LilGryphMaster
Active member
Well, I thought this was a pretty smart way to make a dolly... Course I'm sure it's been done. Basically I took one of those studio dollies, with the crappy wheels and the three-prong design. Then I took the wheels off, bought some angle iron with holes in it, and luckily the bolts were just the right size to fit through these holes and screw in where the wheels used to go. I got off easy there.
Then I bought some rollerblade wheels (8 for $35 at a sports store) and mounted them in an intricate design in this order: Bolt, Wheel, Nylon Spacer, Washer, Angle Iron, Washer, Nut.
I used all 8 of them. 2 on each prong and an extra 2 on the lone prong.
Anyway, enough explaining, here're some pictures:
Here she is with a tripod on her. Notice the handy tripod holders that came with the studio dolly. That saved some work. They're adjustable too. A downside is that they can't exten all the way, due to the wheels obstructing the path. Also note the track, made out of 1" PVC and connected with 3/4" PVC jammed in-between. On the ends I cut some extra PVC and used elbow joints to create a buffer at the end. Keeps the tracks together if on a slight incline, or if someone is a bit careless with their extremities.
Here's a top-down look to get an overall view of how it's laid out. Note the wheels are staggered.
Here're a couple of angles to see how the wheels are attached.
Pretty standard fare, here. Bearings were essential in getting such a smooth ride. Very very smooth. I will eventually need a better tripod, and once I get my DVX I can get some better footage... But here's some test footage I shot with my Sony Cybershot:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R0xVtLwoeKk
Anyway, let me know what you think. This is my first attempt at building anything like this, and so far it's been awesome. It's so smooth!
One of the beauties of this design is that, if I wanted to transport this dolly on a long trip, everything is collapsable. All I need is a wrench to undo the bolts on the angle iron, and then the base will fold up. I really am impressed with myself.
P.S. The camera I used blows in lowlight, and fails to retain focus on anything. What looks like jumps on the track are most likely just the camera zooming in and out quickly to find focus. I promise better footage when the DVX arrives.
Edit: I adapted this thread as a DIY article for my new blog I'm working on setting up. Check it out if you're interested: http://www.makingindiefilms.com/diy-essentials-on-building-a-dolly/
Then I bought some rollerblade wheels (8 for $35 at a sports store) and mounted them in an intricate design in this order: Bolt, Wheel, Nylon Spacer, Washer, Angle Iron, Washer, Nut.
I used all 8 of them. 2 on each prong and an extra 2 on the lone prong.
Anyway, enough explaining, here're some pictures:
Here she is with a tripod on her. Notice the handy tripod holders that came with the studio dolly. That saved some work. They're adjustable too. A downside is that they can't exten all the way, due to the wheels obstructing the path. Also note the track, made out of 1" PVC and connected with 3/4" PVC jammed in-between. On the ends I cut some extra PVC and used elbow joints to create a buffer at the end. Keeps the tracks together if on a slight incline, or if someone is a bit careless with their extremities.
Here's a top-down look to get an overall view of how it's laid out. Note the wheels are staggered.
Here're a couple of angles to see how the wheels are attached.
Pretty standard fare, here. Bearings were essential in getting such a smooth ride. Very very smooth. I will eventually need a better tripod, and once I get my DVX I can get some better footage... But here's some test footage I shot with my Sony Cybershot:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R0xVtLwoeKk
Anyway, let me know what you think. This is my first attempt at building anything like this, and so far it's been awesome. It's so smooth!
One of the beauties of this design is that, if I wanted to transport this dolly on a long trip, everything is collapsable. All I need is a wrench to undo the bolts on the angle iron, and then the base will fold up. I really am impressed with myself.
P.S. The camera I used blows in lowlight, and fails to retain focus on anything. What looks like jumps on the track are most likely just the camera zooming in and out quickly to find focus. I promise better footage when the DVX arrives.
Edit: I adapted this thread as a DIY article for my new blog I'm working on setting up. Check it out if you're interested: http://www.makingindiefilms.com/diy-essentials-on-building-a-dolly/
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