Largest planer on a mobile base

[Wild Turkey]

Currently in MI so while not crazy far its a bit of a drive.

Turn on you private messages and I'll give you the details.

[Bob Vaughan]

Whats the largest planer you guys have on a mobile base? I'm not looking to go full industrial, but 16-18" might be nice.

"full industrial" can mean many things.
Making a relatively heavy machine 'roll-around" requires a wee bit of thought, particularly a planer.
Big wheels make for easier moving over floor stuff.
The more wheels, often, the better.
Importers that write caster ratings are also the same ones that write ratings for switches and motors.
Heavy duty casters cost a lot more than standard duty casters.  To know the difference, I suspect Northern is a good place to go.
A good rule of thumb is that the casters have a load rating twice the weight of the machine.
The higher the planer is off the ground, the easier it is to clean under it.
Off the shelf mobile bases have tiny little wheels and are best for machines of 250 LBS or less.
A cheap pallet jack may be cheaper than a set of good casters but the you'll have to stow the pallet jack somewhere.  Besides, pallet jacks are awkward to move around.

Below are three shots of my 1000 lb 18" planer.  It sits on six heavy duty casters.  This raises the bed to a very convenient height.  If that planer were on the floor, there would be a lot of stooping over.  I can push it around with some effort but it isn't too bad.

   

   

   

Below is the same size planer with eight light to medium duty casters.  This was a temporary rig to allow work in the planer without a pallet jack.  There's no way I would ever trust these casters for long term durability.

   

[Bob Vaughan]

PS: Solid wheels only.  Soft wheels will be like pushing a car with four flat tires.

[hcbph]

I will add something here.  IMO the more swivel wheels you have it can actually be harder to move a machine at times.  Trying to get a bunch of wheels to line up when moving it can be a struggle.  Also the better quality the bearings are in the swivels it improves the ability for the wheels to move into alignment.
Just some comments.

[marcb]

"full industrial" can mean many things.

True, I had an image in my head of the many 24"+ old planers  I helped move with the Chicago CATS crowd.

I appreciate the post.  Looks like a fairly significant planer can be dealt with.

[marcb]

So excited, since this picture the walls have been insulated and drywalled/mudded. Only 1/2 of it will be for wood working but that's still 250% larger than my last wood shop.

[Bob Vaughan]

So excited, since this picture the walls have been insulated and drywalled/mudded. Only 1/2 of it will be for wood working but that's still 250% larger than my last wood shop.

LOL
Haven't you heard?
A man needs twelve feet a year on his shop building.

Congrats.  I remember my shop building when it was first finished.  There's just nothing like that feeling of hope and promise.
...and no, I didn't get my 12 feet addition per year but that doesn't mean I didn't need it.

A full size planer on wheels in that area will do fine.  Some busy days you'll get tired of walking around it no matter where its rolled, but when time comes for planing, you'll be so glad you've got it.
For extra long stuff, you'll be glad you can roll up that overhead door.

[TDKPE]

Just one comment regarding pallet jacks.  They're easily stored under a machine, especially one that's long in one direction, so the forks don't stick out the other end (much).  No casters required, and the base can be as solid as you like.  Basically just a raised base.

It's not the answer for everyone, of course, but it's a good option if you have several very heavy machines that need to move, especially if you can tuck it under some machine or other object that takes up floor space anyway.  Even the lightest ones are typically 2000 lb capacity, and they go up from there.  Wheels under the fudge tips are more like rollers, and small, so a smooth clean floor is a necessity.

[Kudzu]

Bob is on the money.  You can roll most anything around with the right casters.

I forget but somewhere around 3200 lbs and I can roll it around on the gantries.

[marcb]

Just one comment regarding pallet jacks.  They're easily stored under a machine, especially one that's long in one direction, so the forks don't stick out the other end (much).  No casters required, and the base can be as solid as you like.  Basically just a raised base.

I'll actually have a shortfork pallet jack in the shop so thats not a bad idea.