Depends on the tripod. I have two camera tripods. One of them is flimsy but fine for an SLR but there's no way you'd use it for a scope. That's the cheap Chinese Hanimex tripod. The other mount is an old (25-30 years) tripod made in what used to be West Germany. It could definitely handle a smaller refractor (say upto ~80mm). A 150mm reflector might be a bit much though.
Dob mount can be made at home and will work well. Here is mine with a 4.5" (114mm) Newtonian:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~jano...mydobmount.jpg
Motion is much nicer than on my GSO. I used an old vinyl LP and "magic" sliders on the base for smooth azimuth motion (:: magic sliders on PVC pipe for altitude) [/EDIT]