$57 Dolly Test Footage

A

a2zproductions

Well-known member
Just finished my $57 Dolly mentioned in the DIY forum.

Check out the test footage: Stay Focused!
http://home.comcast.net/~a2z/dolly.html

dolly.jpg


Check out my scenic short here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=38495

Comments Welcome...
Adrian
 
It's very nice. Is it my imagination or is there a little jerkiness toward the end of this shot? Is it a little hard to controll the smoothness of the dolly. Don't get me wrong, I do think it is awesome, especially for the price! Just wondering about any issues that might come up when using it.

Edward McCain
Dura Mater Productions
Tucson, Arizona
 
No Jerking, Very Smooth.
Just the compression of the video.
Sorenson Squeeze...
Also, causes black flashes at the beginning.
Oh well,
Adrian
 
I'm almost done making one just like that. I've got a big push/pull handle on the back and I have about 20ft of pvc pipe pieces that I connect together. It's pretty nice. Going to be making a free roaming one soon. oh, and the shot with the woman was nice and smooth. good stuff!
 
Very smooth footage. I just finished my $76, $57 dolly today. Still need to do some tweaks. I used washers for spacers and it wasn't until the wheel supports were bolted onto the base that I discovered that not all washers are created equal in thickness. I used 16 wheels and 3 of them, that I can see, are not touching the pvc track. So I need to take it apart and scratch my head a while to figure this out. It does work but since I have 18 wheels, I want all of them to touch. But....I'm just a girl ,and us girls just aren't as mechanical as you boys.
I'd post my test footage but I'm embarassed because I only did 3 test runs and all of them are just a bit inconsistant with the speed. I need some practice.....any words of wisdom here.

Anyway, it sure was fun to build. And I'll post some footage when I get my pushing down.

Do you think I'm the first female dvxuser to make one?

Marlene
 
Marlene,
Congrats on being the only girl I know of that has attempted such
a task...

Words of wisdom,
On version 2 of my dolly, I raised the rails off of the wooden platform
and all wheels cleared the board perfectly. Secondly, I attached a small
round hook in the middle of the board and used a bungee to secure the
tripod. I also tied a string to the hook which I use to pull the Dolly, I find when
I push it, I'm not as smooth. Lastly, I sprayed the screws that the wheels
are connected to the rails with lithium grease.

Good Luck with your project.
Adrian

Next order of business, finding a way to connect several pieces of PVC seamlessly.
 
a2zproductions said:
Marlene,
Congrats on being the only girl I know of that has attempted such
a task...

Words of wisdom,
On version 2 of my dolly, I raised the rails off of the wooden platform
and all wheels cleared the board perfectly. Secondly, I attached a small
round hook in the middle of the board and used a bungee to secure the
tripod. I also tied a string to the hook which I use to pull the Dolly, I find when
I push it, I'm not as smooth. Lastly, I sprayed the screws that the wheels
are connected to the rails with lithium grease.

Good Luck with your project.
Adrian

Next order of business, finding a way to connect several pieces of PVC seamlessly.
Click to expand...

I kinda wish I had gone with my first instinct on raising the rails but the washers are working and I think I've got them tweaked properly. I still have to put in a tie down for the tripod.

Ah....lithium grease.....good idea, I'll be doing that tomorrow. And pulling the dolly makes sense too. Once I have the tripod tied down then I will also try the pull method.

Did you see the article by the guy that split his dowels and then made a .....well....too hard to explain so see for yourself here http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers/dolly.html
just scroll down to the bottom where he shows his method of connecting seamless pvc....pretty cool.

Marlene
 
.

.

Let it be known that shooting a bikini-clad model to show off your DIY rig is inevitably better than DIY dolly shots of, say, your hallway.

Congrats on the dolly, have fun with it!
 
marlenedegrood said:
...I discovered that not all washers are created equal in thickness. I used 16 wheels and 3 of them, that I can see, are not touching the pvc track.
Click to expand...

If I were you I will not worry to much of ALL wheels touching the rail.
in Geometry a flat surface (sorry I do not know the english correct terminology ^_^;) passes for only THREE points and not four or more.

Just worry that in case for some reason the non touching wheels should touch the rails they are well aligned and do not cause unwilled breaking!

Keep up the good job and let us boys informed!!!
 
marlenedegrood said:
I kinda wish I had gone with my first instinct on raising the rails but the washers are working and I think I've got them tweaked properly. I still have to put in a tie down for the tripod.

Ah....lithium grease.....good idea, I'll be doing that tomorrow. And pulling the dolly makes sense too. Once I have the tripod tied down then I will also try the pull method.

Did you see the article by the guy that split his dowels and then made a .....well....too hard to explain so see for yourself here http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers/dolly.html
just scroll down to the bottom where he shows his method of connecting seamless pvc....pretty cool.

Marlene
Click to expand...

That is an interesting way to connect the PVC. I used 2" long threaded pipe to connect mine. I'm not sure exactly what they are called, but I found they thread right into my 1" PVC pipe.

Here are 2 pics:

-> http://dev-null.com/dolly/Dolly-Pages/Image16.html
-> http://dev-null.com/dolly/Dolly-Pages/Image17.html

-mb
 
microbob said:
That is an interesting way to connect the PVC. I used 2" long threaded pipe to connect mine. I'm not sure exactly what they are called, but I found they thread right into my 1" PVC pipe.

Here are 2 pics:

-> http://dev-null.com/dolly/Dolly-Pages/Image16.html
-> http://dev-null.com/dolly/Dolly-Pages/Image17.html

-mb
Click to expand...

Hmmm....those threaded connectors look like they're galvanized. Your pvc isn't threaded so you must be pushing the pvc onto the threads. Seems like after a while, of pushing them on and off, they would wear into the pvc and become loose. But whatever works is great.

Marlene
 
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