My homemade dolly!

[Joel Jost]

Here is a camera dolly I made! VERY smooth!!

 

If you have any Q's please ask!

 

Joel

[Joel Jost]

more pics...

[Joel Jost]

and some more...

[Daniel Carruthers]

and some more...

 

very nice B)

[Xavier Plaza]

Hi Joel, just one thing... how it works on a smooth surface???, because you have the dolly rail on a carpet (i guess) and my question is how you do to mainting your rails parallels that`s my big question because i don`t see your rails bounded... anyway looks good... i hope it works good... :P

[Joel Jost]

Hi Joel, just one thing... how it works on a smooth surface???, because you have the dolly rail on a carpet (i guess) and my question is how you do to mainting your rails parallels that`s my big question because i don`t see your rails bounded... anyway looks good... i hope it works good... :P

 

Thanks,

 

The track automatically stays parallel with each other, as the wheels roll on the track it straightens it out if there not parallel.

 

A lot of people a attach the PVC pipe to wood.

 

We took one shot with in a rocky area and just supported both ends and worked great! It's silky smooth!

 

 

Joel

[Tim O'Connor]

Here is a camera dolly I made! VERY smooth!!

 

If you have any Q's please ask!

 

Joel

 

Looks pretty cool. What kind of wheels are they and where did you get them amd how much do they cost? Also what is the

thickness of the wood and the diameter of the pipe and how do you connect lengths of pipe? What size sngle iron is

that and what did you use for bolts to attach it? Thanks.

[Stefano Sgambati]

Hey there,

 

that's pretty damn cool! I've built one too which is pretty similar, I'll post pics asap. Just wondering, how do you connect the pipes of the rails?

[Michael Collier]

Looks good. Looks like the first dolly I made. The only tip for next time you build one, make the wheels right next to eachother instead of offset. If you get too much weight on the back, it will force the dolly to pull up and turn to the side (I know, cause my first dolly did that and it nearly took out a camera) when they are right next to eachother it takes a lot more backweight to make it overturn, since gravity doesn't really have an effect if they are side by side (its more likely to stay on track) than with the offset, since if enough weight is taken off the front wheels, the back will try and twist, which will push the front even further up and once those front clear, hold onto that camera.

 

Also, push bars are key, your dolly grips will thank you.

 

Looks good though, get some shots on it and let us see the result.

[Joel Jost]

Looks pretty cool. What kind of wheels are they and where did you get them amd how much do they cost? Also what is the

thickness of the wood and the diameter of the pipe and how do you connect lengths of pipe? What size sngle iron is

that and what did you use for bolts to attach it? Thanks.

 

Thanks,

 

They are 52mm(16) Poly Urethane skate board wheels. Ebay is the best place to buy them! Here is a link to a ebay stroe that has good prices! : http://search.stores.ebay.com/Slam-N-City-...5011901QQsofpZ0

 

You will need bearings on both sides of each wheel, so you will need 16 wheels (52mm to 54mm work good) and 32 bearing (abec 7 bearing work the best. Also buy hard wheels (99a)) , you should be able to get the wheels and bearing from Ebay for about 50 dollars!! VERy good deal!

 

The platform was made out of 1/2 inch plywood. I gut it into three pieces of 2 1/2 feet by 4 feet, then screwd all three together, so it's an 1 1/2" thick.

 

The anlge iron is 1 1/2 aluminum. T

 

The bolts were 2''.

 

The PVC pipes diameter is 1 1/4". and buy a few feet of 1'' to make connectors.

 

If you have any more Q's just ask!

 

 

Joel

[Joel Jost]

Hey there,

 

that's pretty damn cool! I've built one too which is pretty similar, I'll post pics asap. Just wondering, how do you connect the pipes of the rails?

 

 

Thanks!

 

All you have to do to connect the pipe is buy one size smaller pipe to fit inside the pipe you have.

 

It's that simple!

 

 

Joel

[Joel Jost]

Looks good. Looks like the first dolly I made. The only tip for next time you build one, make the wheels right next to eachother instead of offset. If you get too much weight on the back, it will force the dolly to pull up and turn to the side (I know, cause my first dolly did that and it nearly took out a camera) when they are right next to eachother it takes a lot more backweight to make it overturn, since gravity doesn't really have an effect if they are side by side (its more likely to stay on track) than with the offset, since if enough weight is taken off the front wheels, the back will try and twist, which will push the front even further up and once those front clear, hold onto that camera.

 

Also, push bars are key, your dolly grips will thank you.

 

Looks good though, get some shots on it and let us see the result.

 

 

Thanks,

 

The reason I had the wheels offset was, so when the wheels go over the cracks in the pipe it wont effect it as much. Like I sad, it couldn't be smoother!

 

Yeah, I do plan on putting a push pole on it.

 

Thanks for your advice!

 

 

Joel

[Kenny N Suleimanagich]

Nice dolly, side note: In my opinion the most effective wheels to use are larger longboard wheels (80mm) with a softer, lower durometer (70a).

[Tim O'Connor]

Thanks,

 

They are 52mm(16) Poly Urethane skate board wheels. Ebay is the best place to buy them! Here is a link to a ebay stroe that has good prices! : http://search.stores.ebay.com/Slam-N-City-...5011901QQsofpZ0

 

You will need bearings on both sides of each wheel, so you will need 16 wheels (52mm to 54mm work good) and 32 bearing (abec 7 bearing work the best. Also buy hard wheels (99a)) , you should be able to get the wheels and bearing from Ebay for about 50 dollars!! VERy good deal!

