Custom building a piece of video equipment

I know this is not a Hollywood production, but my video hand is a little shaky when it comes to walking and shooting a scene. There is a magical tool out there called a SteadyCam. Basically, this device has a body harness which houses a mount for the swing arms and spring-loaded articulating joints to allow the user to walk or run which shooting a video and the camera moves along in a steady course with little interference from the operator's movements. I don't have one of these and also don't have the $3000.00+ they are asking for this great innovation.

What to do? I will attempt to build my own.

I take that back. I WILL build my own. Mine will be much smaller and lighter than the one in the above picture. My video camera is a Nikon 12.3mp digital camera which also shoots HD video with a 1280 x 720 pixel image. This camera is fairly lightweight and uses a standard 1/4-20 mounting bolt.

So, to start this project, I was walking by a thrift store on Martha's Vineyard Island today and noticed the open sign was on the door. Something or someone told me to just stroll inside and see what I might find that resembles the parts needed to put together my next video toy.

I saw a stroller with a wonderful price tag on it. "FREE"  I spend a few minutes sizing up all the aluminum tubing, molded plastic joints, wheels, axles and the light weight of this baby-racer. It's the kind you could probably run behind with your kid screaming their lungs out in sheer terror as you push them towards all types of new and exciting objects as you excersize your legs and do a little cardio workout.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the stroller.

Here it is:

I will leave you with this thought...

For the next few days, I will be posting pictures of this gizmo as I disect it and design a product which will be light, sturdy, user-friendly and easy to store on Mozi when not in use.