I made a dolly today, oh boy.

[Chris Stearns]

Yup, another homemade dolly.

I was bored today so I drew-up some plans and went to the hardware store.

Spent more than I intended, but that was mostly on the 8' aluminum poles for the track, and I bought a hacksaw as well. I originally had 1/2" pvc, but the aluminum poles are so much sturdier (and very light). I'm working on a frame for the poles so I can elevate them on sawhorses.

And it's all painted now and drying.

http://myspace-599.vo.llnwd.net/00854/99/59/854819599_l.jpg

This is with the head from my monopod. Nice and solid, but I can also put my 501 on it as well if I need to pan and tilt (although it's going to take a lot of practice).

http://myspace-901.vo.llnwd.net/00854/10/94/854874901_l.jpg

Here's some footage. Myspace's re-compression really did a number on this though. The original footage is quite smooth.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=855499041&n=2

And I know it's washed-out. I didn't light anything and shot it dark, then boosted it w/ MB "mexicali."

[Robert Pottorff]

very cool - it looks like an erector set :) but still very cool

[Chris Stearns]

very cool - it looks like an erector set :) but still very cool
lol- I never played with erector sets (I was a lego kid).

[twocik23]

Nice job!

[t-h-e-w-h-o]

very cool - it looks like an erector set :) but still very cool


ditto lol nice job :)

[mrpunch]

very cool! what kind of wheels are those? got a parts list? what was the total cost for the parts?

[PaPa]

i dunno why but when i look at the wheels, it looks like it shouldnt work that well.

the pipe sits in between the wheels so the pipe hits the wheels at a strange side angle instead of on the "treads" what ican imagine happening over tiem is you ware in a groove and the wheels will stop doing hteir job as they are not running directly on the rail.

[Neil Rowe]

well even with a groove they should roll fine though. the only forseeable issue would come from the rails pushing up inbetween the wheels due to their non perpedicular rest, which would cause the wheels to "pinch" the rail and cause issues if one were to apply some weight to the setup. since it is desigend for a camera alone though i would imagine it works fine as the footage concurs.

[JasonFox]

I have the wheels set up like that on my dolly and they work fine. I'll switch to the usual roller skate wheel setup next time, but what he's got this way is more than adequate.

[Chris Stearns]

Ok, her you go;
-8 -72mm Bauer wheels taken off some old rollerblades. -$0
-2- 4' sections of pre-drilled, 14 gauge angle iron. -$10
-Hardware for frame; 10- 3/4" nuts and bolts, 20- 3/4" washers, plus wheel assembly, plus 1 1"x 3/4" nut, bolt, and washer to attach tripod head. -$10
-hacksaw for cutting angle iron - $5
-sandpaper -$3
-flat black spraypaint - $4
-track- 2 -10' sections of 1/2", schedule 40 pvc pipe. $4 (I also bought 2 pieces of 8' aluminum pipe for $40, but I'm discovering that the pvc works good as well)


PaPa, I see what you're saying with the wheels touching the track from the sides.
Angled wheel placement would make more sense, but so far it runs really smooth and stays on track. I'm not too worried about wearing a groove in them as there isn't that much weight pressing down on them.
I went with this wheel placement so I can run this dolly on a flat surface without any track if I need to.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. -Chris