Tripod

A small lab tripod with cast iron ring support.

A tripod (or laboratory tripod) is a portable, three-legged platform equipment used to support or hold flasks, beakers or sometimes funnels during experiments. Often is used to hold a wire gauze in order to allow beakers and flasks to be placed on top of it, while a Bunsen or Teclu burner can be placed underneath to heat them up, though more often it is used to hold funnels.

Design

A tripod consists of a metal triangle or circle, with three metal rods welded on it. Tripods are generally made of carbon steel, stainless steel, or less common aluminium, cast iron.

Availability

Lab tripods can be purchased from lab suppliers, or online from eBay and Amazon.

DIY lab tripod

You can make a lab tripod relative easy by welding three steel rods to a steel circle or triangle. If you want to make one out of stainless steel, you will need to ask the help of someone who knows how to weld SS (unless you already know), as stainless steel is more difficult to properly weld.

A quick tripod can be made from the metallic lampshade rings taken from old lamps. Here is a good model to look out for.

Crude tripods can be made by bending thick solid wire into a shape.