Hey guys... Jeff (RGB-GAS) ran across some cool hardware while he was working on a Sears store that was going out of business. It seems they purchased a bunch of these professional support poles and mounting hardware with the intent of using them to hang banners, signs, and other stuff in the store, but they never actually got around to using them. If you've ever seen the old bounce-mirror trees that AVI used to use back in the day, you will immediately recognize these poles and clamps.
They are all aluminum, so they are very light weight. The poles are adjustable from 9ft 7 in to 15ft 1 in, and they lock solidly into position with a large lever mechanism in the middle. The bottom pole section is ~ 1 3/4 inches in diameter, while the top post is ~ 1 3/8 inches in diameter. The clamps are rated for 15 KG each (call it 30 lbs), although I've tested them successfully at over twice that load with no problems.
Here are some pictures (more can be found in my gallery):
That last image (blue background) shows the clamps Jeff got from the store next to one of the many bounce mirrors he purchased from AVI several years ago when they were liquidating their stock in Florida. Look closely at the clamps! Apart from the fact that the AVI mounts are black, they are identical to the mounts Jeff got from the store.
Jeff managed to pick up quite a few of these poles and clamps, and he even got some of the large metal bases that screw into the bottom of the poles. Those allow you to use the poles as a free-standing unit, rather than one that is "wedged" between the floor and the ceiling as in my pictures.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in picking up some of these, Jeff is offering them for the same price he paid from the store: $40 for one pole, and $5 per clamp. So for $50 you can get a support pole and two clamps (with the extension arms shown in the pictures). This would be suitable for mounting a set of bounce mirrors, or a few lighting fixtures, or even a pair of small RGB projectors (up to something as large as a Pluto II) if you wanted. Remember, EACH clamp is rated for 15 Kilograms. The poles themselves have a maximum vertical load capacity of 60 kilograms.
Not sure exactly how many Jeff was able to get, but I decided to pick up 4 of these things since the price was so cheap. Jeff said he will deliver them to you at SELEM, or at his convenience up or down the eastern coast if he is passing your way. (Jeff does a lot of work between Virgina and Florida, so he's up and down I-95 all the time.) If you can't wait that long, you can arrange other shipping options with him directly.
Jeff asked me to post this here in the forum, since he's still at the job site hauling off the rest of the fixtures from inside the store. But he figured people would want to know about these right away.
Feel free to contact me or Jeff if you have any questions. I've got 8 of the clamps and one of the poles (including the heavy metal baseplate) here at the house already, with the other 3 poles to be delivered shortly after the 1st of the new year.
Adam