Casters

[Mike Wellner]

I wouldn't just go to Ace for casters, I would like a recommendation of casters with quality and won't lock up on the floor thus making stands and cabinets easier to move, and the bolt should be tall enough to bolt onto anything, and 1/2 in diameter, and can be locked in place to prevent movement. I intend to build two mobile cabinets and a mobile workbench plus have an steel mobile base fabbed up.

[Lee Schierer]

There are a lot of different styles of casters. Your selection will need to be determined by the weight of the equipment you plan to place on them and the height you want them to be off the floor. Generally speaking the larger the diameter of the wheel, the easier they roll. Harder casters roll easier than softer ones, but harder casters are less tolerant of debris on the floor.

Most locking casters I've encountered didn't work all that well. What I find works best is toggle clamps that lower to lift one end of the piece of equipment off the floor slightly. The attached photos show how I secure my mobile base for my jointer.

[Randy Rose]

Grainger or McMaster-Carr, both have a wide selection and the catalog can be viewed on-line

[Dewey Torres]

The attached photos show how I secure my mobile base for my jointer.

Lee,
That is a splendid idea! Thanks

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have several types of casters in my garage. The red casters from Woodcraft are supposed to be good, as they are hard but not too hard.

As to stopping your item from moving, there are a lot of choices. One way that I have seen but not used is to hinge a block, say a 2x4, so that you can lift one end of the table/whatever up so that it falls under it to support it off the floor, and then the casters can remain off the ground.

I currently have a set of the Woodcraft table saw casters on my workbench. I am not very please with them, as the wheels themselves are not very good for rolling over rough cement, but they work so far. When they die on me, I am going to put on some non-locking casters like Norm did for his assembly table, which had I thought of it when I was building the bench, I would have done that instead.

Doc

[pat warner]

Caster City caster on my drill press stand, locks the wheel & rotation.
Hi friction coeficient too, installation not trivial however.
This one has a 1/2-13 x 1.5" stud.

[Mark Carlson]

I put some woodcraft casters on a rolling tool cabinet today (see picture). These casters are really heavy duty.

[Jim Fox]

Well I only go to one place for casters and that's greatlakescaster.com and I specifically only get the Colson brand, 3.5" diameter wheel or larger so you can get the "Total Lock" brakes on them. Brakes both the pivot and the roll.

Now some of their Leveling Casters look interesting, but haven't gotten any to try them out yet.

Don't work there, just a happy customer many times over. Plus doesn't hurt that I am supporting a local supplier.

[Gene Michael]

Lee, neat use of toggle clamps! What brand and weight capacity are the ones in the pics?

[Steve Vaughn]

I put some woodcraft casters on a rolling tool cabinet today (see picture). These casters are really heavy duty.

Those are the same ones that I'm going to put on my flip top tool table. I have some on a router table now and I like them.

Steve