think I could use my design and still distort it out-of-round. That's including the use of stretched 4" pipe as the outer rings instead of couplings as I've done.

Bobby

 

[MATTKINZ]

Hi Michigan. After reading the post from Bobby, I thought, You could try using the fittings like bobby did, and try the end fittings and stretch all them together with a wooden form. You could grease a ring of the 4" to go inside the fitting to the outside to maintain "true" and the housing tube. This way , you could stretch and mold all pieces at once. Then you get the benefit of 4"pvc and the benefit of bobby's design too. A poor rendering in MS paint is included to try to show what I'm saying.

2 rings may be better than 1. In fact, if you use the X shaped bulk o- riing material in a square slot, it should give 2 seals. Ikelight's glands indeed use the X shaped seals themselves.

One problem I see is, if you make the end true before molding a shape, then distort with heat, It may go out of round and even with 2 o-rings , you may not seal at all. Good luck and let's see your project as it evolves.

 

[MATTKINZ]

Some more thoughts.

If you custom fit the tube, allow about 1/4- 38ths or so inch of increased depth top to bottom than the belly of the camera for lead sheet ballast. Mine has close tolerances and is slightly positively buoyant. Lead sheet can be obtained as roof fixtures as flanges on "stink pipe" vents for roofs. I would think slight neg buoyancy would be preferable.

Also, to make the lens to fit inside the housing end accurately, trace with pencil on some plywood inside the hole for the lens shape and make a template accurately from plywood first. Once fitted perfectly, the plywood template is affixed to the expensive plexiglass to shape the plexi. Use a flush cutting bearing guided router bit to trim up the lens. 2 sided tape can hold the template to the plexiglass lens for the routing job.

I will later post a picture, but , I have on my BC mounted at mid chest some rings to which I have used quick release snaps with 3/4 inch nylon strapping of the kind found on backpack straps. The strap meterial, and plastic quick release buckles are available in craft/sewing area of Wal-mart.

A male half of the plastic buckle is on one side , female on the other. There is an adjustable strap with similar male and female ends with adjustable end to attach to a camera to allow a camera to be affixed across my chest securely. Another buckle set is wire tied to the camera housing.

By unsnapping one snap, I can "reel out" the strap to a distance to allow easy picture taking, then take up the slack by pulling the strap end and re snapping the other end to the mounted snap end. This way, camera is always secure and there is no need to think about it unless you're taking a picture. I have one strap for my camera , and can use the same strap for the video housing , or any other gear I want secured without danger of loss. mk

 

[MATTKINZ]

Enclosed are pics of the camera strap for my BC with details.

I have first adj. strap as a chest strap.

The camera strap fastens into the buckle ends there already. To keep fron the strap pulling out of the adjustable buckle end, I have used grommets as I don't sew. BTW, a shoe repair shop can do some dandy sewing on of D-rings to your BC. Mine now has a number of new D-ring attachment points.

The last thing you want to have happen with your new high labor housing is for it to drift or float off. MK

 

[willydiver]

Bobby M,
You've got a great and simple design for your housing. The ultimate goal in a design is to maximize function with as few "moving" parts as possible. In my opinion, you've come up with one of the best "readily available" component cases I've seen. I'm really interested in seeing how the cemented lens work with sealing and pressure. The knurled machine screw inserts are great and although self-threading screws are a notch simpler, good DIY'ers have to admit they add a sleek professional touch. I'm one for engineering disassembly into projects. Probably because I'm always needing to "improve" something.

On a side note, go ahead and splurge and buy a length of Schedule 80 PVC. It has a nice wall thickness and comes in a great grey color. Plus none of us should ever reach an implode/flex depth for it.

Anyway great project and ideas by all on this thread.

Will (started this thread many moons ago with my first housing project...)

 

[Bobby_M]

Willy, I'm trying hard to ignore all the compliments on my housing until I get it tested, but thank you. I'm hitting the quarry on 5/25 so we'll see what happens.

Question for those who have painted their housings: Did you paint the PVC where the o-ring seats? I was thinking about painting the sealing surfaces and then lightly wet sanding to ensure a seal. However, I am a bit concerned about the O-ring pulling the paint off in spots. The alternative is to mask the sealing surfaces off prior to painting, which I'm leaning towards. However, if you guys have experience to guide me, that's great too.

I finally figured out how to mount handles to my unit. I cut a 1/2 threaded PVC coupling in half and sanded a 4.5" diameter concave into it using a piece of sandpaper glued to a piece of 4" pvc pipe. This allows them to mate to the outside of the housing will full contact. I just glued it to the sides of the housing and plan on using a 90 degree elbow and a schedule 80 1/2" x 6" nipple to form something that should feel like an airplane control yoke. The reason I'm using female threads on the handle mounts is so I can unscrew for more compact travel. I picked up some Bell bicycle hand grips to finish off my PVC pipe handles. Pictures to follow soon.

Bobby