DIY Skateboard Dolly Help

Jeremy Ordan

Jeremy Ordan

Major Contributor
OK, after months of being on the fence I finally figured that I am at least going to try to build my own dolly. I purchased 16 skateboard wheels (they are being delivered today) but after searching the forums for the last hour, I am having a hard time figuring out what else I need to purchase.

My disclaimer, I am the least handy person in the world, and have never built a thing without shedding a lot of blood (this includes prebuilt book shelves at Lowes).

I know that I need to purchase a platform of 1" thick plywood at 4'x2'. I know I need rails, but not sure what kind or what they are called. I know I need nuts and washers, but don't know what kind or size.

Does anyone have a list of parts needed once you have the wheels? Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is my first real DIY project. Thanks!

Jeremy
 
John_Hudson said:
Yankee Yankee Yankee

My southern northern man.......................

http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/dolly/

The dolly kit by Rowe Cine is literally worth every penny. Take those wheels back man. All the time you pend 'figuring it out' is going to be wasted

My .02
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Hudson, I know... I have looked at Neils Wheels for a while, just want to see... well, I just want to see if I can build something. I might be the least handy person in the world, but I'm willing to shed my blood to build this thing.

And you can't knock the NY'er living in Carolina. I never need to shovel again.

Plus, didn't I see a picture of a dolly you had built?


OK, so DM, what bolt size did you use for your wheels to attach?
 
I'm not passing on Neils, but if for $50 I can build my own now that I have the wheels then I want to give it a go. I have never built anything and it seems like a nice project to try out.

Mikko,
I just checked your pics out and it looks really good. Couple of questions regarding it. The 2x4 cross bars that you are using to elevate the bracket that the wheels are on, I haven't seen other people use this. What is the purpose behind it? Does it make it more smooth? Seems like it would make it more likely to slump in the middle. Also, what length of bolt did you use for the mounting on the rail?

Looks really nice though.
 
John what are you talking about dude? DIY projects have all kind of advantages particularly if:

1. You don't mind your wife leaving you.

2. You don't mind spending all kinds of cash on stuff that doesn't work.

3. You figure that you can of course do it better the other guy who spent 8K researching and testing the very thing you're building....

4. You have plenty of room to store all the parts & pieces you now shake your head at thinking "What the **^%%$# was I thinking buying those"!

5. You have no problem bravely struggling with your "new and improved" contraption, sweating and swearing because it isn't working as you expected.

This of course applies to other people's projects, not mine :)

Yank, take a few wheels to your local hardware store. I'm assuming you're building a dolly with wheels at 90 degrees to each other (skater) type. You'll need a hunk(s) of angle iron (or aluminum) and 1/4" or 3/16 bolts depending on what your using for bearings/spacers. Rollerblade cheapo bearings will fit into your skate board wheels...and these will determine your bolt size. If you also are using rollerblade type bearing spacers (not a bad idea) then the bolt diameter will be 1/4". Dan's book at http://www.dvcamerarigs.com/ is a good place to start if you're new to the DIY thing.

The washers, spacers, bolt lengths etc will be pretty obvious for your setup once you have a few pieces in your hand.
 
heh, as long as it looks good :-P

I hand cut the track and I'm having touble getting the bumps out, but...

Well I'm a stickler for standards, so I wanted my dolly to fit on standard dolly track (which is 62cm (24.4")) so I had a set guage for my wheels.Then I went to the shed looking for a platform. I found this old tabletop that needed a new home (and is solid as a rock [and almost as heavy]). The only problem was that it it weasn't wide enough for the 24" guage. Solution, an old flat piece of iron (that weighes even more) that was laying around. I cut it in ½ (again by hand, ugh) and ended up with 2 x 73cm peices to use as 'spreaders'. - AND not only does it ride on proper track, but it [just] fits through standard doorways (75cm here)
The iron is so solid that there is no way that it would bend/slump at all. 3 bolts secure the bars to the tabletop base. - then all i needed to buy was the aluminum L bar the bolts and the wheels.
The arangement of the L bar beeing out to the side actaully allows me to make 'wings' - extra bits of plotform - to slide in if I ever want the dolly wider.

