I tried the camera arm again today, now that I have a better base that is easier to take apart. I discovered that the arm was way too heavy. time to redesign. Even with the middle section removed and the camera relocated there, it is still too heavy.
On another note: I fried 1 Pi 3 B+ with a stray strand of solder and stripped 1 or 2 servos. Other than that a good learning day.