Originally Posted by
Julie Moriarty
Part of the reason the setup on this particular HTC mobile base is so problematic is the amount of lift required for the cams to seat in the up position. The fixed wheels set the height of the frame 5/8" off the floor, from the bottom of the frame. When you engage the lift cams into their seated position, the bottom rises to a full 2". There's no reason I can see for that much height change to be necessary. All it needs to do is lift it maybe 1/4" or so, just enough to get the fixed feet off the floor, and enough for the feet to clear minor debris. To test that theory, I placed a 2x4 under the MB when in the up position. Then I tried to operate the cam and it was operable with normal foot pressure because it was only lifting it 1/2". It's just a poor design.
I'm going to throw another $25 at the mess. I found some 2" swivel casters to install in place of the 3" that came with the bases. Maybe that will work and I won't have to be left figuring out a safe way to remove the bandsaw from the mobile base.
The "high lift" is for people with less than perfect floors, or people who roll out to the driveway. A base with a lift of only a 1/4" presents it's own set of problems. For me, the transition from my shop (aka "garage") out to the driveway is such that I have to LIFT 3" casters over the transition, or come at an angle and do one wheel at a time. That's for my Rousseau Planer Cart (doing duty as a CMS Stand), which has 2" of clearance all around. I can only move my PM jointer, which is on a Delta Universal base, into and out of the garage out near the walls, because it high centers on the lip in the center. If I try to take it up the center, I have to shove it because the base is dragging.
All that said, I understand and agree with your dismay with the base in question as I have one of those under my Delta 14" bandsaw. I don't like raising or lowering the thing either, but it does get the job done. With a larger machine, I suspect it would get kinda scary in a hurry. I use my feet exclusively for operating the cams, and hold onto the bandsaw when doing so in order to keep it from getting any unruly notions. I know that I wouldn't buy one like that again for any thing larger than a benchtop machine on a stand, and even then I'd be far more likely to get another Delta Universal, or a clone.
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