Built a dolly

Emre Safak · October 26th, 2006, 10:23 AM

I experienced all these problems when I built my dolly too. It works very well now, but looking back on the effort I think I should have just rented...

Best of luck to you.

Josh Bass · October 26th, 2006, 10:33 AM

Eh, renting.

Then it's not YOURS. You don't OWN it. It's all about material possessions--owning them and having them at your disposal whenever you want, even if you don't use them often.

Emre Safak · October 26th, 2006, 11:21 AM

So what if you don't own it? What matters to me is total cost. I estimated that renting would have been cheaper, after factoring the time, materials, labor, etc.

Owning makes sense with name-brand equipment that can later be sold. Who can you sell your home-made dolly to?

Josh Bass · October 26th, 2006, 12:06 PM

I was being silly.

I would actually be less motivated to spend money on something I only get for a day or two (especially on one of my self-funded no-budget projects--what I expect to be using this dolly on), and then it's someone else's again, then to spend more and build it myself. Within reason, of course. Let's say I spend $200 on materials, and it costs $50 a day to rent something like this. I'd rather have my own, in that kinda case.

Ken Diewert · October 26th, 2006, 04:16 PM

Emre,

Me, if I had a rental shop down the street who only charged me $20 to rent one for a day, I'd rent. Now, I'd buy or rent a crane, but the cheapest I could find a dolly for was close to $500.00 by the time I had it shipped.

I found Dan Selakovich's book to be worth the $40 for the comprehensive instructions for the dolly. I don't expect to make much else out of there, but it was worth it just for the good dolly plans.

Josh Bass · October 26th, 2006, 04:50 PM

I feel like owning gives you a kind of freedom. What if you want to experiment? What if you want to screw around one day? If every time I wanted to do something like that, as opposed to a real shoot, I had to think about renting, I'd do a lot less. Having the stuff right there gives you that freedom to take it out and play with it at a whim.

Ken Diewert · October 27th, 2006, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

I feel like owning gives you a kind of freedom. What if you want to experiment? What if you want to screw around one day? If every time I wanted to do something like that, as opposed to a real shoot, I had to think about renting, I'd do a lot less. Having the stuff right there gives you that freedom to take it out and play with it at a whim.

Absolutely agree.

But now I want a crane...

Josh Bass · October 27th, 2006, 10:55 AM

Someone had a video of their homebuilt crane. It was all wood. It was posted on here, somewhere.

So the 3/4" pipe seems the right size. If the track is relatively parallel, the dolly stays on it. Of course, now you have the issue of very very bendy PVC pipe, being that thin. I guess I could always get copper/metal pipe, though then your track is at least $40 instead of $8. And I know about using boards under the pvc, as well.

I liked the idea about the cotter pin, the only thing is that the flanges have a very little "lip" through which the pin could go. . .maybe 1/4" inch that sticks up. Could that be worked around?

The tape idea isn't bad, but the thing has to be removable, so that's kind of a pain. Seems the pin idea is better, if I can make it happen.

Ken Diewert · October 27th, 2006, 12:11 PM

The thing I was thinking about with the handle coming apart...

Can you just secure the handle all together, and make it lift out of the platform in one piece, or does it have to unscrew piece by piece?

Josh Bass · October 27th, 2006, 12:52 PM

Well, the problem is that the pipes thread into the elbows, and also into the flanges. According to Matt, this a little more secure. So you can't lift anything out without unthreading it first.

A guy at work had a good idea, to put a third pole between the two on the pushbar, which would keep the ends from pivoting. I'd leave one flange attached to the dolly, and put the rest of the pushbar together when needed. A little bit of a pain, but you'd only have to do it when transporting it in a small vehicle. That would work.

Josh Bass · October 29th, 2006, 05:01 PM

Ok, so what does it mean when the wheels are all squeaky? Is the rubber too soft?

Emre Safak · October 29th, 2006, 07:12 PM

I would suspect the bearings or the way you mounted the wheels. Are the bearings new? Are the wheels carefully mounted?

Josh Bass · October 29th, 2006, 07:58 PM

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific.

It's not a metal-y squeak, it's more rubbery. It's something to do with the surface of the wheels.

Ken Diewert · October 30th, 2006, 12:57 AM

Josh,

I think it means if you don't fix it, you're going to f-up your audio.

Seriously, it may be time for that oiling you were wanting to do before. just be careful what you use though.

Seems funny though. I'm no expert, but I don't think it should be squeaking. I mean even if you have a lot of weight on it... you've got 12 wheels under it.

How are those 1/4" axles holding up?

Josh Bass · October 30th, 2006, 01:48 AM

It's actually 24 wheels, 12 pairs of two, 6 pairs on each side.

As I said, it's not a metal squeak, it's something about the interaction between the rubber on the wheels, and the PVC.

Are the wheels too tightly bolted? Too close together (meaning that they hug the PVC really tight)? With the wider pipe that I had before (I've been testing it with 3/4" now), the wheels rode on top, as opposed to kind of gripping/hugging the pipe.

