I lurked on HBS (homebuiltstabilizers.com) for years before getting up the gumption to try my own build. Now nearly 6 months later, I’m still planning things out. I’ve reverse engineered the Steadicam G50 arm, and am going to try that as my first shot. Why not eh?! If it works, I’ll be stoked. What’s more likely, is that I’ll learn a lot about machining, and use those skills to make some simpler items.
Here is one of my CAD drawings of the G50 arm mechanism. If I understand it correctly, (from reading the patent) I think that the red parts work as a cam to reduce the spring force as the arm booms to it’s maximum height- which makes certain the arm doesn’t lock up, or bump at the top. At the same time, it also lessens the force of the spring at the bottom of the motion- I’m not sure why this is, and might try to make a prototype to figure it out.