Caster Opinions

[Guest]

The problem with the casters form the furniture dollies is that they are not locking type casters. There is no way I'd want my drill press sitting on wheels with no good way to keep it from moving in use.

My old Craftsman dp is on a mobile base with non locking casters. It was never a problem. It's not like you are pushing wood into it.
My current Delta 13" planer and my last one, a Boice Crane 500# beast, were on non locking casters. Again no problem.

[ez-duzit]

A floor model drill press is already one top heavy and tippy SOB. So be careful about how you add casters.

[Guest]

A floor model drill press is already one top heavy and tippy SOB. So be careful about how you add casters.

Yes they are top heavy, and a lot have tiny bases.
Mine has a big base, approx. 18 wide x 24 deep.
The shop made mobile base, with non locking casters is 22 wide x 26 deep.

[Wood'N'Scout]

I've built mobile bases for most of my equipment.  I've standardized on the Grizzly 4 inch double locking casters.  I've probably got 20 of them in the shop without a failure or problem.

[Lynden]

A Harbor Freight mobile base is another option ($30 + tax with 20% coupon). Use steel tubing to construct it rather than wood.

http://www.harborfreight.com/300-lb-capa...95288.html

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/2747 -- see second picture

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/5306

Here is a DIY base. Since it rests on the floor, the non-locking HF casters could be used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SLEzHkM-zc

[EricU]

that home made base is clever

[Lynden]

that home made base is clever

I would make it a little narrower, round over all the corners, sand it and paint it. It would be a good-looking base.

I like bases that rest on the floor rather than on casters. Here are two others I bookmarked. The first one uses two fixed casters at the back and a step caster at the front.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showt...hp?t=30881

https://www.amazon.com/Caster-Only-for-M...op?ie=UTF8

The second one uses four Rockler workbench casters.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/84820

[TDKPE]

I've taken the casters off of several Harbor Freight dollies and used them (dollies about $6 each, get four casters per dolly). Seem to work fine

And yet another one who's bought the dollies just for the casters.  The small dolly has the same casters as the large one, but it's cheaper.  In fact, the little dolly is on sale right now (with super coupon) for $7.79.  I have 400 lb of olympic plates sitting on one for the last year, and it gets moved from time to time.  HF advertised them as 1000lb capacity, but 400-500 lb is about all I ever put on one.

Flat spots develop when left loaded heavily for a long time, but they roll back out.  If you don't want flat spots, then a harder material would be in order. 

I personally don't worry about locking on most of my machines, as the rolling resistance is enough that they don't try to move. I'd be more worried about the tippiness of the DP, especially when moving it, so caution would be the order of the day there.  Rather than making a wide base for stability while using it, I would run a safety chain or cable to the ceiling, leaving it a little slack.  If for some odd reason something or someone tries to tip it, the tether will stop it.  But in normal operation, there's nothing trying to make it tip in the first place, and a big base would just get in the way.

[ez-duzit]

"...in normal operation, there's nothing trying to make it tip in the first place..."

Normal operation could include heavy workpieces and vises on the table, and occasionally high forces pulling on the quill handle. Best be careful with a too-small rolling base.

[TDKPE]

"...in normal operation, there's nothing trying to make it tip in the first place..."

Normal operation could include heavy workpieces and vises on the table, and occasionally high forces pulling on the quill handle. Best be careful with a too-small rolling base.

I should have clarified 'normal operation for me', as I don't do big work hanging off the side of my DP.  But your point is well taken, and caster wheels can only make a narrow base worse as when they swivel, the fulcrum moves, including toward the DP when wheeling sideways.  I had that problem with my welding machine on a very narrow wooden base (a two-by-ten with casters screwed to the underside), and it always tried to tip when pushed sideways.  A shorter load, but also very narrow base, so very tippy until I put it on a base better suited to it.

I seem to recall seeing somewhere a DP on a narrow mobile base, but with removable 'outriggers' to prevent tipping over while moving.  Maybe they were permanent.  Don't remember now.