Eclipse Fail... Tripod Accessory Win?

A few days ago, we took a trip to visit family who lived in the path of totality for the solar eclipse. In anticipation of the event, we imagined a fun project where we'd riff on the classic "pin-hole projector". We drew up a few ideas and landed on one where we'd use our binoculars to project the sun onto a piece of paper.

Seeing the eclipse like this alone would be amazing, but we thought we'd amp it up a bit and create a diorama of sorts using Lego bricks. Inspired by the "little shop of horrors" movie, we built a scene with Seymour and Audrey II.

We wanted to keep the build low-fi, so we used a scrap piece of wood, some cardboard boxes, and a few clamps to hold everything together.

To hold our contraption to a tripod so we can aim it at the sun, we modeled and 3D Printed an adapter. I just love models like this. It takes just a few features to design something that can be incredibly useful! In this case, we included two countersunk holes so we can screw it to the underside of our wooden beam.

On the day of the eclipse we were offered nothing but cloudy skies 😥 So we didn't see the eclipse. But we did get to spend time with family and enjoy the bizarre feeling of incredible darkness in the middle of the afternoon. 

...and we modeled a basic adapter that can serve as the foundation to anything you might want to mount to a tripod. 

What geometry would you add to the top and what would you use it for?

  • A dedicated phone mount?
  • An umbrella mount?

I'm now using it in the shop for light-duty material support... perfect for long pieces on the drill press!

Check out our YouTube short to see the project in action:

 

 

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