OT: DIY Dolly Track

Jeff Waters wrote on 9/12/2005, 4:46 PM

Hi Gang,
Embarking on my 2nd full length fitness video (thanks for all the help on the 1st!).

Discovered during editing that the best editor is FIRST a great cameraman!

So, I'd like to add some more dramatic moving dolly shots... (not sure if that's the right terminology). Looks pretty cheap and easy to make a dolly on skate wheels... I can put that on cheap PVC pipe, too.

What about curved dolley track, though? Pretty expensive to buy.... before I do, anyone know an easy way to make it yourself?

Thanks,
Jeff

Comments

filmy wrote on 9/12/2005, 5:14 PM

There used to be directions somewhere - but the PVC dolly is fairly easy to make and works great. It is a bit hard to use with a full camera operator and first on board - but if you are doing slow dollys first can walk alongside. For faster ones it is best for cam op to fly solo. Ron Dexter has some info up on his site, not the one we used but you get the idea.

*EDIT - here is a link to the same type we had built - http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers/dolly.html. We never has any seat on ours fwiw.

johnmeyer wrote on 9/12/2005, 5:19 PM

Here are some links:

DIY Dolly 1

DIY Dolly 2

DIY Dolly 2

There are dozens more of these. Here's the Google search link:

Google DIY Dollies

Jeff Waters wrote on 9/12/2005, 6:00 PM

Hey Thanks guys... yep, the dolly itself looks dirt simple. I can handle that no problem. I think I can even make one with a swivel on the skate-wheel sets to allow for turning around curved track.

My real question is how to cheaply/easily MAKE curved track. I can use PVC for straight runs, but right now I'm thinking I'll have to pony up and buy some real curved track... haven't been able to track down any DIY instructions yet...

Jeff

mjroddy wrote on 9/12/2005, 8:44 PM

i've never used 'em, but I love the look of these tracks!
http://porta-jib.com/flex-trak.htm

johnmeyer wrote on 9/12/2005, 10:47 PM

I just did a little more searching and several posts suggested just using long lengths of PVC and curving them by nailing them to the floor. This probably won't work for your applications.

However, I read another post that suggested you could use a heat gun to soften the PVC conduit and make it bend permanently. I own such a heat gun (I use it for heat shrink tubing) but have never tried it on PVC, so I don't know whether this works. If you have a 10 foot section, you could have two people hold it on a concrete floor and put some tension on it so it bends in an arc. Then, try moving the heat gun over various sections and see if you can make the bend permanent. The posts I read also suggested using a bending spring, but they were mostly concerned with much tighter turns than you are making. The key to whole thing, apparently, is heating the pipe enough to make the bend permanent, without ruining the roundness of the pipe.

farss wrote on 9/13/2005, 2:10 AM

Bending PVC conduit or pipe in a gradual arc is very tricky!
We have the Spider Dolly from Losmandy mentioned above. This thing runs on solid rubber tube that can be made into any shape you desire. The real neat trick is that one set of dolly wheels are articulated so that the spacing between the tracks can vary by 300mm and the thing still runs just fine. This is a bit outside the DIY project though. The hardest part is the rubber track. Extruding a long run of the right rubber and keeping it the same diameter is rather tricky we've found. You might just get away with something like the hose used for fire hoses or petrol bowsers if you only put the wieght of the camera on it. The real deal can hold a 35mm camera and operator.
Bob.

Steve Mann wrote on 9/13/2005, 8:45 AM

Hold the PVC in a "U" shape and pour boiling water into it.

Steve