STEDICAM ||SCRIM/BUTTERFLY || LIGHITING || MY GRIP TOTE
FILM LOOK FX || CAMERA JIB ARM || DOLLY || SOUND

Dolly

Here it is in all its glory. It uses skateboard wheels to glide on PVC pipe.

I used 4 skateboard wheels for each corner. This means you need a total of 16 wheel/bearings sets, or four skateboards. I found a deal where I bought baby skateboards at Wal-Mart for five bucks a piece.

This is my standard tripod and I sit on a chair I got for free. You want the center of gravity to be as low as possible so the lower the chair the better. Also, it's a good idea to ratchet strap it to the platform. Make everything as solid as possible.

This is where welding skills come in handy. The push bar attaches to the wooden platform via this metal plate I welded. This was all scrap metal I had in my garage. You could just as easily make this out of wood. Or, find a friend that welds! At any rate, you can always use metal pipe and fittings from the hardware store to create the whole push bar–then it would bolt on and no welding is required.

This is the under belly of the platform. I used angle iron, and drilled holes to bolt the wheels. I welded tabs onto the angle iron to bolt to the wooden platform.

EXTREME CLOSE UP!!!! This shows exactly how the wheel/bearing sets get put together. It's just like a skateboard. The standoffs, so the wheels don't rub the angle iron, are oil impregnated brass bearings. You can use washers or steel spacers or whatever works and is cheap. You can also see from here that I doubled the plywood to make it sturdy. Then I put wood screws connecting the two plywood pieces every six inches, everywhere. I'm 250 pounds. The jib arm I put on this dolly is another 125 pounds. I want to make sure everything won't break. My first model used just one thickness of plywood and it warped and didn't give good, steady pulls. My original design also didn't have angle iron going the length of the plywood. I decided to do this to make it that much more sturdy. Remember, STURDY=SMOOTH

Why four wheels on every corner? To make it smooth. Especially when going over seams in the PVC track, the more wheels to spread the weight, the better. I also staggered the wheels so no two wheels go over a seam at the same time.

This is a better illustration of what I mean by staggering the wheels.

This is how I attached the angle iron to the plywood. It's scrap steel, as you can tell by the ugly cuts (and uglier welds). Again, if you don't have the means to weld, there's tons of other ways to attach the angle iron. (Try drilling a hole directly in the center of the angle iron. Then you can run a bolt through the angle iron to the plywood.) Always use bolts and washers. Don't screw directly into the wood.

Now lets build the track! Yeah, it's just 1 1/4 inch PVC, so it's pretty much built, but there are some things left to do.

This is my patent pending design to attach multiple pieces of track together. I used a peice of wooden dowel rod about 8" long. I then ripped it (cut it along the grain) in half. Then I rigged a screw setup so when you tighten the screw, it expands the two pieces of dowel rod. The Allen key pictured is how I expand the contraption. When the dolly's in use, Allen key is in the tool box.

Here it is apart. I drilled a hole in the two pieces of half dowel rod. Then on one side, put a wood threaded insert (use the 't-nut' style with barbs). I used some epoxy to make sure it didn't come out. The on the other half dowel rod, I counter sunk a hole for a washer using a spade (AKA paddle) drill bit. The head of the Allen screw goes into the small hole and the washer rests in the counter sunk area. You want as little resistance there as possible, so I added a little grease. The screw assembly, as you can tell, is the screw a washer, and a 'nylock' nut. Use "locktite" or some epoxy to make sure that nylock doesn't come undone.

Yeah, I know based on these pics, no one is going to hire me as a DP. It's not me, it's the camera! This is how it goes together. Hopefully when you build this, it will be in focus.

Lastly, I notched the PVC so the Allen key can tighten and loosen the contraption without the two PVC pipes having a quarter inch gap (bad for being smooth). When tightening, you want to go counter clockwise, like your loosening the screw. When you take it apart, go clockwise.

Hope this was helpful. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Below are some of the questions I've recieved. This is my version of a FAQ.

i have yet to build a dolly, it is more of a question regardsing the track (pvc pipe), can u suggest idea/links etc for making a circular track?
One idea I had for curved track is to tie a rope from either end of a pvc pipe and make it a smaller length than the pvc so the pipe bows (think about a bow and arrow bow). The problem, especially if you want to make a circle track, is it won't bow perfectly even. The next best (cheapest) option I can think of is to get a metal supply store to "roll" pieces of metal tubbing into an arc to make sections of a circle. Or, what about the flexible conduit tubing that has a plastic protector on it? Something like that might work too. If you can find a DIY workaround, know you can buy flexible dolly track if you want (but it's very expensive)–check the back of filmmaking magazines.
The other problem I foresaw with a curved track is the dolly wheels need to be mounted differently. They need to be put on pivots so they can twist with the track. Also, keeping the tracks exactly equidistant may be tough.
Depending on the location, a western dolly (like a radio flyer red wagon or something) might be better than a dolly with tracks. Or maybe you could setup the dolly on tracks diagonal to the action, shooting the "circular" dolly movement in 4+ sections and then cut around in post to make it look like the dolly was on one circular track.

1. Do you have a parts list of specifically what you used handy
that you might be able to email to me?
2. What kind of Skate Wheels did you use (or recommend). I believe
you said you bought yours at WalMart? Have they worked okay?
I don't have a parts list or plans. sorry. If you go through each step, the parts needed should be pretty obvious. Please ask if you have any specific questions. As for the skate board wheels, I wouldn't get the ones I have. They flatten out if left in one position too long–which works fine after they are rolled out, but is a minor inconvenience. "real", non-cheap wallmart wheels should work better (but are at least double the price).

How wide did you make it? I can't tell whether it's 2' or closer to 30".
The dolly is closer to 30". I wanted it as wide as possible (for stability), yet narrow enough to go through doorways. I can't remember the exact measurement, but I believe it's able to go through a 30" doorway.

I built one similar to yours, almost exactly, except my wheels are blue, but any ways, I was wondering if you had any kind of shaking the first couple of times you used it.  Is it something that will go away once the wheels are broken in, or can something be done to fix it?  I can’t seem to keep it from jittering.  It’s a very bumpy ride, a friend recommended baby powder, but that did not do the trick.  I also added oil to the wheels, but the jittering continues.
I had the same problem. I'm pretty sure the wheels are getting a flat spot from sitting in one position too long. The only remedy is to get new wheels that are so soft they don't retain their soft spot or so hard that there isn't a flat spot at all. Or, as a short term fix, just roll the dolly back and forth just before shooting to 'roll out' any flat spot. Does this all make sense? If you are having problems like these, I'm afraid no lubricant can remedy the problem. Just get different wheels. Also, use high quality bearings and don't over-tighten them. The should be tightened 1/4-1/8th turn past finger tight. (use a nylock nut so it doesn't come undone).

Where did you get the oil impregnated brass bearings and what did you use for the axels to the wheels on your dolly
I got the oil impregnated brass bearings at a industrial supply fastener/bearing store. But, becaues they are just used as a stand off, they are way overkill. OSH (orchard supply hardware) had theses steel spacers for a third the cost that would also work. As for the axles, they are the bolts that go through the angle iron, through the standoff, then through the wheels (with ball bearings), then tightened with a nylock nut. I would use grade 5 or 8 bolt, but otherwise it's just a regular bolt.

i was able to get the wheel systems together...but how wide is your dolly platform and how wide is the track?
I made the platform about 28 inches --the widest that would fit through a doorway The track width is as wide as I could make it based on the design.

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