Retracting Mobile Base

[Jack01]

I am in process of building Retracting Mobile base , similar to following design

Mobile base

So far not successfull. I am moving 250 lbs bandsaw.
Build the base similar to this design, change was I used steel rod insted of pipe.
I cannot get the smooth transition Moving from floor to casters is challenging,

Anyone has experience building similar base?

[JGrout]

you need larger castors

Of course that will change the way the entire lift works.

expect to make adjustments accordingly

[Jack01]

I am not sure about by changing larger casters will make the difference.
My challange is to move this from position on floor standing to the casters. So something is wrong in the calm design that is preventing me from moving the stand to the caster.

[EricU]

I think he's moving a 50 pound bandsaw, so that's probably the difference. Makes a lot of things easier. You want to minimize the amount of height that you are lifting the saw.

[Axl]

A 50# band saw? Just pick it up and move it.

[EricU]

Jack says his saw weighs 250 pounds, I was speculating that the one in the video was less.

I suspect that a cam is too aggressive in the rate that it lifts the saw

[bennybmn]

EricU said:

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Jack says his saw weighs 250 pounds, I was speculating that the one in the video was less.

I suspect that a cam is too aggressive in the rate that it lifts the saw

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The cam profile and also the size of the "flap" that the casters are bolted to will change how smoothly it operates.

[Robert Adams]

Try putting a piece of sheet metal in the wear area. The wood will slide allot easier on it than it will wood against wood. A little wax too.

I like some of the aspects of this base myself. It could be modified to fit inside the frame instead of outside.

[BloomingtonMike]

Id make the cams out of HDPE. It cuts/machines as easy as wood.

[Lynden]

I've never had much luck building a cam-actuated mobile base where the entire machine is raised in one operation. It's better to raise one side of the machine at a time. This design is simple and works well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko3-Lzt7BFY