HOW TO MAKE A TRACK DOLLY ~ LOW-BUDGET FILMMAKING (UK)

http://music4yourvids.co.uk
There didn't seem to be much help on this subject on YouTube, so I decided to make a "How-to" video.

I just Googled "how to make a track dolly", and some of the sites I originally used to make my track dolly no longer appear to be there.
However, Googling "track dolly skateboard wheels" turned up lots of useful sites that should help you.



DETAILS AND PARTS LIST:

Total cost of the dolly was about £80.

Total Dolly size = 2ft wide x 3ft long.

Type of pipe used for track = 32mm PVC waste pipe.

Angle alluminium width = 2in x 2in at 3mm thick. (2 x 3ft lengths)

Carriage bolts: 6 x 4in (to hold the angle aluminium to the board).

Carriage bolts: 16 x 2in (to bolt the wheels to the angle aluminium)

MAIN BOARD: 2 X sheets of 2ft X 3ft 7-PLY sheets screwed together with 30mm self-tapping screws.

Skateboard wheel spacers x 16

skateboard wheels x 16. Dia: 50mm (52mm are also ok)

Bearing assemblies x 32



NOTE: Angle aluminium is a lot easier to work with than angle iron - which is very heavy and hard to drill & cut. It also goes rusty and is generally not much fun to handle.


WHEEL POSITIONING TIPS:
The hole positions will be different depending on the size of your wheels and the size of your angle aluminium. Best thing is to drill a pair of test holes for 1 pair of wheels in the approximate place where you think they should go. Fit the wheels and test them to see whether they sit on the track in the desired position or whether the holes need moving closer or further away from the board. If they need adjusting, then drill the fresh holes next to the old ones but in the better position Then use what you have learned as the template for the rest of the wheels.
ALSO: Try to get the wheels positioned closer together so they sit on the upper/top portion of the track rather than middle/sides of the track. (Or in other words - go for a small/narrow "L" shape area for the track to sit in)
I found wider-spaced wheels were trying to bend the pipe and make the dolly harder & more jerky to push with weight on it.




WHERE TO GET ANGLE ALUMINIUM FROM:
I keep getting asked where I got the angle aluminium from. I got it from a local metal supplier/fabricator.
You can usually find them in yellow pages. Just phone them up and ask if they have it. I used 2in x 2in at 3mm thick.


ISSUES REGARDING WOBBLE AND SHAKE:
The smallest amount of dust or dirt on the track or wheels can be exaggerated through a tall tripod. My camera is fitted with O.I.S. (image stabilization) - probably essential for this kind of work.
Also if you have a lot of shake, use a wide-angle lens - forget zooming in, it will only exaggerate the shake.
Make sure everything is spotless, the wheels are true with no lumps or chunks in them, use a shorter tripod, and stagger the track joins so that the wheels on both sides dont hit the joins at the same time.


Enjoy & please comment if you watch.


Honours:
#83 - Most Responded (All Time) - Howto & Style
#77 - Most Responded (All Time) - Howto & Style

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• how
• to
• make
• track
• dolly
• build
• homemade
• home
• made
• video
• film
• making
• filmmaking
• zero
• budget
• low
• Camera
• Stabilization
• Equipment
• tripod
• steadicam
• steadycam
• home made track dolly
• track dolly
• DIY

[SvetozarIvanov]

Hi, where did you order the bearings from?

Best 

[rickvanman]

@SvetozarIvanov eBay

[daknewguy]

does the 54MM wheels work?



[rickvanman]

@daknewguy should do - as long as they are all the same diameter I think any size wheels (within reason) should work.

[SE021002]

Can the dolly be made to turn on the tracks instead of only traveling straight?

[rickvanman]

@SE021002 No, not this design - you would need to design a set of turnable bogeys and be able to attach them to the board whilst still maintaining a stable platform. Probably a bit trickier than it sounds.

[alexie28]

mate, can I say what a superb video you have put together. I will be sure to use this design when making mine :)

[eugenedatsmee]

I'll just use my skateboard instead, would that be ok?

[fmajekodunmi]

like your work...i will be in uk march for training at London Academy how do i contact you, my mail is femfolk@yahoo.com

[Primekid]

Thank you for sharing. :)

[PhilInAction]

can you please give some details of where to place the wheels? thanks very much.

[danialothman]

I shouldn't have thrown away my skate wheels!

[PhunnyPunny]

I made a design much like this, the doubling of the ply wood is a really good idea! I used roller blade wheels for mine cause i heard it helps silence the rumbling noise it produces (didnt work too well) any ideas to help minimize rumbling noise from using the dolly?

[tathagata40]

Good looking shots at the end

[MrSuperdope121]

@SvetozarIvanov any skate shop

[N34Rthe3DGE]

How much money does it cost to buy all the parts?

[MrLukasDiSparrow]

pity you stopped making videos like this... you lost viewers...