DIY Shoulder Rig for DSLR

I was looking for an affordable shoulder rig. But when I didn't find one that had the possebilities I was looking for for under €100, I decided to make my own.

I was inspired by the blog of Ramasola productions. He made himself a DIY shoulder rig from metal parts. First of I also started with metal parts. But after a while I found that wood would be a better option because it's so much easier to manipulate.

I wanted to have the same rod thickness and distances as a professional rig, because then I could afterwards add some professional accessories.

I started by ordering some parts from ebay and getting parts from a local hardware store.

- 2x 1/4"x20 tripod screw to hot shoe adapter
- 2x sponge handlebar 1/4"x20 screw
- 1x Shoulder pad
- 7x M5 machine screw with washers
- 1x 1/4"x20 thumb screw
- 1x 2,5m copper tubing
- 1x piece of (hard) wood (200 x 500 x 22 mm)

Once you have all the needed parts you can start building your rig.

First of I made the mounting plate.

I sawed a piece of 8 cm by 8 cm. Then I drilled 16mm holes in the side, 2 holes into the top where the M5 screws would fit through and another hole for the 1/4"x20 thumb screw. I also cutted out the head of the M5 screws so that the camera had a flat surface to sit onto. When all this was done I sawed the wood into 2 parts.

Then I assembled all the parts together.

First I fitted the M5 screws through both parts and screwed them on a little bit. Then I put the 1/4" thumb screw through and the mounting plate is finished.

Maybe later I'll add some anti-slip tape but that's not a necessity.

Secondly I assembled the handlebars.

I took the same start as the mounting plate, except I used a wooden block with measurements of 2,2 cm x 12 cm. Another difference is that the 16 mm holes in the side are not centered but more to one side because we want some space for the attachement of the handlebar. I also didn't cut out holes for the screws this time.

After the whole process of the wooden block was ready I drilled a hole where the 1/4"x20 to hot shoe adapter would fit through.

I assembled the handlebars like shown in the photos.

The couplers are again the same principle as the mounting plate. The measurements of the small coupler are:
2,2 cm x 8 cm
And those of the big one are:
2,2 cm x 14 cm

Now that we've made all the parts we can start the final construcion.

We'll start by putting the small coupler onto 2 copper pipes with a length of about 60 cm. After that we'll shove the shoulderpad onto the rig. When you've done that you can add the long coupler and add an extra tube of about 20 cm through the third hole. Than we put the mounting plate into place, and the last step is to put the handlebars onto the rig.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that you create your own rigs. If you have any questions let me know in the comments. I'll be happy to help.

You may also leave photos in the comments from your own rig if you made it with my tutorial.