I feel if I loosen the nuts too much, the wheels will wobble (they did before), unless I get like ten washers or something for spacing on each axel.

There's no squeak when I tried the dolly on some boards for track, rather than the PVC.

The axels are holding up fine.

October 26th, 2006, 10:33 AM	#17
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Eh, renting. Then it's not YOURS. You don't OWN it. It's all about material possessions--owning them and having them at your disposal whenever you want, even if you don't use them often. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 26th, 2006, 12:06 PM	#19
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I was being silly. I would actually be less motivated to spend money on something I only get for a day or two (especially on one of my self-funded no-budget projects--what I expect to be using this dolly on), and then it's someone else's again, then to spend more and build it myself. Within reason, of course. Let's say I spend $200 on materials, and it costs $50 a day to rent something like this. I'd rather have my own, in that kinda case. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 26th, 2006, 04:16 PM	#20
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Emre, Me, if I had a rental shop down the street who only charged me $20 to rent one for a day, I'd rent. Now, I'd buy or rent a crane, but the cheapest I could find a dolly for was close to $500.00 by the time I had it shipped. I found Dan Selakovich's book to be worth the $40 for the comprehensive instructions for the dolly. I don't expect to make much else out of there, but it was worth it just for the good dolly plans. __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

October 26th, 2006, 04:50 PM	#21
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I feel like owning gives you a kind of freedom. What if you want to experiment? What if you want to screw around one day? If every time I wanted to do something like that, as opposed to a real shoot, I had to think about renting, I'd do a lot less. Having the stuff right there gives you that freedom to take it out and play with it at a whim. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 27th, 2006, 10:55 AM	#23
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Someone had a video of their homebuilt crane. It was all wood. It was posted on here, somewhere. So the 3/4" pipe seems the right size. If the track is relatively parallel, the dolly stays on it. Of course, now you have the issue of very very bendy PVC pipe, being that thin. I guess I could always get copper/metal pipe, though then your track is at least $40 instead of $8. And I know about using boards under the pvc, as well. I liked the idea about the cotter pin, the only thing is that the flanges have a very little "lip" through which the pin could go. . .maybe 1/4" inch that sticks up. Could that be worked around? The tape idea isn't bad, but the thing has to be removable, so that's kind of a pain. Seems the pin idea is better, if I can make it happen. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 26th, 2006, 10:23 AM	#16
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	I experienced all these problems when I built my dolly too. It works very well now, but looking back on the effort I think I should have just rented... Best of luck to you.

October 26th, 2006, 11:21 AM	#18
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	So what if you don't own it? What matters to me is total cost. I estimated that renting would have been cheaper, after factoring the time, materials, labor, etc. Owning makes sense with name-brand equipment that can later be sold. Who can you sell your home-made dolly to?

October 27th, 2006, 12:11 PM	#24
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	The thing I was thinking about with the handle coming apart... Can you just secure the handle all together, and make it lift out of the platform in one piece, or does it have to unscrew piece by piece? __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

October 27th, 2006, 12:52 PM	#25
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Well, the problem is that the pipes thread into the elbows, and also into the flanges. According to Matt, this a little more secure. So you can't lift anything out without unthreading it first. A guy at work had a good idea, to put a third pole between the two on the pushbar, which would keep the ends from pivoting. I'd leave one flange attached to the dolly, and put the rest of the pushbar together when needed. A little bit of a pain, but you'd only have to do it when transporting it in a small vehicle. That would work. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 29th, 2006, 05:01 PM	#26
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Ok, so what does it mean when the wheels are all squeaky? Is the rubber too soft? __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 29th, 2006, 07:12 PM	#27
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	I would suspect the bearings or the way you mounted the wheels. Are the bearings new? Are the wheels carefully mounted?

October 29th, 2006, 07:58 PM	#28
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. It's not a metal-y squeak, it's more rubbery. It's something to do with the surface of the wheels. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 30th, 2006, 12:57 AM	#29
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Josh, I think it means if you don't fix it, you're going to f-up your audio. Seriously, it may be time for that oiling you were wanting to do before. just be careful what you use though. Seems funny though. I'm no expert, but I don't think it should be squeaking. I mean even if you have a lot of weight on it... you've got 12 wheels under it. How are those 1/4" axles holding up? __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

October 30th, 2006, 01:48 AM	#30
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	It's actually 24 wheels, 12 pairs of two, 6 pairs on each side. As I said, it's not a metal squeak, it's something about the interaction between the rubber on the wheels, and the PVC. Are the wheels too tightly bolted? Too close together (meaning that they hug the PVC really tight)? With the wider pipe that I had before (I've been testing it with 3/4" now), the wheels rode on top, as opposed to kind of gripping/hugging the pipe. I feel if I loosen the nuts too much, the wheels will wobble (they did before), unless I get like ten washers or something for spacing on each axel. There's no squeak when I tried the dolly on some boards for track, rather than the PVC. The axels are holding up fine. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB