New DIY Dolly Track, Say Goodbye to PVC!!

[irishinamerica]

For the longest time I have used a PVC dolly that I had made and it served its purpose. However, it always looked cheap on set and when joining pieces together you almost always got a bumpy shot. I have longed for other ideas but never quite found anything online that did. I announce to you today that I did it. I have a lightweight, METAL, dolly track 30 feet long and have about $50 in it. After driving the good folks at Home Depot up a wall for an afternoon it is done. I used conduit and couplers. A ten foot piece is only $3.77. The most expensive is four elbows at $5 a pop (should you choose to use them. I bought couplers (which actually go over the pipe) for a much smaller pipe which fit snuggly inside. The little nipples (hee hee ) needed to be ground (or grinded, anyone know if ground is past tense for grind?) off in order to slide in all the way. Measuring how far the hole is in the coupler that holds the screw, I drilled into the pipe. I slide the coupler inside, screw in the screws and done. The side with the screws faces down when I put the track together and that's it. The skateboard wheels glide like a dream from one end to the other.

[Almohada]

Sounds like a Beauty to me. Are you planning on posting any pictures of this Beast?

[bassman]

Please post pictures!! Would love to see it.

[irishinamerica]

Pictures are on the way soon! I am using it for a shoot next week so I am going to pop some stills in use and when I put it together!

[MAGICOFPYRO]

its funny, I was just re-considering redoing my pvc track to something more simple out of the metal conduit, would love to see some pics when you have them.

[Gillvane]

Just used a skateboad sort of dolly on a cement floor, and it didn't work. Lost most of those shots.

I would love to see more, since I"ve determined I have to use some sort of pipe if I want something smooth.

[Khaver]

Just used a skateboad sort of dolly on a cement floor, and it didn't work. Lost most of those shots.

I would love to see more, since I"ve determined I have to use some sort of pipe if I want something smooth.

If you're using a dolly without rails, the dolly needs to have large spongy wheels that absorb any irregularities in the floor.

[Gillvane]

If you're using a dolly without rails, the dolly needs to have large spongy wheels that absorb any irregularities in the floor.

Yes, it was a disaster. I'd rather just go to track from now on so I don't have any repeat of this. It was smooth concrete so I thought it would work, but it didn't.

[irishinamerica]

I will post a couple early development pics tomorrow.

[Jack Frost]

looking forward to them also.

I will post a couple early development pics tomorrow.

[irishinamerica]

Okay guys, sorry for the delay, but here it is. I have some stills and footage of the new track.



A few bugs to work out still. There is still a couple bumps and I think the secret is some sandbags on the dolly and shims under the wooden support tracks. No bumps over the joint thought, Yay!

[MAGICOFPYRO]

thanks for the video, I'm upgrading my dolly track to metal because the plastic creaks to much. I didn't know they made connectors that went inside the conduit, sweet I think this will work much better then PVC.

[Jack Frost]

wow, that was GREAT ! , I cannot believe how long you were able to shoot video on that dolly, the video made it seem like the dolly was 4x that length. Very nice indeed !

By the way, I got a good gasp at the end as I saw the child disappear into the the scene. I had to watch that part again.... I see the leaves on the bushes moving..... very wel done.

can you share with us how you did that ? - I found that super cool !

Okay guys, sorry for the delay, but here it is. I have some stills and footage of the new track.

http://vimeo.com/12164850

A few bugs to work out still. There is still a couple bumps and I think the secret is some sandbags on the dolly and shims under the wooden support tracks. No bumps over the joint thought, Yay!

[irishinamerica]

thanks for the video, I'm upgrading my dolly track to metal because the plastic creaks to much. I didn't know they made connectors that went inside the conduit, sweet I think this will work much better then PVC.

Actually those technically don't go inside, they go on the outside of a smaller pipe, it just happens to be the one that slips perfectly inside the 3/4" pipe. This is why you have to grind off the little raised parts where the screws go in.

