Replies

1. 
   DougAA | Jan 31, 2008 04:53pm | #1

    I bought 3 ShopFox's  (for TS, BS 400lbs each; knee milling machine 1000lbs). Good carts. Crappy casters.  I ordered ball bearing replacements from a caster company that cost the same as each cart. (ie $80 worth of casters on an $80 cart) Now it takes 1/6th the effort to move the machines - very important with top heavy machines.

   If ordering replacements make sure bolt pattern fits (I had to do some filing to stretch the caster holes).  ALSO be sure the new swivel casters will swing in the space available. (I had to make a bridging plate to widen the stance (Sen. Larry Craig can relate) of the machine to mount the swivels. If requested I can post a picture.

   Extra work but now I have very mobile machines. Fortunately my woodshop also does steel.

   DA

   The goal is not to

   look professional but to be professional.

1. 
   questtools | Jan 31, 2008 05:04pm | #2

   Doug,

   I have the Shop-Fox mobile bases and would be interested to see your castor upgrade pictures.

   Thanks

   Bob in Calgary

1. 
   DougAA | Feb 01, 2008 07:59am | #6

   The new top plate is 1/4" cold rolled (normal) steel. Holes are 5/16. Hole spacing is different on the 2 ends to match cart and casters. The center holes are stretched 1/16" with a file to fit both spacings. There is a spacer between the caster and the plate to match the thickness of the cart flange. Notice that half the caster is still bolted to the cart flange. The stiff top plate transfers the rest of the load to the flange. The milling machine (1000 lbs) didn't show any deflection with this arrangement. The back casters are non-swivel and were easy to mount directly (with a little hole stretching). Must be that metric to imperial standards issues. Casters: specify: 3" (same height as original); 250 or 400lb casters as required - 250s will likely be fine so long as you don't take it on the highway. Wheels should be hard rubber or urethane - mine are urethane. On 3" wheels you probably will not be able to get swivel brakes but can get rolling brakes. Fixed wheels - $15ea. swivel $25. Don't go cheap on the wheels - you already have cheap wheels. I have attached the drawing I used to make the plates. I got my casters from http://www.algood-casters.com (a mfg local to me here in Toronto)
   Part: Swivel: S5433-A27D-UG-BB-TLB fixed: R5433-A27D-UG-BB Bonus photo: I also made a hold down out of some angle iron scrap to bolt the BS and milling machines down to the cart for added safety. The brackets are pop-riveted with 1/4" steel rivets. Bolts will do if you can get to the back side. The cart uses 8mm metric bolts so I got some more bolts to use on the angle brackets. I also used these brackets on the TS also so it can't tip off the cart.
   All in all more than a day/night difference - what a difference ball
   bearing wheels make. All of the above was done to 3 carts (ie 6 plates and 12 casters). Shopfox foot problem fix: My screw down feet - the lower part had shafts that were too long and that meant only the first 2-3 threads were engaged on the top part when backed off or with light pressure. I jacked the cart up. Removed the feet. Shorted the bottom portion 1/2" and reassembled. The magnetic pickup still works and I have lots of thread contact taking the load when parked. This was a problem on 2 of my 3 carts. Enjoy.
   DA

   The goal is not to

   look professional but to be professional.<!----><!---->

   
1. 
   questtools | Feb 01, 2008 01:07pm | #8

   Thanks a bunch Doug!

   I will give the bases a look over with the neighbour and begin the process to upgrade my Shop-Fox bases.

   The leveling pads have been a mystery to me why they seemed "weak" in their design - but your suggestion to cut off 1/2" was a surprise to me. I assumed incorrectly they were already too short to work properly and cutting 1/2" would destroy them. Still wrapping my head around that one!

   I might give you another nudge if I run into issues but thanks for the pictures - they really are worth a thousand words!!

