my dolly makes cracking noise
 

Hello all,

I built myself a dolly using 3/4 inch plywood and angled aluminium brackets at each corner. I used skate board wheels and pvc pipes for tracks. I noticed that when I am pulling or pushing the dolly on the tracks, the unit gives me an occasional cracking noise. I just can't figure out where it is coming from... the heavier the load on the dolly, the loader and more frequent the cracks become. have you guys encountered that problem before? would lemon pledge help?? ( I just read about it in another thread)

thanks

stephen

Hi Stephen,

First, find out where it's coming from: change out the PVC track to electrical conduit or plumbing pipe. If you still hear the cracking noise, it's probably your plywood platform. Double up on the plywood. Cut the sheet so the grain of the second sheet runs across the grain of the first. Put a layer of carpenter's glue on the entire sheet and stick it to the first. Put some heavy weight on it and let it dry 24 hours before re-attaching your wheels.

Good luck,

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com

Unlike solid stock, plywood does not have a "grain", per se. It is made from thin sheets of wood laminated together such that each layer's grain runs opposite that of the neighboring layers. This is what makes plywood so dimensionally stable.

Still, Dan's advice is about all that you can do. Doubling-up the thickness of your platform will make the dolly heavier but will also likely reduce the noise. Failing complete noise elimination, a piece of carpeting on the platform's top will help to dampen undesirable sounds from the dolly.

Lemon Pledge might make it smell nice but I don't think it offers help here.

I noticed a possibly similar sound when I was testing mine out on the garage floor.
When I realized was that the noise was coming from the pvc pipe being pushed outwards. I think my angle brackets weren't hefty enough and were flexing slighting pushing the pvc out and grinding along the ground.
My sounds weren't cracking per se, but a not nice sound overall.

I plan on beefing up the angles and taking another look. I've also since cleaned the garage floor :-)