[irishinamerica]

wow, that was GREAT ! , I cannot believe how long you were able to shoot video on that dolly, the video made it seem like the dolly was 4x that length. Very nice indeed !

By the way, I got a good gasp at the end as I saw the child disappear into the the scene. I had to watch that part again.... I see the leaves on the bushes moving..... very wel done.

can you share with us how you did that ? - I found that super cool !

just a very long cross fade, it is so long that the leaves appear to stay normal.

[Jack Frost]

ah ok, so it was 2 pieces of film, you must have had this in mind when you shot that I'm guessing. very nicely done I must say.

just a very long cross fade, it is so long that the leaves appear to stay normal.

[NoviNovak]

Wonderful!

[homestar_kevin]

This is awesome! Any chance we can get pics of the Tripod stand/sliding assembly? or a little info on how that was put together?

Thanks

Kevin

[irishinamerica]

This is awesome! Any chance we can get pics of the Tripod stand/sliding assembly? or a little info on how that was put together?

Thanks

Kevin

Hey Kevin,
Very basic, 2 peices of 2X4 put together in a 't' shape with 'L' brackets and angle iron on the bottom with skateboard wheels. I could put up some close up stills if you want to see.

[homestar_kevin]

Hey Kevin,
Very basic, 2 peices of 2X4 put together in a 't' shape with 'L' brackets and angle iron on the bottom with skateboard wheels. I could put up some close up stills if you want to see.

Awesome! Yeah I think how minimal it is in terms of space, any chance we could get pics of the bottom?I'm just curious as to how you have your wheels mounted

thanks again

[sdeming]

Who's doing the Chili Peppers cover?

[irishinamerica]

Who's doing the Chili Peppers cover?

That's a couple buddies of mine, we have all done music together for years. I actually had 5 national releases. I got bored with music and got serious about film as it was my first love. If you would like an MP3 of it just pm me.

[irishinamerica]

Alright, through the use of the dolly track I have come to this conclusion:
there is some bounce because the conduit is small and therefore requires quite a bit of support with the wooden rails to make it sturdy. Also, if you designed a dolly that you can sit on and have someone push you and the camera, the pipe will scrape the angle iron in between your dolly rails (this does not happen with the tripod only dolly). I purchased some bigger conduit which drove the price up to $8 per 10 FT. It is a much thicker pipe and no bending and for those of you who do not have access to a grinder, the coupler fits inside with the little nipples still on it.

[wastedthelight]

Alright, through the use of the dolly track I have come to this conclusion:
there is some bounce because the conduit is small and therefore requires quite a bit of support with the wooden rails to make it sturdy. Also, if you designed a dolly that you can sit on and have someone push you and the camera, the pipe will scrape the angle iron in between your dolly rails (this does not happen with the tripod only dolly). I purchased some bigger conduit which drove the price up to $8 per 10 FT. It is a much thicker pipe and no bending and for those of you who do not have access to a grinder, the coupler fits inside with the little nipples still on it.

So glad I saw this. Was going to buy PVC tomorrow. What size of conduit did you end up going with when you bought the bigger ones? Will the bigger pipe you bought support a person riding on the dolly do you think?

Also, how many sections did you cut the 10ft into for transport? I was thinking cutting mine in half or thirds.

Thanks!

[1001Hobbies]

Great to see people trying things.

The conduit will induce variances in distance between the two rails because the conduit will not be perfectly straight. It will have a slight bend, or bends, in it, maybe a twist (in appearance). Though PVC pipe is similar to this as well it is not as rigid as the conduit and will "give" some to allow a smooth traverse. A fix for this with the conduit may be paying attention to the irregularities and aligning the two pieces to accomodate them. Some additional cross braces may help as well.

And as for the question in your first post, yes, "ground" is the past tense of "grind." I am a Journeyman Toolmaker and believe I am qualified to make that call.

Hey, I see you are in Cleveland. I am in North Olmsted. You going to the Cleveland Indie Club meeting on the 20th?


Steve