Backstage junior brake modification

[richard bellon]

There is a thread in carts forum where the op made quite a large foot brake for his Rubbermaid cart,

[richard bellon]

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?/topic/18917-NYC-Rubbermaid-camera-carts---with-foot-brakes

[Alan Rencher]

The problem I see with that design is that the footbrake doesn't lock the smart wheels.

[axel ebermann]

Nice.

 

The footbrake does not lock the 'smart wheels' (they really ain't that smart after all) but as long as you lock two sets of wheels I think the cart should not go anywhere.

[axel ebermann]

Here are my recent thoughts on the topic:

 

- any kind of brake that only applies pressure on the rubber wheels will potentially be subject to slippage.

 

Therefore it would be desirable to have a mechanism that truly locks two of the four wheels. Preferably with something like a pin

that extends into a whole in the wheels to completely lock them.

Any kind of mechanism of that sort would rule out the 'smart' wheels because the swivel consistently, which does not work well with any kind of cable / hydraulic line attached.

 

I am going to try a 'cheap fix' first.

 

Apart from the obviously flawed design the main problem is that metal on rubber does not create a whole lot of friction - aka braking'.

 

I found some tile file material from a company called Vitrex made out of Aluminum Oxide. Looks basically like a rough metal grate.

If that stuff is not to brittle and is bolted to the bottom of the existing footbrake mechanism it might actually work.

 

I shall report back with victory or failure report one the McGyver fix is in place.

[axel ebermann]

All right.

 

Here we go. Bought some stuff called "Vitrex A02116 Waffle Tile File, 2" x 5"".

It is basically an Aluminum Oxide grid plate that is very abrasive. Usually used

for filing down ceramic tile edges.

 

Drilled some holes into the brake plates. Screwed some of that stuff on there and adjusted

the break plates for distance-to-wheel (aka yanked it with some pliers).

 

Result:

 

So far rock solid. When I engage the brakes the cart does not move. At all.

I would not sit it on a steep hill like that (I would never do that - period) but it will definitely not roll away in the street.

 

 

I am hereby calling this fix 'the axel axle' and everybody who copies it will have to pay me 'ONE MILLION DOLLARS'.

 

The entire fix cost about six bucks by the way...

 

[Lawrence Karman]

simple answer many AC's employ:

 

 

 

 

[axel ebermann]

"I already bend over so much in life that this might not be the solution for me :-)"

 

Plus built in brakes, bought and paid for, that ain't brakin' make me MAD :-)

[Karl Kim]

For a steadi cart Axel's solution looks great, and a simple angle iron (aluminum) stop looks super effective.

 

I'm the guy who's been pimping my Rubbermaids in NYC and this is a braking solution I've settled on- for now. A simple toggle clamp (800 lb pictured) solves my problems and gives me a "hand" brake option.

 

I used to own/ operate a 6 ton truck package and over the years I ended up fabricating my carts because bringing carts from LA to NYC is expensive, unless you do a truckload at a time. Rubbermaids did double duty- camera and g&e cart, so I had to beef them up. I also got tired of filling flats so I went with, and continue on with no flat tires. With no flats however, you can't use the simple friction brake on 10" casters. Those bent metal parts bend far too easily. You need force, so I went with a simple lever system. I"m also always truck or van based so I don't need a knock down cart. I did have a Magliner for a few years, and it was handy, but I ended up selling it because it wasn't as fast to use as the Rubbermaids.

 

When I fly I don't even think about bringing a cart along- production has to work that out.

 

So this is my current Rube Goldberg approach to cart brakes. For me it works, it's relatively cheap, and most importantly, I don't have to bend down...

 

[Karl Kim]

Oh, and I made cart stops for myself for carts without brakes yet. These I can make and ship around the country if interested- ad is in the marketplace.

Aluminum, fully welded, light, can work with various wheel sizes. 10" no flat tire is shown.

3/4" hole to attach a lanyard.

Beats lugging around a sandbag. But you may have to occasionally bend down still...