Modular Tripod Extender

These are the things that happen when you're stuck working from home in a covid-19 world...

I wanted to use my USB webcam for meetings instead of having the built-in laptop one looking up my nose, and I discovered that putting the camera on a mini tripod right on the table caused it to bounce and jiggle every time I typed or used the mouse.

Solution: Mount the webcam on a tripod that isn't resting on the table!

Problem with solution: The webcam is way off to the side. Need it to be in front of me!

New Solution: 25 inch extender boom arm to hold my camera. Over-engineering at it's finest.

This extender arm is remarkably stiff and sturdy at over 2 feet long, easily able to hold the weight of a small logitech webcam. Each segment is 7" long, and segments wedge inside each other to lock, making this chainable to various lengths.

There's 2 end pieces:
One has an attachment to mount on a tripod. You can slide a standard 11mm nut with a 1/4 inch UNC 20 threaded hole into it, and then screw it onto most tripods.

The other has a little platform with a 7mm hole--large enough to allow a 1/4 inch bolt through (to secure the webcam).

I suppose that you could 3D-print a bolt for the camera and a nut to attach to the tripod with one of the customizers here on Thingiverse; Since these parts are attaching to real-world metal threads, I used the metal hardware for durability.

Counterweight:I printed an extra segment to stick out the other way, and I'm hanging a small weight (an empty calking gun frame) on it. While the boom arm itself isn't bending at all, the small weight of the camera on a very long moment arm causes a bit of sag back at the tripod mount--a little wiggle at the base results in a noticeable angle in the camera, and a simple counterweight solves it.