Smiley, Author at Geomedia

Build your own Mini Dolly 4

Note: This is part four in a series. In case you missed them, be sure and visit Build your own Mini Dolly 1, Build your own Mini Dolly 2 & Build your own Mini Dolly 3.

It took me a couple of months but I finally gathered all the receipts from our Mini Dolly project. I was shocked to find out that it actually wasn’t as pricey as I thought it was going to be. Well, mostly because we had most of the tools already, but more importantly we had the head. The head would have been an additional $150, even more if you wanted to purchase a different head. Also I did not have a time clock where I could punch in my hours of time I spent drawing, working and driving, so man hours are just a guesstimate. But nevertheless, here it is broken up into categories.

COST:

Misc Parts/Paint $94.00
Additional Misc Tools $106.00
Wood $48.00
Skate Wheels $30.00
______________________________

Total: $278.00

Man Hours: 30
Trips to Lowe’s: 17
Splinters: 3

TOOLS REQUIRED:

Drill
Sander
Jig Saw
Screw Driver
Pliers
Clamps
Glue

Oh and by the way for the platform I purchased a 2 foot by 4 foot piece of MDF again at Lowe’s and it was $8. You will need some shims to level it out on different surfaces. If you want to bring it off the ground a little bit I found apple boxes work get. If you really want to get it off the ground use two C-Stands and 2 CardelliniClamp’s™, mount the MDF and the sky is the limit.

Here are links to the blueprint and wheel stickers that I used:

BluePrint

WheelStickers

Related Links: HBS Board, DIY “Plywood” Skater, Skater Mini

Build your own Mini Dolly 3

It took a while but it looks like we are done! Let me pick up where I left off; we decided that the easiest way to cut the centers out of inner mounted piece was to a find hole saw that were the exact size that we needed. Then cut a straight line from one hole to the other to create the shape we needed. It worked quite well, the only suggestion I would make is to use a vise while cutting and sawing.

After the holes were cut we drilled the holes for the bolt that would hold the wheel in place. We chiseled out the side of the wood so that the head of the bolt would stay in place. As spacers washers were used between the wheel ad the wood.

Since all the cuts were made it was time to sand, and sand we did! This was very messy, again we are doing this in the office where clients walk in and out. We started out with a very rough grit and worked our way up the a fine grit. Next step was painting and after each coat of paint we sanded again.

When it was time to find a head to mount on the Dolly we turned to a Bogen 501. It gave us the most control with the least amount of height.

Cost breakdown and video should be posted soon!

Be sure and visit Build your own Mini Dolly 1 & Build your own Mini Dolly 2

Related Links: HBS Board, DIY “Plywood” Skater, Skater Mini

Build your own Mini Dolly 2

January was a crazy month. Everyday there were multiple projects going on, but we still found time to get some work done on our Mini Dolly clone project. We started out by purchasing two hole saws from Lowe’s. The inner cut required a LENOX® Bi-Metal Arbored Hole saw 3 1/2″ and the outer cuts required a LENOX® Bi-Metal Hole Saw 4 1/2″. We clamped down our plywood pieces to a roller rack and started drilling!

Drilling was progressing well until we started on the thickest piece of plywood. First the drill started to smoke a little, then it would constantly jerk and ruin the fine surface of the plywood. Eventually it gave up halfway through a hole and died, the front part that holds the bit in place just snapped off. Luckily Lowe’s was only a hop, skip and a jump away! We found one that was not too expensive but still had more than double the amps of our last one.

After all the holes had been drilled out it was time to cut out our “patterns”. Again we clamped down our plywood and cut out the each piece individually. When it came time to cut the base piece it was cut in three parts. cutting one angle then rotating the base and clamps to cut the other angles. The last cut that needs to be made is to the rotating piece that will encompass the wheel. This will be a little complicated so we have decided to wait until we have a precise plan of attack for this cut.

The pieces that were cut were put in place and mounted together. The edges are a little rough and might need small cuts to match each other. Once the minor cuts have been made a lot of sanding will be done to make the corners look like on solid piece.

So hopefully soon the final cuts will be made, the sanding will be taken care of and the painting process will begin. Once that all has been completed we can go on a search for a head mount for our camera.

One last thing, since everthing is being done in an office environment, when drilling and sawing it would be wise to purchase a drop cloth.

Or your floors could look like this:

Related link: Build your own Mini Dolly 1

Build your own Mini Dolly 1

We’ve officially begun our Mini Dolly clone project, ahead of schedule I might add. Research was done on the type of wheels that should be purchased for the dolly. We found that while a soft wheel gives you an overall smooth ride, in time the wheels tend to pick up small particles that could cause them to become unbalanced and eventually need replacing. So we decided on the harder rollerblade wheel that have a much stiffer ride but will last a lot longer with continuous use. Also when the Mini Dolly is in use it would be to our benefit to construct a smooth surface with an adjustable height.

Academy was the store of choice to find the rollerblade wheels we were looking for. They had a well priced package with wheels, bearings and spacers. Now that we had the wheels and spacers, they were measured them to make sure the blueprints were to scale.

With the help of the folks over at the HBS Board we had a rough blueprint and finished out detailed wheel scales.

The blueprint file was then taken over to FedEx Kinko’s to print them out to scale. After the exact measurements were taken, we made a trip to WoodCraft, where they have an unbelievable selection of wood items and accessories. Once all the “goodies” were brought back to the office there was some confusion as to how to make the cuts on the wood as precise as they need to be. Murray made a great suggestion, to glue or rubber cement the template paper to the wood before cutting. Like so:

Needing to find the exact center of all the circles, we tried several different methods without success. Until we enlisted the help of Genius Murray, who taught us the “Center Circle Finder Method”, a simple way to find the exact center of any circle.

The actual cutting process will have to wait until after the Holidays. Wish us luck!

Update: Be sure and visit Build your own Mini Dolly 2.

Creative Atmosphere in Myspace

It took us a while but we are on “The Space”, as its been called by those addicted to it. Nothing fancy, just another venue to recieve your Geo info you so crave.

A special thanks to those who have already graced us with their friendship, like Kami Huyse.

When you have a break take some time and check us out at myspace.com/geomedia and feel free to send a résumé, head-shot, request for work or an annoying message. All will be accepted, unless you would like us to purchase some aluminum siding. In that case call us directly.

Creation!

Well I’m back, yes it’s me Smiley, for those of you who don’t care or didn’t even notice I was gone please skip ahead. I left the Geomedia team in March of this year to explore! To find myself! No really, I left to be closer to family and eventually start one of my own in Houston. Once I arrived in Houston I realized how much I loved San Antonio and that “family” does not necessarily mean you have the same blood running through your veins. Well, enough of the enlightening Houston experience, what counts is that I am back and could not be happier to be back with brilliant and creative minds at Geo. Oh before I forget, thanks so much for everything to the majority of the TWC Houston employees who treated me like one of thier own. You guys are Comcastic!

On to the reason of this outburst. For my first trick back at Geo I will be attempting to clone the Skater mini. Notice I did say ATTEMPT. I am not guaranteeing victory I am just attempting it. No hard date and no I will not be selling them on ebay. The first stages of this project will be 1:10 scale made completely out of construction paper, preferably pink.

Once that is complete and to industry standards, I plan on constructing a test version out of wood. If it turns out to be everything I dreamed it to be, I hope to continue developing and eventually constructing a final product out of alluminum.

So cross your fingers and wish me luck on my journey. Also I probably won’t be starting this journey until after the holidays, so if someone out there feels like embarking on this journey with me, you will be welcomed with open arms. To be continued…