I do have an angle grinder. I tend to be wretched at anything freehand, but if I use the hole saw that would give me a shape to work with. This guy carves out a nice cavity with some additional tools.
POE Trigger/Switch for Mailbox Cameras on BI?
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That's a good idea, too.
The difficulty of all these approaches is the inconvenient position of that piece, so I'll see if I can remove it temporarily, or even remove it destructively and insert replacement piece(s) with the required cavity/ies.
Edit: I just re-read your comment, and now I see that you're talking about doubling the top-most, horizontal pieces and not doubling the diagonal piece. I hadn't considered that, but now I will. But I kind of like the profile of the wood pieces the way it is now. But a thicker wood piece might be preferable to an ugly camera mount.
The diagonal piece also appeals to me because it's closer to the other two cameras, which will make blending the FOVs in post-processing easier.
And I just learned that "ball gouges" exist. This might be the ticket to carving out a real hemisphere. Because buying a tool isn't an expense; it's an investment!
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You'll be surprised how controllable a flap disk is. You're working with a scrap 2x4 anyway, so you won't ruin anything.And I just learned that "ball gouges" exist. This might be the ticket to carving out a real hemisphere. Because buying a tool isn't an expense; it's an investment!
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You can also use a regular metal cutting disk to make some slices in the wood that you can knock out with a hammer/chisel to quickly rough the shape. It's not a pretty way to do woodworking -- lots of smoke, etc., but your fingers won't be in any danger, and it gets the job done.
I ended up using two hole saws and a spade bit to rough out the general extents of the hemisphere:
and then I got this ball gouge for $23.39 on amazon:
It takes a little bit of practice to get accustomed to, but it cuts quickly, and it's reasonably controllable in the right hands (e.g. not mine!!!). You can see my first test/failure on the left, above, and this was my second (sloppy) test run:
It worked well enough:
for me to commit for real:
I could have gone a bit deeper, but it's good enough for now, and it accomplishes the main goal of getting it mounted without a mounting plate that's wider than the wood. I'm still not sure how to secure it; I might go with a zip tie. Ugly, but I've done worse.
I've made some progress on burying those cables in the post, but that's not ready for photos just yet.
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Ah, I just read this again. If I were to use a 3" cutting wheel and do 6-8 "pizza cutter" cuts to the depth of half the wheel, it would rough out a perfect hemisphere with a 3" diameter. I may try that, just as an experiment.
Actual diameter of the camera ball is 3.25"
Apparently tools of such a form exist, but they're typically for orthopedic purposes, e.g. reaming out a hip socket for an implant, so they'd be both too small and prohibitively expensive.
Makes me wonder whether it would be possible to make some sort of giant bit out of this 3" hardened steel sphere. It's only $30:
so affordable enough to experiment with, but apparently also tool-hardened, so hard to machine.
It's a 1/4" too small, but if I had a perfect 3" hemispherical tool I suppose it wouldn't be too difficult to make the hole slightly larger.
edit: there's also these 80mm hollow steel balls for $12.50/2-pack (thickness unknown) and these 75mm half spheres for $10/2-pack (only 1mm thick)
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Interesting. I see a nut with angle grinder threads welded to the steel ball. On the other side, an adhesive-backed sanding disk.
Ah, that’s the answer to the question I’ve had in my head the last couple of days, eg how to attach such a contraption to a tool.
I wonder how good the alignment would be if I just tacked on a nut.
I have visions of a runaway 3”, 4 lb. steel ball zipping up my driveway and rocketing down the street at 9,000 RPM
Or maybe I could use something like this 3” sanding ball:
and impregnate some much coarser abrasive material.
and impregnate some much coarser abrasive material.
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If you go that way, make sure that you have cams set up and post the outcome! Would love to see that rocketing down the street.I have visions of a runaway 3”, 4 lb. steel ball zipping up my driveway and rocketing down the street at 9,000 RPM
There are some clever and resourceful folks on this forum - including yourself.
Take these few thoughts with a grain of sand.
1) Consider a hole angle that is not perpendicular to the board face - difficult without a drill press, however.
You could also two (or maybe just one slot) about and below the hole and then place two screws
into the side of the board to pinch the camera:
2) I've seen commemorative baseball holders constructed this way. Simple construction. Drill hole, cut slots with jig saw. You
can change the angle slightly by cutting the "ears" (the purple colored areas) asymmetrically. Maybe this will give you some ideas:
3) Don't laugh, but I've made Bondo casts for oddball jobs like this. Consider casting an insert made with Bondo or silicone. You could fill a
cut-out in the board or take a rectangular Tupperware container and fill it with Bondo. Stretch a condom over a correct size ball so the Bondo does
not stick to the ball. When it dries, trim as much as the Bondo as you need to remove the ball. Bondo is incredibly easy to machine.
Great thread, btw, and awesome project!
Take these few thoughts with a grain of sand.
1) Consider a hole angle that is not perpendicular to the board face - difficult without a drill press, however.
You could also two (or maybe just one slot) about and below the hole and then place two screws
into the side of the board to pinch the camera:
2) I've seen commemorative baseball holders constructed this way. Simple construction. Drill hole, cut slots with jig saw. You
can change the angle slightly by cutting the "ears" (the purple colored areas) asymmetrically. Maybe this will give you some ideas:
3) Don't laugh, but I've made Bondo casts for oddball jobs like this. Consider casting an insert made with Bondo or silicone. You could fill a
cut-out in the board or take a rectangular Tupperware container and fill it with Bondo. Stretch a condom over a correct size ball so the Bondo does
not stick to the ball. When it dries, trim as much as the Bondo as you need to remove the ball. Bondo is incredibly easy to machine.
Great thread, btw, and awesome project!
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OK, I'll confess....I found this thread by searching the forum for "condom"......just kidding!
Great post, @dmcIPCAM !
Tacking is the key to aligning. Tack, try, cut, adjust, repeat.Ah, that’s the answer to the question I’ve had in my head the last couple of days, eg how to attach such a contraption to a tool.
I wonder how good the alignment would be if I just tacked on a nut.
I have visions of a runaway 3”, 4 lb. steel ball zipping up my driveway and rocketing down the street at 9,000 RPM
Search ebay for steel ball, you'll find some hollow ones, also hemispheres. Some are stainless, which you'd want to silver solder, unless you're a fantastic welder.
I wonder how good the alignment would be if I just tacked on a nut.
I have visions of a runaway 3”, 4 lb. steel ball zipping up my driveway and rocketing down the street at 9,000 RPM
On that note, which would be safer? A hollow ball with a greater likelihood of rupturing and sending out light, small shards? Or a solid steel ball that's stronger, but with 100x the kinetic energy if something were to go wrong?
I love SketchUp!
Maybe you don't need steel. A wooden ball or half ball with an angle grinder nut attached and a sanding disk adhered to it.