My skater dolly

tlorenzo

tlorenzo

Well-known member
Just wanted to show off my skater dolly made of laser-cut steel and powder-coated black. Here it is with a DVX camera mounted onto a Manfrotto (Bogen in the US) head. All the drawings were sent to a laser-cutting facility and then I drilled and mounted screws myself and sent it off to the power-coating facility. Looks very pro and handles like a dream - and it's very strong because it's made of steel.

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This was somewhat of a pilot-project. Right now I'm working on a steadicam for myself, which is a major undertaking - but a fun one!
 
AWESOME job...
damn, i wish i had the resources to do that...

very good job, personally i would have made it a bit higher off the ground becasue sometimes conditions arent completly perfect and that thing might drag a bit..

i hope fo make miine next week but im using plexiglass becasue its so easy to cut and shape...
 
Thanks. Regarding clearance - it's not really a problem because you don't want to use it in places where the surface isn't completely flat anyway. Even the smallest bumps are a dead give-away in the footage so it might as well be as close to the surface as possible (mine has about 7mm clearance).

I researched a lot of materials and you want to make sure it's not too light either. A little weight will keep it on the surface ;-)
 
yea i also though about the weight, i use a dvx100b and its not a heavy camera also im making my own rocker out of plxi so its gonna be light, i think im going to have to put weights on it so it doesnt drift on the surface

if you dont mind me asking, how much did this cost to make?
 
zipper1022 said:
yea i also though about the weight, i use a dvx100b and its not a heavy camera also im making my own rocker out of plxi so its gonna be light, i think im going to have to put weights on it so it doesnt drift on the surface

if you dont mind me asking, how much did this cost to make?
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Approx. $600 USD.
 
nice job!! a lil off topic but what kind of matte box is that? will it hold a 127mm polarizer and bpm?

thanx
 
It's a Chrosziel - dunno about the polarizer, but it has a two-stage 4x4" filter-holder which can rotate.
 
Wow! Looks great!

How are you locking the wheels at specified angles? And why is there a cut out section in the middle, under the head? Also, what did you use to affix the steel rings to the bottom around each wheel?
 
jmc said:
Wow! Looks great!

How are you locking the wheels at specified angles? And why is there a cut out section in the middle, under the head? Also, what did you use to affix the steel rings to the bottom around each wheel?
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Thanks :-)

I designed the thing with a "plate" in the middle that can be changed - if needed. This adapter plate has a groove in it where a standard 3/8" bolt will go through and screw into the head.

The wheel-mounts are locked into place with a small finger-screw - and the whole wheel-mount is put together around the body which is made of two steel plates that are screwed together.
 
waefre said:
How is your stedicam project going by the way?
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Pretty ok. Haven't produced any parts for it yet as I'm still working on the CAD drawings with the gimbal done and 80% of the arm done. I'm buying a used Steadicam vest, though.
 
Damn... is there any chance you can hook me up with everything you used to build that so i can make one/ get someone too?
 
That's pretty awesome! How much did the laser cutting cost? And is there any chance you could share the files for your design with us, so other people can also make these?
 
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