DIY: Build Your Very Own Camera Slider in an Hour for Only $30!

Getting your own commercial camera slider can get a bit pricey, but thanks to Derek Mellott and this great Instructables tutorial, you can build your very own DIY slider in about an hour using only $30 worth of parts from IKEA and a bit of DIY know-how!

The tools required to build the slider are minimal. All you really need is a drill, some drill bits, a clamp or vice, a saw and a couple of other items. Once you’ve gotten those together, Mellott has compiled a 5-item IKEA shopping list for you that should run you exactly $28.48.

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We won’t go into all of the details here — you can find very detailed instructions and pictures to guide you through each step over on the Instructables tutorial — but the basic steps are as follows:

  1. Assemble the rail using the KVARTAL Triple curtain rail and KVARTAL Ceiling fixtures you purchased
  2. Build the ‘cart’ by drilling some precise holes in the LEGITIM Chopping board you bought and inserting (after a bit of alteration) the KVARTAL Gliders in the holes
  3. Create ‘feet’ for your slider from the left over cutting board

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And that’s it. Obviously, you’ll need to reference the detailed instructions if you intend to attempt this build yourself, but we’d say that anybody at an intermediate or higher DIY level could put the whole slider together from scratch in about an hour.

Check out the video at the top to see Mellott’s slider in action, or head over to the Instructables page to get your IKEA shopping list made and set to work on your own!

$30 IKEA Camera Slider [Instructables via Lifehacker]


Image credits: Photographs by Derek Mellott

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