The wheels are on prety long bolts because it's important that the wheels intersect the track perpendicular (so that they arn't ridign on their edges). So really if I used much larger track (not likly) I'd have to re-arange the washers to hold them our furthuer [stil possible])
I went with rollerblade wheeles because I spotted a score deal on a pack with the wheels, bareings and spacers. - That and I'm a Blader, not a Boarder (and yes I ski, not snowboard :P) I also like the slightly softer wheelse as it gives for a smoother ride.

The whole thing is a monster weighing in at 28kg (62lb) but it rides smooth as poo poo [sorry, first time, had to use it]. (untill I hit a problem with track...)

As for the track, I thought it would be cool to have metal track, and it is, but it's been some trouble to get them to mate smoothly. - Pvc would probably be easier to work with.

- Mikko
 
Thank you. That is exactly what I needed to hear. The wheels I bought were for wheels and bearings. I'm excited to see how this comes together, and will try to get some pictures posted to share the progress (or lack thereof) that I make. This should be interesting to say the least.

Caution to the wind!
 
TheYankee said:
Hudson, I know... I have looked at Neils Wheels for a while, just want to see... well, I just want to see if I can build something. I might be the least handy person in the world, but I'm willing to shed my blood to build this thing.

And you can't knock the NY'er living in Carolina. I never need to shovel again.

Plus, didn't I see a picture of a dolly you had built?


OK, so DM, what bolt size did you use for your wheels to attach?
Click to expand...

LOL

I only wish Neil had this when I spent $170.00 on mine :/
 
I built mine using the plans from Dan Selakovich's book 'Killer Camera Rigs that you can build', I modified a few things: I'm using 2x4's like railroad ties as the foundation for easy shimming when outdoors or on uneven surfaces, and I also chose to use metal tracks (re-purposed 'shelving standards') bought from Home Depot, to set the PVC into to ensure stability. I also tapped threads into the ends of my PVC so I could couple with threaded inserts, a bit overkill, but then again some of us like to over-engineer things!

I love what I have, smooth as silk and breaks down easy. On the other hand, I also wouldn't discourage anyone from buying the ready-made stuff like Neil's 'Rowe Cine' setup, but I guess we all have to pick and choose what we can spend on, and what we can DIY.


Here are some pics from my setup:

dollie2.jpg


dollie1.jpg


dollie-insert2.JPG
 
Frankhope said:
Hi .......I have just realised that you are a Moderator. This explains why you are against me from the start, as I come from the UK. But hey, there's no problem, I will not post any more. I will leave as from now.
Thanks for the warm welcome! Please don't contact me any more.
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? ?????? ?? ???? I don't recall anything he said that was against you? wowza!

?????????:shocked:
 
Frankhope said:
Hi .......I have just realised that you are a Moderator. This explains why you are against me from the start, as I come from the UK. But hey, there's no problem, I will not post any more. I will leave as from now.
Thanks for the warm welcome! Please don't contact me any more.
Click to expand...

What???!! LOL
 
gotta say. those are some pretty cool ideas. for those of us with little or no cash, these are totally available options. thanks for the ideas.
 
Is it just me or are a bunch of posts missing?

This thread reads like a bunch of lunatics were set loose at DVX HQ.
 
I think it might be just you (unless you're referring in jest to the hurt feelings that seem to come from left field). I'd say this is just another day in a forum where great info is shared, and feelings are hurt for reasons unknown except to those that seem to misinterpret the honest and often playful comments of the regulars (I'm actually guilty of this too, I've had thin skin because I didn't know that everyone here is really good intentioned). I've since learned to trust that the intentions of almost everone on this forum are almost always good, and even if there is a jab or two to put us in place on occasion, it's all in good fun and done with an honest attempt to help)

*I'm actually saying this as a reminder to myself because I recently misinterpreted some comments that Hudson made to me and I now realize that although his choice of words sometimes can be confused as harsh, I now realize that he's a great asset even his truth sometimes hurts.

Perhaps my sig is in line with Hudson's personal philosophy, as I think we should all follow:

"The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls."

~Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815 - 1902)
 
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