Refurbishing the dolly turned out to be a complete teardown, including pulling the bearings out of the wheels and soaking them, breaking them loose, and re-lubricating them. I also power-brushed the rails and sanded and stained the deck; I should put a coat of polyurethane on it tomorrow, unless I decide to do a different finish entirely. I'm considering a rubber surface, likely made of silicone, as it would be a good gripping surface and stop any further damage.

This is actually dolly version 1. I have a version 2 in mind, but it's one of those when-I-have-time projects, and is far more versatile (and complex). It will require me learning to weld aluminum with the MIG welder, and to be far more precise with machining parts.

I may split it into two parts: there is a logical division between the camera elevator and the new dolly platform, and I can build the camera elevator first to retrofit on the existing dolly platform. Modular design is a good idea.

I'll add it to the project list.