Solo Dolly

pmark23

pmark23

Veteran
Here's v3.0 of the solo-dolly. The goal was to be ultra-light, packs small, fast to set-up, smooth and accurate, and can easily be used by one person on location.

This is still a test model, but is suitable for production use. The next version will be done a little more cleanly and accurately, now that I know all the measurements.

I was going to wait until everything was completed before posting pics, but due to an unfortunate incident (broke my hand defending my home from burglers -- don't worry, the DVX is safe. Oh and my pregnant wife is okay too) I won't be able to work on it further until a month or two from now. :angry:

Total cost, about $60. Tools: Dremel, hacksaw, mitre box. Material is thin-wall aluminum -- very light, but you have to properly engineer everything to prevent flexing (hence v3.0). Weight: 2-3 kg's for everything. It's VERY light. The wheels and bolts are the heaviest components.

I will probably add a small platform in the middle to hold some rocks or a waterbag to add some inertia to the movement. As it is now, it glides at the slightest touch. Even a strong breeze can blow it down the track. I left the bolts long at the bottom because i had a problem with it rolling away when not on the track! The bolts also prevent the wheels from touching anything except the track, so they stay clean and round when not on the track.

The wheels are on the inside so the operator can step freely without having to worry about stepping on the track or the ties/shims (which I haven't completed yet.)

Track is also aluminum. It can be joined by inserting a split piece of PVC tubing to hold two sections together. Because the wheels are soft rubber, they glide over the simple joints with no bumping whatsoever, so no complicated joining mechanism or procedure is necessary. Woohoo!

Sorry for the crap pictures -- only one hand works, and it's the wrong one (and I hope you appreciate how long it took to type this post!)

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Extremely cool. I love the ultra lightweight design. I hope your hand gets better real soon so you can post a parts list and instructions. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks. The original intention was to put together a PDF with the construction details, but now that'll have to wait.

I think than anyone can figure it out from the images. There's only a couple pieces of tubing (square and rectangular), and a bunch of bolts, nuts, and an insane number of washers (so the soft aluminum doesn't bend from the bolts). I tried a lot of different types of tubing -- L-shaped, V-shaped, circular, flat -- but the square/rectangular was the most stable.

Minus the experimentation, it would only take a couple hours to make. With a drill-press and the correct sized bits it'd take half-an-hour because you wouldn't have to calculate the hole alignment every time.

The test footage looks fantastic, especially with a slow "creeping" zoom. This sucker will really add production value to our docs and corps, without needing extra crew on location -- and it packs easily for flights. I can't wait to try it out on a real production (which would have been now if I didn't get my hand broken -- doh!)
 
what size aluminum tubing did you use? and how ro you prevent it from rolling away? i dont see ant shims, feet or railroad tie type of thing in place
 
fullcircle said:
what size aluminum tubing did you use? and how ro you prevent it from rolling away? i dont see ant shims, feet or railroad tie type of thing in place
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I just use loose PVC with my dolly. It doesn't roll away as long as the wheels are on it.
 
That's awesome. I'll have to build that this weekend along with the DIY Skater. :) Hope your hand heals nicely. At least you beat the bastards away.

Fox
 
Size of aluminum is 3x3 and 3x6 cm. Size doesn't really matter much -- I bought what was available.

I didn't complete the shims or ties. The rails will be attached to the ties by plastic stand-offs used for PVC plumbing that happen to fit the aluminum tubing. I tried cutting notches, but it wasn't accurate enough. Ties are 2x6cm wood. The aluminum tubing is light, yet strong and doesn't flex much, and since there isn't a lot of weight on it (nobody rides the dolly), there doesn't have to be too many ties. Tubing is 2cm diameter -- which is small, but again there's not much weight on it.

I got all the metal bits at a metal-supply place. I spent HOURS there trying to figure out what to use and how to attach everything. :) It cost a couple bucks per metre, and I only needed a couple metres.

Yeah, it's comforting to know that I broke my hand on their faces. They hit me HARD on the back of my head with an iron bar, expecting me to go down and stay down. Unfortunately for them I have a very thick skull (or so everyone keeps telling me), and I popped back up and fought them off until I could get the door closed. My wife was just inside, so there was no way they were going to get past me. The entire incident took maybe six-seconds. I haven't been in a fight since I was 10, so it's nice to know that I can do it if I have to. :angry:
 
I bought the wheels and bearings at a local sports-store. They cost about $40 for everything. I decided to go for roller-blade wheels because I thought (correctly) they'd be smoother over any bumps, and would be easier to design for.

Clip is coming later. I need more practice with it -- need to learn how to walk behind the dolly while smoothly pushing it (a bit of even pressure on the tripod handle is all that's required), and pan smoothly all while keeping everything in a nice frame. It's not exactly hard, but will take a bit of practice like all new pieces of gear.
 
ReneH said:
Where did you get the wheels? They look very conducive for this sort of thing.
Click to expand...

Those are in-line skate wheels. I've used them on my dollies as well, and like them MUCH better than the skate board wheels. They are easier to build, you can adjust the distance between the wheels, and use a variety of things for track. Nice job on the dolly!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
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