If you've chosen to include the swivel, cut a piece of wood about the size of the base, preferable big enough so it sticks out a bit - that will allow you to put markings on it so you can see how many degrees you've swiveled. It's not necessary, but I cut mine in a circle to make those markings easier to see (they're not shown in the picture yet though). Drill a hole through the center of it, and push a flat head machine screw through it, then through the hole in the base. As with the hole in the arm, you will probably need to gouge out the hole in the swivel a bit so you can prevent the head from sticking out - that surface will need to be flush with the tripod. Secure the screw with washer and wingnut.Finally, you need to install a socket or insert nut as described above for the base section. Position it as near as possible to the center to maximize stability.
Sand all the parts. To finish things up, you can varnish, seal or paint, but don't get any of it on the rotating surfaces - they'll stick every time you adjust the arm or swivel. Attaching a small level is highly recommended.That's it, we're done!
When using your new panoramic head, remember that it never pivots at the point where the camera is screwed into the arm - that joint stays put. Pivot at the arm and base as necessary, overlapping 20-50% between shots.So far as what software to use, there are threads like this one in the Photography forum that might throw some more light on that subject.But regardless of what you use, this new tool will make the stitching far easier and more accurate. For example, this panoramic was stitched together from 9 shots:
The full size image was 32 megapixel, yet it stitched together without any error bigger than a single pixel! The image had no blending, yet the only seam that you can see (just to the right of the path) is due to an exposure error - it clouded up a bit on me in the middle of the sequence.[Edited by Moderator on 12/19/2009 5:13:18 AM]