Stephen Berke

Thanks guys. It ended up being a bit more work than expected but it's been fun to figure out the details. The bottom shelf is attached similarly to the stock bottom shelf. I have steel brackets that swings out and clamp down on the bottom frame. This prevents the bottom shelf from sliding around or lifting. I was originally going to just let gravity deal with it, but weight on the mast would lever the opposite side of the shelf off the frame. Whoops.

The top shelf uses the stock brackets on one side, although I'm using quick release pins instead of the usual bolts and thumbscrew combo. On the other side I built an aluminum bracket that the shelf sits on, it locks in place with two more quick release pins. Finally the two shelves can strap together (i'm considering butterfly latches), so it remains pretty portable.

Not a steadicam. But thought you all might get a kick out of my spare time project. By attaching to the bottom shelf, I've avoided putting stress on the flimsy handles.