By Steven Weller with Steve Yankee

First stop, take a trip to your local janitorial supply house; they're in the Yellow Pages or do an online search.

You're looking for an extension pole for window washing. They come in a variety of brands and styles, and extend in either two or three sections; it's just a collapsible aluminum pole with plastic collars, and for most purposes, the three- piece version is better than the two piece because it will fold up a bit smaller. Also, keep in mind that only in very rare circumstances will you need a boom as long as most pro models . Twelve to 16' is MORE than enough in most cases, and an eight foot-long boom will actually do quite nicely for pretty much every interior you'll ever mike.

The unit I have right now is an Ettore Inter-lock (tm), three section/12.’ It's finished in anodized grey with black plastic collars, and is roughly 4-1/2' collapsed. The rig looks surprisingly professional; no one has ever looked at it and said, “Wow, you're using a window washer as a mic boom!”

Anyway, that part of the rig will only cost about $25 (US), and the secret to making this into a mic boom is only another $5 - $8. Go to your local audio supply house and buy an adapter, female 5/8" mic stand-to-male 3/8 x 16 stud.

The trick here is that the plastic end of the extension pole (which is threaded to screw into a window washer or squeegee) is of a standard size, and if you cut or file off the threads, the remaining plastic peg will just about fit into the 5/8" socket on the adapter. The easiest way I've found to do this is to use a rasp or file (or even better, a power sander if you have access to one) and grind off the raised plastic threads. It's easier than it sounds, just don't rush it.

Then, take the mic stand adapter itself and heat it up (use a torch, or in a pinch, the flame from a gas stove) and squeeze or twist it onto the plastic end of the pole. Use pliers, of course - the point is to get it hot enough to melt the plastic a bit as it goes on. Work quickly, and in a matter of moments you'll have the adapter permanently attached to the end of the pole, and you're done. Add a 3/8 x 16 wing nut to the stud (about 25 cents, from a hardware store) and you have a boom pole that will accept any standard shock mount or zeppelin on the market, for less than $35 - about 1/10 of the price of a new, purpose built mic boom.

If this seems a little confusing, just get hold of the pieces and look at them. My description may be a little thick but once you see it in person, all will become clear. For shock mount (isolation mount), I've used a chunk of 2" ID (about 2-1/2" OD) black PVC drain pipe, from Home Depot or any of the big hardware box stores. A 1' long chunk cost exactly 43˘ and I only used about 3-1/2" of it.

Make an X across one open end, with 1" masking tape, and mark the edges of the tape where they cross the edges of the pipe. You'll have 4 pairs of marks, each pair 1" apart. Do the same on the other end. Take a hand saw and cut down into the pipe about 1/4", lining the blade up along the edges of the tape.

Now you'll have 4 pairs of 1/4" deep slots, each 1" apart, and directly across from each other (this is SO much easier with pictures). If the mood strikes you, cut away the sides of the pipe, leaving a skeleton of sorts - a ring at each end (maybe 3/4" wide), connected by a strip along the top and one along the bottom (again, maybe 3/4" wide along the top, and twice that along the bottom). At the bottom, glue a plastic mic stand clip (Radio Shack makes one for about $3) so you can screw the whole thing to a regular mic stand, or screw in a handle that you can mount to the boom described above.

Buy some small black rubber bands (any hair care place; they use them for braids and a bag of 250 costs a buck) and loop maybe 4 across the end of the pipe, from one set of slots to the set across from it, and then another 4 through the other set of slots. You'll end up with the rubber bands outlining where the masking tape was, and where the tape crossed, you'll have a 1" square opening, suspended in the center of the pipe. Do the same at the other end, and slide the mic through the two squares; it'll hang there suspended and you can attach the whole unit to whatever stand you're using. Total cost for the shock mount - about $5.

It's not as light as a pro model but it's not untenable, either. It is, after all, designed to be held up over the head and shoulders with a weight on the end (a wet squeegee probably weighs as much or more than a shotgun mic in a zeppelin). I'm on my second one (sold the first to a student who fell in love with it but didn't think he could build one himself - wimp) and it's seen a fair amount of use.

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Editor's Note: After we first ran this article in our Weekly Video Tips, reader Brad Pritchett wrote us with a good option: "I thought your readers might like to know that there is an even less expensive and more readily available alternative to the window washing extension pole.

"An essentially identical item can be purchased at any home improvement store in the form of a 12' telescoping light bulb changer for high ceilings. It has the same sort of threaded end so the rest of your article follows without change. Thought this was worth passing on as there is a Home Depot or the like on every street corner -or so it seems. Of course, these poles only come in yellow, not black, but I'm willing to live with that and no one has ever complained!"