 

The platform was made out of 1/2 inch plywood. I gut it into three pieces of 2 1/2 feet by 4 feet, then screwd all three together, so it's an 1 1/2" thick.

 

The anlge iron is 1 1/2 aluminum. T

 

The bolts were 2''.

 

The PVC pipes diameter is 1 1/4". and buy a few feet of 1'' to make connectors.

 

If you have any more Q's just ask!

Joel

 

 

Wow, thanks for all the info..

 

I was looking at PVC pipe yesterday and the 1 1/2" seemed quite a bit more solid than the 1 1/4" for

only a 1/4" difference. The cost isn't that much more in the big picture and not much difference in

carrying/transporting. Was there a factor that made you go with the 1 1/4" instead of 1 1/2" ?

[Tim O'Connor]

Nice dolly, side note: In my opinion the most effective wheels to use are larger longboard wheels (80mm) with a softer, lower durometer (70a).

 

 

 

Interesting. What do other people think?

 

I found this for anybody's reference:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durometer

 

Material Durometer Scale

 

Hard Hat

75D

 

Ebonite Rubber

100A

 

Hard skateboard wheel

98A

 

Solid truck tires

50D

 

Soft skateboard wheel

75A

Automotive tire tread

70A

 

Rubber band

25A

[Phil Rhodes]

I'm not sure what diameter or gauge is used by normal dollies. It's smaller than 1-1/2", I'm sure of that.

 

If you make appropriate connectors, you can make the cuts in the pipe angled, so there's a gradual transition from one to the other and no sudden step.

 

Using aluminium scaffolding pole, while expensive, does mean you can ride over big gaps on it without trouble.

 

Phil

[Matthew Buick]

The wooden frame and casters probably wouldn't take the weight of a grown adult.

[Michael Collier]

You'd be surprised buick. Keep in mind he has 16 wheels there. even if he loads it to 300lbs, thats still only 18lbs a peice. Not too bad for wheels already designed to support a full grown adult on 8 (they are skate wheels afterall). The wood is also pretty strong. The weak point in the system is the fact that the wheel bolts are at an unsupported angle, not a very strong shape, but neccisary, and like I said, at 18lbs per bolt, it can easily handle that. even the PVC track is able to support the weight. I have built two dollies of that type, and on one, I put two people, a CP-16 fully loaded, a production monitor, and a beefy tripod. We must have been close to 500lbs with everything, and it didn't show any signs of fatigue.

[Tim O'Connor]

I'm not sure what diameter or gauge is used by normal dollies. It's smaller than 1-1/2", I'm sure of that.

 

If you make appropriate connectors, you can make the cuts in the pipe angled, so there's a gradual transition from one to the other and no sudden step.

 

Using aluminium scaffolding pole, while expensive, does mean you can ride over big gaps on it without trouble.

 

Phil

 

Offsetting the breaks in the pipes instead of offsetting the wheels is a good idea.

 

If you made track with

aluminum scaffolding pole and found the normal industry diameter, do you think that it would be

possible to put an industry dolly, even a lighter one like a doorway dolly with track wheels, on it on

occasions when you might not want to use the homemade dolly?

 

Also, as long as you're considering metal pipe, what would incline you toward aluminum scaffolding

pole as opposed to other metal pipe that you could get?

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

Normal dolly track is actually an extruded profile - it's not just tube. If you're going to just do tube, you need to be using a slightly larger diameter so as to have sufficient rigidity.

 

Unless you have a source of real dolly track, of course.

 

Phil

[Michael Nash]

Normal dolly track is actually an extruded profile - it's not just tube. If you're going to just do tube, you need to be using a slightly larger diameter so as to have sufficient rigidity.

 

There are different kinds of "real" track. There is square track and I-beam track, but the most commonly available type in the US is tubular, 24" on center.

 

One of the problems that occurs with skate wheel dollies is that the wheels flatten a bit when stationary and under load. When you roll, you get a bump in the travel because all the wheels have flattened in exactly the same spot. The quick fix on set is to roll the dolly back and forth a bit between takes, to keep the wheels from flattening so much.

 

Another design work-around I've seen is to use multiple wheels of different diameters (obviously each wheel axle has to be positioned for the diameter wheel being used). This is supposed to mitigate the bumps by distributing the flat spots across different areas when rolled out.

[Onno Perdijk]

Another design work-around I've seen is to use multiple wheels of different diameters (obviously each wheel axle has to be positioned for the diameter wheel being used). This is supposed to mitigate the bumps by distributing the flat spots across different areas when rolled out.

 

Whoow, that is a very decent solution! I will take that one under considiration on my next developments...

 

Meanwhile: the wheels.

Hard wheels (96A): will not flatten this easy. They will "feel" every uneven bit of your tracking. They also make more noise and your platform of the dolly will act as a loudspeaker. When you will drive at high speed with hard wheels they will start vibrating.

 

Softwheels (78A): will flatten easily. The will not make sound and your tracking will be very smooth if you would use 16 or 32 wheels, also with heavy payload on the dolly.

 

The Tracks: Making tracks is not complicated. Manufacture them in such way that the are soundproof gets more complicated. Make tracks in a way that you can joint and extend them is the most important and most difficult thing.

 

Good Luck.

 

Onno Perdijk. Key Grip, Holland

www.solidgripsystems.com