Any woodworkers here weld up their own mobile bases?

[Russel Nash]

Hi all,

The problem with the commercially available ones is they have a total of 3 wheels. Two are fixed....they don't swivel. The third wheel is a swivel caster.





They are a real pain to move around my shop.

So I am thinking of making my own mobile bases so that all 3 wheels swivel.

Anybody here make their mobile bases for their bigger woodworking machines?

Just looking for any tips or advice.

Thanks in advance!

[sparky45]

Interesting; all mine are of the 4 caster variety but only the 2 front casters swivel. I have a finish sander mounted on one; 14" Bandsaw and a 12 Disc Sander. I see great benefit of having all casters swivel so long as they are equipped with brakes on the casters. I'll be watching.

[Bloodman14]

I removed the original metal leg/caster assemblies on my ShopSmith woodworking machine and built a wood base with swivel casters at several points. I've used it quite a bit, and is time to build a new one. I will be using larger casters this time to aid in mobility.

[CastingFool]

I had an old Craftsman table saw on a stand with wheels. Couldn't get the wheels to lock up, so when you were trying to rip a board, the whole saw would move. Ended up taking two wheels off, and made up my own rubber feet. Worked like a champ, the saw stayed put while cutting, and if I needed to move it, I could pick up the end with rubber feet and wheel the saw around.

[country gent]

It wouldn't take a lot to make them, some cutting and welding for the frame work and then the wheels. I have Tool Boxes on 4 swivel casters and they ten to "run away" from you. My current tool box has 2 fixed wheel in the center and a swivel on each end this allows for a straight controlled push and also for it to pin wheel or zero turn on the center line. The center wheels need to be .030-.060 below the swivel wheels but you can pull the wheels from the swivels and turn them down or block the fixed up that much when building. A couple screws to the floor or a brake makes it solid and keeps it from moving.

[Walter Laich]

built several wood ones for casting/shotgun reloading, bandsaw and belt and oscillating spindle sanders

they're great to get things out of the garage when the weather in nice

[Handloader109]

I built several a couple of years ago. A three wheel, yep one swivel on front for my 6x48 Delta sander. Terrible! Very tippy and you have to drive it. I don't move it much so it won't get changed for. While. Built a 4 wheel two swivel for my Delta bandsaw. It works well. My 12" powermatic planer sits on a large HF furniture mover. It is heavy enough it doesn't roll when in use. Small casters all swivel. I need to make one for my 6" jointer, but haven't yet. My floor is flat smooth concrete and nothing rolls on its own.

I'm not much of a welder, used scrap 1/8 and some 1/4 angle, most was 1 1/2x1 1/2. Some 2x2. (Overkill)
I mainly cantilevered a plate out on each side that the wheels mounted below.

[Drm50]

I built one for a craftsman bandsaw table that I converted to a Router table. The wheels were off
Scaffolds with foot locks on them. It stays solid ok. The frame was off some kind of dolly from
a bakery that they stacked treys on.

[alamogunr]

I built this one for my Delta contractor type table saw. Scroll down past the casters:

http://lautard.com/casters.html

It has worked great with 2 fixed and 2 swivel casters. Only the swivel casters lock.

[Russel Nash]

Thanks for all the replies.

Years ago, I had an 18 inch bandsaw. I used it to resaw cherry timbers into thin strips for making Shaker oval boxes. I bought casters from the Woodcraft store. then I mounted the casters to 6X6 posts I had left over. It worked really slick, plus it increased the height of the saw's table.
I have a few days still to think about a design.

I bought a used Delta DJ-20, 8 inch jointer last week.

It is at my girlfriend's house, and I am still wondering how to get it over to my shop.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Harbor Freight sells them for about $20 and they are adjustable so they will fit a variety of machine bases.

I have a Table Saw and Band Saw mounted on them in my shop.

Randy

[jmorris]

Almost everything in my shop has wheels, what doesn't is bolted to the slab or set up so its easy to move with a pallet jack or fork lift.

Lots of ways to do it I even have work benched with vise and tools that you can swivel casters down to move then swing them back up so it can sit on the 4 adjustable height feet it has.

3 casters makes it so you never have to adjust height on any of them and they won't rock but 4 is more stable.

[Russel Nash]

I am looking at the Harbor Freight site right now:
https://m.harborfreight.com/300-lb-c...not%20provided

My shop floor is not that smooth. My grandpa and great grandfather poured the slab in the 1950's or 1960's.

In some spots, it is like a washboard, so the smaller caster on the HF mobile base probably wouldn't work.

The other thing too...I have the Delta drum sander:


So with legs like that, I am thinking it would be handier to mount the casters inboard.

Putting the casters outboard just increases its footprint.

[Grmps]

I prefer the larger casters, they roll better on multiple surfaces and it's easier for my big feet to work the brakes.
metal bases are more compact but wood bases work well also.

If I had it to do again I would use something like this (smaller) and have all my equipment set on bases it would fit under
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/ma...CABEgL-YvD_BwE

[jmorris]

If the legs are strong enough I would just weld casters to the bottom or make an angle iron "picture frame" the legs could drop into and weld casters to it.

[ChuckO]

I have put braces across the legs of most of my tools so that they can be lifted on a pallet jack. Work benches, cabinets and other tables are set up the same way. I can move most items out of the shop onto the driveway for cleaning very easily and arrange the shop for the job at hand. No casters needed.

[woodbutcher]

Might want to give Grizzly a shot also.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[lancem]

Surplus center.com is a great place to get casters.

[Russel Nash]

I have the one for the jointer base welded up.

Maybe take a tiger paw or grinding wheel to smooth out some of the welds.

I will try posting a pic from my phone, but I hear that photobucket went to a pay service...40 bucks a month if I have heard correctly to be able to post them to 3rd party sites.

So maybe I will be back tomorrow to post a pic from my computer.

I went with 4 swivel casters. one at each corner basically.

[corbinace]

I will throw another data point in the mix about swiveling casters on 4 corners.

Being a mechanic, I end up rolling many tool boxes, work benches and welders around.

The ones with two swivels are much more friendly if they need to be moved more than a few feet.

While maybe not as maneuverable in tight spaces, the two wheel option is infinitely more controllable. Four wheeled variants have a mind of their own as far as direction goes. I hate 'em.