Building a Tripod Head and Table-top Tripod

[holycow958]

Being a high school student and have very little money, but being in multiple engineering classes (Manufacturing, Engineering Design and Engineering Drafting; for those wondering)(yes, I do plan on being an engineer, if you couldn't figure that out), my friend (who's in the same 3 classes with me and also a photographer) and I have decided to design and build a tripod head that could fit on any standard quality tripod and a table-top tripod as a sort of senior project. We have access to some pretty good tools and drafting programs to work with.

We have decided on making it geared and able to hold about 15-20lbs. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on design of them or any experience in with this sort of work. We are just beginning designing them. Any tips or resources would be great! Thanks!