Caster Recommendations?


Vyrolan

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What does everyone use for casters for shop-built cabinets/tables/stands/etc?   What configuration do you normally use (4 swivel  vs  2 swivel + 2 rigid)?  What size do you use for various situations?  Is having the "total lock" ones that lock both rolling and swiveling that important?     I've gone down the rabbit hole online and hoping you guys can provide some real world perspective.  Thanks in advance.

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Personally, I think dual locking is kind of overrated.

 

Yea it kind of smells of "sounds better than it is".   I wonder if 2 rigid + 2 dual locking is a worthwhile compromise.

 

 

What are you making?

 

Some really basic cabinets likely holding benchtop tools as I'm starting to accumulate things.  I've got the Ridgid belt/spindle sander I'd like to put on one...I'd like to turn one into a very rudimentary router table...one for a benchtop band saw...and one maybe for a future benchtop drill press.   I also may make a table/cabinet around my little jobsite table saw (foolish, yes I know) but that one is more clear since I know it needs to be very stable when locked.

 

 

 

Sad but true that thing is cheaper than 4 good locking casters.

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depending on how much your time is worth to you, I'd recommend just buying some tool chest bases like this. The 3 drawer versions are great for storing bigger tools, and the 4 and 5 drawer versions are good for more common stuff.

 

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-26-in-wide-3-drawer-standard-duty/p-00946461000P?prdNo=21&blockNo=21&blockType=G21

 

Come black Friday, you will most likely find one of the big box stores selling them for around $90.

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Yea I've thought about that...and my wife has pushed for that approach as well (because it gets us to an organized garage sooner), but I'd really like to build them myself for customization reasons but moreso for skill development.  I've not really done any casework and would much prefer to fubar some shop stuff rather than a "real" project.

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I'd recommend a router table or hanging tool cabinet as a skill building project over storage cabinets.

 

One step at a time...right now I have nowhere to put stuff I have like the benchtop sander and band saw.  I've been setting stuff up temporarily on a plastic folding table. =p   I have very limited wall space so I want to do more planning around what exactly I do there and then probably build a french cleat (or similar) system.

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In my shop I have probably 8-10 carts that have these casters on them, varying in size from 20" x 40" up to 34" x 60" http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/141050/4-Caster-Double-Locking-Swiveling-with-4-Hole-Mounting-Plate.aspxI can put probably 1000 pounds of stuff on one before it gets to hard to push around. Best ones for the money that I have ever bought. They can work well even when really pushing something clamped to the work bench, hand planning or dominoing large parts. All of them are 4 swivels with double locks on the corners. Dustin

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I have a couple of tables on casters that I move around as needed.  I don't need the locking feature so I "cheaped out" and used the casters from mover's dollys on sale at HF. As I recall, they were less than $10 per set of 4 swivel casters including mounting bolts.

 

PS - Don't know why I'm listed as Guest. I was logged in when I posted this.

 

Mike M

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I have a couple of tables on casters that I move around as needed.  I don't need the locking feature so I "cheaped out" and used the casters from mover's dollys on sale at HF. As I recall, they were less than $10 per set of 4 swivel casters including mounting bolts.

 

PS - Don't know why I'm listed as Guest. I was logged in when I posted this.

 

Mike M

 

Well, you're Mike M now.... seems to be happening quite often lately!   Edit: it just happened to this response.

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Anything I put on castors, I put on 4" castors and I get them from Fastenal.  They're cheap and the 4" helps roll over any giblets on the floor.  I usually use 4 swivels because I have a 2 car garage and may need to twist a machine - like spin the table saw 45 degrees to use the open shop door to rip a long board.

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Yes 4" castors 2 fixed and 2 swivels with brakes on all of them - you never know which wheels will be closest to your foot. I also made a shop trolley with all 4 wheels swivelling. That is very difficult to control as it skates all over the place. I did build it for a particular application in mind though and it works ok around the shop.

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I use the polyurethane 3" swivel double locking casters for all of my mobile tool bases and carts.

I have Casters on almost everything in my shop. At 20x20 or so I don't really have enough room for everything I want so I need to be able to move when needed.

I have used the polyurethane casters as well for everything. I have 3" or 4" ones on most items but put 5" ones on my lumber cart. I also always use the lock and swivel version for all wheels. They just give you much more flexibility.

It's not as much about the wheel size as what the weight rating is in my opinion. The ones on my lumber cart are rated for 450lbs each giving me 1800lbs in total.

-Darryl

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