   Cheers

   Bob in Calgary

1. 
   DougAA | Feb 01, 2008 04:35pm | #9

   Re the leveling pads. I first noticed the pads were dragging when I moved the machine.  If I backed out the knob until the pads didn't drag then the knob fell off.  By shortening the lower piece by a bit the knob part could still be threaded solidly in. ALSO: just remembered - I used a disk grinder to cut off the bottom 1/4" of the guide tube that the feet go in.  This gave the feet a little more ground clearance. There are no threads in the bottom half of the tube so a rough grinding cut was fine.  Just do a quick deburr on the hole from the bottom. Add some grease to the knob/bolt threads and on the end of the magnet.  One way around a bunch of this is to either use 4" wheels and raise the whole machine or put 1/4" to 1/2" spacers between the caster mounts and the cart flanges.  Individual fit and welding locations of all relevant parts may make your adjustments a little different than mine.

   Just think, with ShopFoxes volumes they could build a great cart for only about $10 more and standardize their specs and save me (and you) a bunch of extra refit work. DA

   The goal is not to

   look professional but to be professional.<!----><!---->

2. 
   questtools | Jan 31, 2008 05:20pm | #3

   Thanks Doug,

   I was smiling when I was reading your post, becasue this morning I was out trying to gently move the big Italian bandsaw around the shop and those damn Shop-Fox castors don't make it very easy!

   My next door neighbor is a welder and if I could show him what we could do to modify the mounting plate for the castors, I am positive he could fix the base in no time at all.

   Thanks again.

   Bob

3. 
   Y1RET | Feb 01, 2008 01:36am | #4

   I have the Jet under my TS. Seems to work but I don’t move the saw very often or very far. I bought one form the big box store and use it under a bench top planer mounted to a stand and that one I do not recommend. It was cheep both in price and quality. The base looks and holds up ok but the casters and the cams that raze and lower the unit are junk. Good thing it is a portable planner, I have to lift the base just to move the cams that raze and lower the wheels. Definitely a case of you get what you pay for on that one.

    

   Bob T.

4. 
   jpattillo | Feb 01, 2008 01:48am | #5

   I have a Rojek combination machine, and I use a pallet jack to move it around whenever I need to. It works really well, and I just slide the tongs under my lumber rack when I'm not using it. I got it used (via craigslist) from a local company for about $100. -John

5. 
   FrankDrackman | Feb 01, 2008 08:19am | #7

   What machine do you have?

1. 
   Herebrooks | Feb 02, 2008 04:41pm | #11

   Hi Frank: I have an Italian combination machine made by Nicolletti. I bought it in 1979 and I've never seen another one since. I've spent alot of time in Cyprus the last couple of years(my wife is Cypriot) and every time I peer into some old woodworkers shop(usually with one light bulb hanging from the ceiling to light it) I see a dusty old combination machine and a big bandsaw next to it, same setup as my shop. Could there be an evolutionary force at work here? Anyway, I usually don't recognize the make of the combination machine so I suspect there are many makes(in Europe) that never make it to the states. My machine weighs about 1200 lbs. and I want to find a mobile base for it because I have to swing it around some times to use the shaper. Either the machine is getting heavier, or I'm getting weaker cause it's getting harder to move without wheels. Thanks to everyone who has responded to my query. Bill

1. 
   FrankDrackman | Feb 02, 2008 10:57pm | #12

   Wow, moving the machine every time you want to use the shaper is a great reason.

    

    

6. 
   Jfrostjr | Feb 01, 2008 05:01pm | #10

   Check out HTC. I have one under my MiniMax combo machine and one under my 5' x 5' table saw setup. Both move easily - and I don't have to lock the casters to use the machines. I don't understand this combination of features but that's how they perform.

   Frosty

   "I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922

7. 
   brutoo | Aug 01, 2011 01:49pm | #13

   something new

   I have come up with a new concept to a “Mobile Base”, but is not your typical mobile base: ie a platform with wheels that you either have to assemble your tool on top of the base or get four friends over to help you lift the tool up onto the base. This new base attaches directly to the legs (3 or 4), the wheels (2 swivel and 2 fixed) are then inserted into a bracket which will raise the tool legs approximately ½” off the floor.  You then can move the machine to any location in the shop, remove the wheels thus having the tool sit directly on the floor so as to alleviate any possibility of vibration or “walking” as could happen if a machine was resting on a base with 4 wheels. The Kit contains enough hardware for 2 machines and hardware for additional machines can be purchased.  I submitted the idea to HTC Products Inc. (leading manufacturer of Mobile Bases) and received a typical reply of “Does not meet our criteria”.