Dolly Track (picture)

beno

beno

Well-known member
I know there has been a vast amount of posts on this subject but here is my home made dolly creation, made possible because of the info I found on this site. I was trying to make it too complicated at first, in the end I built this in about 4 hours from about £45 worth of materials.

<img src="http://www.sitcomsoldiers.com/dolly/dolly3.jpg">

I found soaking the bearings in WD40 helped them to run 100% smoother.

<img src="http://www.sitcomsoldiers.com/dolly/dolly.jpg">

I couldn't find a washer to go next to the bearings so I cut some metal tubing I bought at B&Q to make a thinner spacer than the ones I could find

Bolt, then Spacer, then bearing & wheel, then spacer, then bolt,
<img src="http://www.sitcomsoldiers.com/dolly/dolly1.jpg">

<img src="http://www.sitcomsoldiers.com/dolly/dolly2.jpg">

Next I need to decide on a way to attach some grips to it so it can be pushed easily.
 
I took the liberty of making your post more readable:

I know there has been a vast amount of posts on this subject but here is my home made dolly creation, made possible because of the info I found on this site. I was trying to make it too complicated at first, in the end I built this in about 4 hours from about £45 worth of materials.

dolly3.jpg



I found soaking the bearings in WD40 helped them to run 100% smoother.

dolly.jpg


I couldn't find a washer to go next to the bearings so I cut some metal tubing I bought at B&Q to make a thinner spacer than the ones I could find

Bolt, then Spacer, then bearing & wheel, then spacer, then bolt,

dolly1.jpg


dolly2.jpg


Next I need to decide on a way to attach some grips to it so it can be pushed easily.
 
hey, about soaking those bearing in the wd40. Its really a bad idea. Sure they work good now, but the wd40 acts as a disslover and eventually all the grease on the bearings will be gone. take it from me, I skate. If you want to make them ultra smoth and ultra quiet, may sound wierd but soak them in olive oil overnight. . I will also be attempting to make a dolly in a few months, so thank you everyone thats posted designs.
 
ok thanks for the tip about wd40, I've not done a lot of work with materials before and I was pretty chuffed with this in the end.

John, you are a sci fi nerd. Less of the witty sarcasm.. you really need a revamp on outlandpictures.com.
 
John_Hudson said:
To Think This Person Actually Made The Dolly.
Click to expand...
Oh come on, don't be so hard on the guy :undecided


Beno,
good looking dolly, nice and clean. Yeah WD-40 is not lube!


- Mikko (still has touble posting pictures sometimes too)

P.S. Don't diss John or he'll WD-40 you! :shocked:
 
..you should also move your wheels to the very ends of the mounts for maximum stability. .. those yellowish inside wheels look like they are made out of leather.. be sure they have no imperfections. once there is weight on there every little hair out of round will be felt.
 
beno said:
ok thanks for the tip about wd40, I've not done a lot of work with materials before and I was pretty chuffed with this in the end.

John, you are a sci fi nerd. Less of the witty sarcasm.. you really need a revamp on outlandpictures.com.
Click to expand...

Take it easy tiger; I'm just busting your balls.

Scifi nerd? No no no. Just a regular film nerd and yes I hate the outland site with passion. I'm hoping it just goes away quietly.

And trust me; this site would'nt make it without my witty sarcasm.
 
ha.. fair play john.

I'm making some alterations today.. (the wheels are soaking in oil based lubricant right now)

Neil, I saw your wheels the other day, they look sweet. I'll consider getting some in the future after I've filmed some bumpy footage first. How much more for shipping to the UK?

cheers
 
yea I have to agree dont use WD40. You can buy some bearing lubricant from just about any skate shop. If you dont have skate shop near you just use an oil that has a low break down and no disolvents. I have some lubricant that I bought for my Roller blades and man it made a HUGE difference (smooth as silk and fast as lighting!!!). Also get ultra juicy wheels (shock obsorbent basically.) This will help any any transitions from peice to piece and also make for a much smoother ride.

I found this amazing dolly, and the good thing about it is that it can be transported very easily anywhere in the US!!! Antd the best thing about it is the goverment has already paid for the track :)

17-01.jpg


:grin: :grin: :evil: :evil: :grin: :grin:
Good luck and let us know how it works out!!!
 
I've revised it today.

I soaked the bearings in lubricant. (Thanks mavsurfer and everyone who pointed that out.)
I added aluminium strips to the edges of the MDF.
I moved the wheels closer to the edges of the rail. (Thanks Neil)
I had a go at connecting two pipes of PVC with a broom handle inside to bridge the two over.

I'm clueless as to how I can attach some kind of waist height grip to push the thing though :(

Thanks for everyone's help... it's running sooo much smoother :)

dollyv2.jpg


dollyaV2.jpg
 
To mount a handle, just go to a plumbing supply place and buy threaded socket that will mount with four screws onto your dolly. Buy a threaded pipe 3 feet long, a threaded tee and two more shorter pipes.
VOILA' A t handle to push your dolly with......
 
Also to attach the tubing together just get a pipe threader and thread both ends to be connected. Then take a double ended male connector, insert, and screw together. Easy and makes a nice solid smooth connection.
 
One more thing if you want to make it pro looking you could get some of that spray on Bed liner stuff that is used for truck beds. There may be a better solution at Home Depot/Lowes, but that would give it a very nice duarble and skid proof finish.
 
pywl said:
Also to attach the tubing together just get a pipe threader and thread both ends to be connected. Then take a double ended male connector, insert, and screw together. Easy and makes a nice solid smooth connection.
Click to expand...

Sweet. Maybe you can help me then. I started working on Dolly setup by modifying a 3067 Bogen Dolly a couple weeks ago and thought about using a double ended male connector and threading the pvc pipe as you mentioned. However, I have been trying to find an appropriate threading tool to thread the inside of a 3/4" PVC pipe, but cant seem to find the right tap that works with the plastic male connector I bought. I attached pictures of the pipe/male threaded coupler below. Maybe I am using the wrong connector? Anyway, I am curious if you have any insight on my dilemma. Thanks and Happy New Year! -Ivan


 
Ivan,
I believe you can buy a tapping tool from home depot for cheap. You can use this to apply thread to the inside of the pvc pipe.
 
coffee,

Thanks. By any chance do you know which isle they usually have those? The last time I was at HD I only saw the tap bits that were sold in the tools dept, but none were large enough. Are there special threading tools for pipes? Btw, what size pvc are you running and how are your coupling pieces?

Thanks again,

Ivan
 
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