Harbor Freight Casters

[Matt Meiser]

I forgot that another good source for nice casters is Tractor Supply. I'm not sure what they have in the way of locking ones though.

[Brad Townsend]

I've heard people complain about, "That HF smell" before but I've never noticed that smell in my local store. It just smells like a tool store. There's nothing that stands out to me. Maybe some people are more sensitive to machine oil smells than others.

Bruce

Bruce, Possibly your store has better ventilation than some of the others. As to the origin of the smell, I have to conclude a lot of it is coming from the outgassing of the casters themselves, otherwise the ones in my garage wouldn't still have the smell a year later. It's not a machine oil smell. It's more like kind of a burning tire smell.

Which reminds me, the trash pickup is today. I should give up and get rid of them once and for all.

[Brad Peterson]

The company link you provided didn't work for me. But the Ebay link did. Those don't look like too bad. It would be nice to see an actual picture of the 3" casters to see how they compare in appearance to the Hartville and Woodcraft ones. One thing I noticed with theirs is that they list the bearings as, "Delrin". Isn't that basically the same as UHMW or something close to it? I don't know what the bearings on the Hartville or Woodcraft casters are made from but I didn't think they were plastic. They might be though. If I were in the market for new casters I'd look into this before I bought. They might be just like the rest but if they're the only brand with plastic bearings I'd probably steer clear of them.

Bruce

Yeah, I fixed the URL, sorry about that. I was only commenting on these casters rated at 250 lbs. For this medium-duty service, I think that the delrin bearing in the wheel will be fine. But that is just my opinion. I bought the wheels for a cut-off box, so I am not too concerned for this application. I am sure that they have others, but I was just looking for decent medium-duting rated casters. And at $5 each, I won't feel too bad if they only last a few years....

Good luck.

Brad

[Bruce Benjamin]

I bought some from Peachtree at the Denver woodworking show, but haven't used them, yet. They seem to be pretty good, but as with most stuff are made in China. I'm also going to try my local Fastenal store. I just try to avoid HF.

Hmmm...Which part of China is better for casters than where HF has theirs made? It almost sounds like you're saying that you'd rather have the lousy ones instead of the crappy ones. Personally, I don't have a problem with HF since I can pick and choose but the way you phrased your post just struck me as funny.

Bruce

[Matt Meiser]

Maybe some people are more sensitive to machine oil smells than others

I think its more than machine oil--more of a melding of the machine oil and rubber smell. Its very distinctive. Could be Tim the Toolman's cologne.

[John Seiffer]

Holy Cow! This thread is getting almost as long as a thread on Dust Collection.

You do want double locking caster. The problem I have with the Harbor Freight ones is that they often need to be jiggled while you're stepping on the lever for them to lock.

I've not had that problem with the Hartville Tool ones. They are great and well worth the extra money. And I'm NOT a person who always avoids cheap tools.

[Brad Townsend]

Sorry. I was so busy complaining about the smell of my Harbor Freight casters that I forgot to mention where I have had success. I've gotten some good double locking ones from Grizzly at a very reasonable price. Think I paid around $7.50 each. My only complaint is that the stems are all in metric, so I did have to find some nuts for them. Go to Grizzly.com and type "caster" in the search window. A whole bunch of different types will appear.

[Eddie Darby]

I have a fairly tight shop, so I use 4 double locking swivel casters, so I can have the mobility I need.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=1989

[Marc Prudhomme]

Thanks for the info guys.I may try those ebay puppies.

[Marc Prudhomme]

Thanks Brad.I just bought them today.They seem ok from the description.We will see when they get here.I am sure they will be fine for what I need.again thanks
Marc

I recently bought some casters from SES Casters on ebay for $5.00 each, plus shipping. I bought 8 for $53 including shipping to Utah. I wanted to find some decent casters and not pay $12 - $15 per caster. Anyways, I have them and they seem good quality. I have used some on a furniture dolly which I will be putting to use this week, so I don't have a total review yet. But they are heavy duty and are total lock. For $5 per caster, I figured that it was worth the risk. Not affiliated - just sharing something that I found that may help others....

Here is the ebay link to the casters that I purchased...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Caster-3-Total-L...QQcmdZViewItem

and here is their company site...

http://www.sescasters.com


Good luck.

Brad

[Bryan Hunt]

I bought a set of 4 casters from California Caster (899-3-1/2TB) that lock both ways and I love them. They were rather expensive - around $65 for the set, but the quality is outstanding, and the person I talked to on the phone was extremely friendly and helpful. If quality is a priority and cost is not a concern, I'd recommend these casters.