PVC or steel dolly track?

[Phil Rhodes]

Look around for industrial metal stockists. Buying that sort of stuff at retail is often horrendously overpriced. You just need some tube roughly an inch and a quarter on the outside, plus or minus a sixteenth is probably fine.

 

When I built track, I got stuff with thick walls, so I could drill and tap and bolt it straight down.

 

P

[George Ebersole]

Getting a dolly at some point was something on my list but not a priority. Then someone had a dolly platform on local Craigslist for a couple weeks with no takers. I finally emailed & said I'd pick it up right now & give him $50 so it's mine now. It was a $700 platform if new and in very good shape with wheels & trucks that looked new. Now I'll be putting together some track. Looks like 1.5" PVC, steel, or aluminum is what I'll be needing. PVC strikes me as being easier to work with, would have a bit more flex (for exterior uneven surfaces), and would be less likely to get permanently dinged as metal. Anyone with experience with PVC as well as metal track that might have some feedback to offer? Also wondering about going with 1.25" It looks like everything will still clear and that might give me even more flex where needed. Thanks, Tom

 

 

I've never heard of PVC being used for dolly track.

 

p.s. formatting is working again for my PC :)

[JD Hartman]

 

 

I've never heard of PVC being used for dolly track.

 

p.s. formatting is working again for my PC :)

 

In the amateur world, sure.

Then there's this stuff: http://www.porta-jib.com/flex-trak.htm

[Gregg MacPherson]

In the history of the industry, PVC has been use by by professionals for dolly track. If I have to, I will find the articles or photographs...

 

Trouble is that when you search these ideas now the internet is crowded with ideas from people who used small diameter pvc and skate wheels. 2-3" PVC with wheel assemblies appropriately configuired are a completely different thing.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Gregg MacPherson

[tom lombard]

Yep, amateur filmmaker here and I strongly suspect that's where ya'll started too :) To save you from scrolling up... I stumbled on the dolly of http://www.longvalleyequip.com/dolly.php for $50 and they mention a couple different track materials. I happen to have a few 5' sections of 1.5" PVC (and really not much else of a budget) so, yeah, I'm giving that a shot. Am going to do a test shoot (a short, short actually) to see how it works over 15'. Depending on how that goes, I may extend it or I may give steel a try. Or I may stay in one spot & try zooming. I'm like a kid with new toys and find joy in playing with the boxes too.

Edited March 5, 2018 by tom lombard

[JD Hartman]

In the history of the industry, PVC has been use by by professionals for dolly track. If I have to, I will find the articles or photographs...

 

Trouble is that when you search these ideas now the internet is crowded with ideas from people who used small diameter pvc and skate wheels. 2-3" PVC with wheel assemblies appropriately configuired are a completely different thing.

 

Please do.

2 or 3" PVC isn't cheap, I can't see someone (hobby filmmaker) shelling out the money for half a dozen 10' lengths.

Might as well buy 1-1/4 Aluminum rigid conduit, cheaper and less jiggley than PVC. If you're really cheap, you'll scrounge it from a building demolition or buy it from a scrap yard.

Edited March 5, 2018 by JD Hartman

[Gregg MacPherson]

JD, I'm not sure if you are concerned about PVC being unsuitable for professionals or too expensive for hobbyists. Perhaps both are true. Or not.

 

Oh, a red arrow. Can I ask the brave one who put that to identify themselves.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Gregg MacPherson

[JD Hartman]

Schedule 40 PVC in any size is more flexible than the equivalent size in Aluminum and greatly more flexible than a smaller size of sched 40 pipe. Don't see how one could possibly substitute for the other without an inordinate amount of longitudinal support.

 

Waiting for the pictures Greg.

[George Ebersole]

 

In the amateur world, sure.

Then there's this stuff: http://www.porta-jib.com/flex-trak.htm

 

 

Oh wow, that's very interesting. When I think of PVC I usually think of that semi-flexible (though not very) plastic pipe in homes built during the 1970s.

 

lol, I remember laying dolly track, and the lightest I every laid was chorme stainless steel, which though lighter than the old iron stuff, still had some weight to it.

 

How can you get a smooth shot with PVC though? That stuff is light. I would think it would magnify every camera bump.

[Bruce Greene]

I've used PVC and a homemade skateboard dolly on some very small projects with limited crew. It can only be used on a consistent surface and linking the tracks together can create a little bump sometimes.

 

But, for very little money, it's way better than no dolly at all! And very fast to set up because one doesn't usually bother to level these tracks, but rather just level the camera as best you can.

 

I co-produced a small children's film a few years ago where the entire lighting/grip budget was $450 total. I had to fight to pay for skateboard dolly in that budget!

 

So, yes, it has it's place :)

 

You can see the movie here:

 

But, I suggest you bring a kid to watch it with you...

[Gregg MacPherson]

I have rented a suitcase dolly that ran on smallish diameter pvc, the type used for waste water. I don't know the equivalent specification you have in the states. We ran it on a carpeted office floor and it worked well. But that's not what I was thinking off. The photos that I remember were from a western being shot in the desert, large diameter PVC pipe, parts of it propped up with bags of sand. I'm not making this up. No need to be an ass JD.