DIY slider, built in two hours...

As is usual with any of my contraptions, t makes some noise, but only wheels on track noise... dosnt squeak or anything....
 
I don't understand the advantage over making a miniaturized dolly... like the kind with skate wheels on angles. Can you explain what the difference is? I was thinking that a couple of smaller rails... using smaller wheels... and everything else smaller... would still yield predictably perfect dolly results.

I've used the slider attachment that can go on a fisher dolly... and that's supporting a panavision camera and a lot of weight... and it uses roller bearings to create dead smooth sliding action... and now there's a spin off of DIY creations that look like they are modeled after the pro products (somewhat) but without the ultra-machined internals I'm not understanding why you wouldn't just use readily available parts that are of known precision? Isn't this design at the mercy of those plastic(?) wheels inside the metal box track?
 
I've seen some built from heavy duty drawer slides that you can put on a tripod head or a hi-hat. Is that what you are thinking of Matt?

And BTW, why are you even posting here when you should be putting up more pics and video of your CFL project? Dude, I'm WAITING! :beer:
 
I'm not trying to discourage this idea! I just want to know what the advantage is in having the thing slide like this rather then work on the same principle as a regular dolly... but on smaller pipes, etc.

As long as the pipes don't flex it seems like the end result should be smoother. The fisher slider thing is built like it is because you can slide a $250K camera out... and then tilt it down to 90 degrees vertical... but with these sliding things it seems like a complex design that is doing a fairly simple task. So I'm wondering why the box section and all that? Why not a simple sliding dolly tray on a couple rails... and have those supported somehow to ensure the assembly is stiff.

I'm asking an honest question here... what is the appeal in this specific "slider" design over a "mini-dolly" design? (Pics/video later on that other thing... I don't want to hijack this thread).
 
You wanna know why i built that and not a mini version of a normal dolly?

Its because its an old rowing machine I found in a skip. That carriage used to have a seat on it :P
 
Thank you.

If it works well then it's a great creation... that is my own criteria for DIY projects... that if it does what it should then it's a success.

With the replies it seemed that some people were wanting to build the same thing instead of something that does the same thing... and I think that's often the case with these DIY projects. People want to build rudimentary imitations of some exotic product... rather then look at what that exotic product does... and that's why I thought it worth mentioning that you can probably achieve the desired results through more readily available parts. (i.e. most people won't have that bottom rail section... and a couple of pipes would be much cheaper)

It's all good man! If you post some footage and it's good then people will find a way to build exactly what you have there :-)
 
I think safty of the camera is a point, if you build a small tack dolly set up and mount it on a pair of sticks, and the dolly falls off the tracks, then your camera goes with it. wiith a slider the dolly doen't come off the track because its inside the track not on top of it like your standard track dolly, the trick is having no where for the wheels to go on three sides, and them stops at the far end of two other sides, then all thats left is the inside.
 
I did think about that... Maybe I could add a motor onto the slider to get it to run along electronically....
 
YAY brit power.

It didnt cost me anything, I found it in a skip... The steel at the top was a bastard to bend though but it didnt cost me any money....

They are just jealous of my ultra-cool looking slider :-)

hehe.
 
DIY stands for "do it yourself"... which I guess can also mean "look what I made"... but I was just trying to flesh this out so that other people could try to build something that does the same job.

:-)

It's all good man... if it works for you then great... I just wanted to help other people do it themselves... o do you figure that everybody's got an old rowing machine laying about?
 
matt you could do a skate wheel track set up, but instead of two wheels on a v, you would need three wheels upper lower, and outside while. for each contact point, the lower wheel will make it hard to mount it though. but It could be done,

I've actually been looking on CL of and on for a while now for a free cheap rowing machine to do this very thing.
 
I'll make something... I've already done a bunch of dollies... and many other DIY projects... the list is long. I was just trying to get this idea to a point that anybody could do it.

You can buy aluminum extrusions from a metal supplier. In Saint Louis Missouri we have several... the one I usually go to is Shapiro Supply... I think it's just that name and add a dot com.

Anyway... if you get some thin-wall U-channel... then attach some L-angle (or even box channel)... then you could create this shape: [__] and have the wheels captive.

There are a lot of ways to approach the slider design w/o buying a specific custom part... and if that part is made of steel then it will be super-heavy.

Seriously... you may not believe me, but I just want to help. The ONLY reason I'm quick to point out parts available at WalMart is because most people in the USA have easy access to a WalMart and the stock is very close to the same across the entire chain... so if I see a pan, for instance, I can suggest somebody use the same part and they can run right up the street and get it... even if we live 1,000 miles apart.

That's not to say that you can't see the generality of the object I'm suggesting and get something LIKE it someplace else.

A part from a rowing machine isn't readily available... which is why I offered some alternatives. The extruded aluminum shapes ARE pretty much readily available however... and you can probably duplicate that special part if you really want the box section style slider. I'll probably do my own slider with either 2 captive wheels (ideal) or a 3 wheel version where 2 wheels work on the top like a normal dolly... and the third is the insurance wheel on the bottom.

Unifying the whole assembly can be done many ways... it wasn't my intention to suggest that something "wrong" was being done here... I'm just talking it out for everybody to do things as they wish... with some options that they may or may not have thought about.
 
syncman said:
What someone should have told you is that if you post in DIY, you have to have made it with items that you can buy in Wallmart. You need to give all the wallmart item codes, a fully featured CDROM with all drawings and 3D views.
You must also provide Footage to show what it can do. It must cost no more than $5 including tax.

It reminds me of that English Joke, how do to you tell an American from a British dude?..............Answer an American thinks everything on this Earth can be bought in Wallmart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:laugh:
Click to expand...


Matt is just trying to help. Poke around these boards long enough and you'll see he is the DVXuser King of DIY. Pretty much anything he makes is top notch, he breaks it down so anybody can give it a go and people throw money at him to save themselves the trouble of doing it themselves.

Matt=helpful
Sarcasm=Not so much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top