This thread is about threads.

January 21, 2007 10:23 AM

Screws and bolts: How can I cheaply convert a Universal 1/4-20 screw (standard camera tripod mount) to either a 5/8"-27 (standard mic stand thread) OR a 3/8"-16 (boom mic standard thread.. i think)

I have this mic and I want to purchase and mount it to this cool tripod for field recording purposes.

The microhone comes with an adaptor to take the standard 5/8"-27 down to a 3/8"16, but how to I bridge the connection down to a standard camera tripod screw 1/4"-20?

Adaptors are available online, but they seem expensive ($14ish). Is there a cheaper conversion I could piece together and the local hardware store? Or would a homemade adapter be too big and unweildy and thus defeat the portabillity of the whole setup?

What should I buy?

posted by jlowen to grab bag (5 comments total)

A friend got some bogen adapters with his expensive bogen tripods & heads. Turns out the adapters themselves are cheap.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:34 AM on January 21, 2007

Since you've already spent $$$ on the mic, I'd spend the extra dollars on a nice adapter. Bogen (and similar) adapters will be built so they don't tear your hands up when you use them repeatedly. If you do mange to find such an adapter at a hardware shop, it won't be as well finished and comfortable to use, since it will be designed to be installed only once.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:37 AM on January 21, 2007

if you have access to a handy friend, you could ask them to drill and tap a small section of aluminum rod with those two different threads.

It may sound pretty complicated, but trust me, a suitably handy friend would be able to do it easy. A simple set of thread taps (available at ie Home Depot) may even be cheaper than a commercial adapter.
posted by toomanyplugs at 11:47 AM on January 21, 2007

3/8"-16 is the thread size on a bunch of larger cameras. Go to a camera shop that sells medium format (Hasselblad, Rollei, Mamiya, etc) equipment and tell them you need a reducing bushing for your tripod. They'll know exactly what you're talking about.
posted by jdfan at 11:53 AM on January 21, 2007

You have to replace the 1/4-20 screw in the "slim-line clip" with one of the larger sizes. That requires:
1. Finding the new screw with a head like the old one, so it fits in the same space (or modifying the head so it's right).
2. Drilling out or drilling and tapping the hole in the slim-line clip to accomodate the new screw.

If the 1/4-20 thread is a stud, rather than a screw, then all you have to do is 2.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:42 PM on January 21, 2007