Lever Dolly

[GeoBruin]

I need to add a lever dolly to my machinery/material handling tools. I missed a Fairbanks with a wood handle on Craigslist recently and I haven't seen another pop up since. So since I'm now looking at buying new or making one, I'm interested in opinions. My biggest decision points are steel vs wood handle, and iron vs polyurethane wheels.

My initial thoughts are that a wood handle would make the whole thing lighter, if slightly bulkier. And my shop has some serious cracks, so it seems like a little give in the wheels might be better. But, I'm sure there are some considerations I haven't thought about so I thought I would throw it out there before I commit.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I like the wood handle ones if there is more area for you to lean on. Rubber wheels have give but that can make them harder to roll when loaded. Here is a posting on the one I bought.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/ode-to-the-johnson-bar-aka-pry-bar-lever-dolly.480303/

 

[rustyzman]

I have a 7 foot wood handle, steel wheel. Fantastic leverage. The shops I have worked for all had the shorter 5 foot wood handle steel wheel units. They work great.
I would suggest that any of the types would have trouble over big cracks. You might need to lay down some plate to get over bad surfaces. That is what some of our riggers do. Or roll on pipe over a large area that covers beyond the cracks.

 

[GeoBruin]

I like the wood handle ones if there is more area for you to lean on. Rubber wheels have give but that can make them harder to roll when loaded. Here is a posting on the one I bought.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/ode-to-the-johnson-bar-aka-pry-bar-lever-dolly.480303/

That looks a lot like the one I saw on Craigslist. If I had been in town when it popped up, it would have been mine!