Timber Dolly?

walexander · August 03, 2007, 09:57:35 AM

I saw a guy using a 2 wheeled contraption called a "Timber Dolly" from somewhere out of Oregon. I went home to look up the company online and found nothing. It was just a platform on a little frame made of bicycle parts. Really nice design though. Does anyone know how I can get my hands on one? Are they still being made?

Joel Eisner · August 03, 2007, 02:52:18 PM

I built one at the start of our timber frame project and it works great.

I used heavy duty garden cart spoked wheels and a heavy dudy go-cart axel. A 2x4 frame floats on the axel with some short pieces of conduit acting as bushings to keep the wood frame from hitting the wheels. If you weight on end of the frame more that the other it will stant up and allow a good spot to hold the timbers on. I can post some pictures if needed.

mudburn · August 03, 2007, 06:37:49 PM

I also made a beam mover. Hefting around 8x8 oak timbers just didn't seem humanly possible for me to do by myself. Here's a picture of my creation:

I welded together some scrap angle iron and 2x2 box steel I had to form the frame. I bought some wheels and bearings (off of a Buick, I think) from a salvage yard that I bolted to an axle I made of 2x2 box. The rims and tires are also from the auto salvage yard (14"). It moves easily and can handle any load I put on it.

By lifting one end of a timber, I can set it on the deck of the mover. I then roll it to where I want it by pushing or pulling on the beam. One modification that would be helpful is a handle to push or pull on the mover directly -- sometimes the beams slip on the platform (it depends how wet/dry and how smooth/rough they are). Regardless, it still allows me to cart around 16' oak 8x8s without much problem (unless there's an incline or a rock in the way). I've worked most of my timbers on 30" high saw horses, and this mover has worked well for putting them on and taking them off and moving them where they need to go.

I don't know if there's a source for buying such a thing. I don't have time to go into business making them, so I don't have any to sell. ;)

Darryl

Jim_Rogers · August 04, 2007, 08:48:18 AM

I too, made my own.
Here is a shot of it:

What I did was I went to the hardware store and bought two wheel barrow wheels and a length of threaded rod with nuts and washers. It cost me around $55 or so.
I then made up the wooden frame using 4x4's and some 2 bys.
I made it wide figuring if it tipped right or left the wide support planks would keep it from tipping over.
That worked but it wasn't quite right.

Here is a shot of it loaded with a timber:

When you load a timber you load it a little off center so that you just push down on the tall end and it will lift the lower end up off the ground and it balances nicely for pushing in the yard.

Here is a shot of it being pushed down the yard:

I showed this to one of my customers and he improved on my design and made it much more stable and nicer.
Here is a shot of his:

I believe he placed the wheels farther apart then mine and made the nice bevel cut on the bottom runners so that it would sit as shown, when empty.
The larger the wheels the easier it is to wheel timbers.

I got my design out of a magazine and there were others there as well, including the one you are talking about. It has fairly large bicycle type wheels and a full metal frame.
I seemed to remember it costs quite a bit, but it should last a lifetime if not overloaded.

You could just make your own.....

Jim Rogers

Raphael · August 05, 2007, 02:17:24 AM

This is the one I made at the start of my frame, I designed it to be just below the height of my saw horses.

It's all scrap wood and a pair of same sort of small trailer/wheelbarrow tires Jim used.

It's proved invaluable in unexpected ways.

I'd love to build one on the large narrow wheels LogRite uses on their gateway arch but the cost is high and supply problematic (last I heard).

sawdust · August 13, 2007, 03:45:54 PM

My version, I can move incredible loads with this thing. stand the arm straight up roll the log or whatever onto the "V" push the arm back down. This pries the log off the ground when you hook the tall arm under the timber it stays put. Best to strap around the tall arm, there is not enough over center to keep it from jumping on bumps.

sawdust

beenthere · August 13, 2007, 04:19:15 PM

That looks like a real clever rig you have there sawdust.
I would like to see a pic of the loading process, and a final one loaded. What is the largest log you've moved comfortably?? What size pipe is it?

sawdust · August 13, 2007, 05:20:22 PM

The pipe is actually 3/4 inch sucker rod. I picked up a piece of 9"diameter 3/8 wall pipe that was 14 feet long. I was barely enough to counter balance the thing, once loaded it was a piece of cake to manouver it around. I will go and take more pictures.

david

pictures dissapeared!
try this again.

Larry · August 13, 2007, 06:01:22 PM

When I was just a pup some 45 years ago Dad decided to build a bridge across our creek in the back yard. Since he was a lineman for the power company it wasn't much of a problem to drop off a couple of used 35' poles at the curb. Weekend came around and he brought home a little gadget that sorta resembled a logging arch. Two wheels bout the size used for wheelbarrows. Sit the thing over the top of the pole about the middle and poked a strap under the pole. Crank on the strap...much like the yellow straps used to secure things on a trailer. Pulled the pole right off the ground with and no lifting required. Doubt if they are even made today...iffen ya can't do it with machine controlled by a lever...can't be done.

Just thought I would throw out a thought on something that worked well, a long time ago.