Thanks for the heads up, Bob. Let me chew on that offer a bit; I've been congering up a couple of altternative designs that seem to work at least in the dark recesses of my brain.... JB -------------------
I saw a wooden tripod at the DI in Layton on Saturday, out in their outside Sales Yard. (I picked up a Yashica Lynx camera with f1.4 lens for $10 - didn't work, but I figured that for that price I could learn a little about camera repair. I've repaired the light meter and freed up the shutter, and it's almost usable again.) This tripod is the mount for one of those cheap drugstore telescopes, but seemed reasonably stable, and has adjustable legs. The center pivot for the yoke exhibited excessive play, but I'd imagine that you'd be modifying that anyway. It cost $15. I can do some simple lathe work if you need some help with modifying the pivot.
Bob Grant