DIY: Stealth (Skater) Dolly v.2

The brilliant degree guides were made by Robert (aka qemart) and posted as Illustrator files.

I printed them on paper and rubber cemented them to posterboard stock and then to the finished wood. Perhaps Robert has the link handy if you can't find it.
 
Quick Notes

Quick Notes

It was not my intention to compete with Robert's design.

He did a lot of generous work and promised more to come if people are interested. It just seemed selfish to me not to acknowledge the direction I had gone for myself, based on his progress, which in turn is based on P+S Technik's Mini Skater.

I took me a while to pick the critical elements. They are the "6" Lazy Susan bearings and the Razer Scooter replacement wheels. I've previously posted about the source of the bearings (easy to get) and I got the wheels at Big 5. The wood is 5/8" Birch, but I don't see that as critical.

With the pictures, everything else should fall into place if you are a true DIY practioner. OK. One last tip. The size of the bearings mean you will probably use a 9" radius for your wood cut outs. That means it will be tough to print Robert's cool dial graphics. I enlarged and split them in half in Photoshop (to fit 8 1/2 x 11" paper) and glued them up on posterboard. Rubber cement glues the paper to the poster board and the posterboard to the wood.

If that's not enough info, then you will need a complete set of drawings like Robert has provided, or maybe a kit, or maybe a completed item. I think what Robert layed out early on will give you about the same shots. Or if he wants to move forward with my contributions then he is certainly welcome.
 
Darren - 2 things...

First of all, thank you again for your kind words. Secondly, in the world of DIY, there is no competition! What I love most about this site and this forum in particular, is the cooperation that helps us all out! I am definitely making some changes based on your contributions which will delay my posting of plans etc. No point in posting plans until I have tested anew.

Thanks again!
 
wooh, got my bearings (had to mail order em cos i couldn't find a place to get them locally) - the 'loose' bearings do make a bit of noise though - hopefully when they are fitted and such they wont.

Just had a thought though and was wandering if anyone had thought about this or not - that is, I'm going to have two wheels on each corner (total of 6), that way I can put it onto dolly tracks on not so smooth areas. Anyone tried this or have an opinion on how it might affect performance (when not used with a track) - waiting for wheels to come, so hopefully should have a working demo by next weekend.
 
Darren said:
Q,

So sorry to have botched your ID. I appreciate all of the hard work you've put in, contributing to this project. Any number of of friction lock mechanisms could be screwed to the wood. Right now I'm still settling on what would look the coolest. (But even a small peice of tape would work in the interim).


Waltind,
"Lazy Suzan" bearings screw down to both peices of wood. You can get them at Home Depot or www.Rockler.com
28951-lg.gif
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Darren,

I'm in the process of DIY-ing the skater dolly and found some round Lazy Susan dials (http://www.triangle-oshkosh.com/susan/LAZYSUE.HTM). I think these might work out better in that I can come closer to the edge of the platform than the square ones. But, I'm not sure how I can screw the second side in.

Have you revised your design at all? If I have to use the square Lazy Susan, then I want to minimize what will be shown when the dial rotates. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Brad
 
hi all, sorry for the lack of feed back - but well.. there hasn't been any...
I have all parts - wheels, lazy susans etc... only thing is... would u believe I can't a source for round pieces of wood here in Australia? those I have contacted said I will have to cut my self (I don't have the equipment)...

in regards to the 6 wheel solution - i decided I will not go that route, because I was running some tests (holding wheels together on one rod and running them along the ground) and I don't think they will run as smoothly when on a flat surface (though the idea of using it as a small portadolly is appealing, I'm probably just going to make a skate dolly instead later...
 
Looking forward to seeing some cool footage with it. As far as the design goes, I may have seen that professionallly made. Anyhow, should be nice. Great job.
 
Larry R said:
There is a link on that site explaining how to assemble the bearing, it also has pictures to show what it is explaining. Here are the assembly instructions: http://www.triangle-oshkosh.com/susan/MOUNTING.HTM
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Larry, Thanks for the info. What I don't want to do is drill any holes into the second side in order to mount the Lazy Susan. But, I figure I could drill the holes and then insert a plug into each hole to cover it up.

I'm not sure if you understand how I'm going to put it together, but my design has the LS sandwiched between two pieces of wood. I'll have to take a look at drilling and see if that is what I want to do. Otherwise, the square LS will have to do.

When I get all the parts together, I'll have to post some pictures and video.

Thanks again,
Brad
 
I'm working on my current design (for some reason, I'm not permitted to upload an attachment to show). My CAD system (a poorman's MS PowerPoint with layering, but using exact measurements), uses the 6" square Lazy Susan size. I started drawing a triangle but then extended each triangle point with a circlular extension. I'll need to figure out where to attach the camera/tripod adapter (like a Bogen/Manfrotto quick release), but I've drawn the center point on my dolly for now. Any ideas for placement?

I've based my initial design on Darren's -- I really like the flip-ability of that design, but am observing what others are saying (suggestions and such), but am trying to make this design my own.

I plan on printing the design off and then cutting the wood (probably birch or some other hard wood). I've wondered if those white plastic cutting boards might work. They seem pretty stiff -- I think they are about 1/2 inch thick.

I really like the wheel dial/degree concept on the original mini skater and love Robert's design. If it's okay, I'd like to use this.

I'm still wondering if I need to incorporate a locking mechanism for each wheel, but maybe my first version will be without it.

For the flip-ability, on the tripod side, I'm not sure where to attach the tripod cups (where the tripod will hook into this unit). Maybe that'll be version 2.

I'll let you know as things progress (and as I find time).

Thanks,
Brad
 
well i finally got the majority of my parts.. so hopefully ill have pics by next week - only sad thing is - i mite end up just using square instead of circular pieces - i don't see that it will be too much trouble - just looks odd - as i can mod the image in photoshop and well should be still ok...

anyway.. will stop talking now and wait till i actually have something to show... :)
 
Square or Round

Square or Round

Hi Brad,

I used the 6" square bearing as it had the right inside diameter for the wheel. You can see in this pic where I access the second half. Also notice that I rounded the edges of the metal to be less obtrusive. The wood "pointer" part matches the upper edge of the full metal square.

TableDolly_Camera.jpg


With round bearings the trick is one side uses screw heads that just barely fit through the holes. You pre-screw them into one side of the wood through access holes. Then you remove (since the heads pull through) the bearing and screw it down completely to the other side of the wood. To complete the "Sandwich effect" WITHOUT drilling, you now line the bearing up (one side still attached) to match the screw heads sticking out of the second piece of wood. Once it fits over, any slight rotation locks the second side in place.

The square bearing method used in the picture above produces a more secure attachment.
 
Thanks for the info. I'll probably sand the corners too. Good idea.

I was thinking of changing my specs to a 4" Lazy Susan, because I found some 52 mm (2.0) wheels that'll fit within the space of the 4" LS.

What size wheels did you use? (and do you have a link?)

Thanks,
Brad
 
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