Portable Stairs for a dance studio

[jimbofoxman]

HELP!!!!

I made 2 sets of stairs like this last year for my kids dance studio. Casters were mounted on the side so they rolled out on their side and then set on the floor and not go anywhere. Now this year the new teacher wants them to move during a performance. So start stationary, they dance a bit, move them to another spot, make it stationary and then finish the dance. Kids would be on them and off them in the different spots.

So here is where I am at right now. In the picture shown you see how the stairs are built and the red/orange blocks represent the caster locations. Caster probably sit 1/2" proud of the stair bottom. The studio suggested using the flip down door stops which didn't hold for ****. Now maybe they would of the front two casters were fixed and the back two swivel. But as it stands right now all four casters are swivel. The flip down door stops kinda work, but not nearly enough to make is stationary enough to hold while girls are moving on them. I was thinking all swivel casts for ease of movement during the performance.

Any suggestions how to make these stairs both stationary and mobile to where young girls (8-12yrs old) could work it?

steps by Hickory Hill Photography, on Flickr

Thanks

[simocco]

the only thing that comes to mind is....when i worked at a supermarket we had kick stools - the wheels were on springs, so that when there was no one standing on the stool the springs were stong enough to lift the stool, so that it could be kicked, sorry, moved with your feet. but the weight of the stairs might be a problem in that the same principal might not translate to a bigger/heaver scale. the link below shows the type of thing i was talking about..

http://www.staples.co.uk/facilities/kick-stools-step-stools/kick-stools/kick-stool-grey?campaign=FD-GB&ns_campaign=Kick_Stools&ns_mchannel=FD&ns_source=google_products&ns_linkname=388004&ns_fees=0&sec_type=ext&utm_source=google&utm_medium=google_base&utm_term=388004&utm_campaign=Kick_Stool_-_Grey

[Beechwood Chip]

Look for designs for home made mobile bases for table saws, etc. It's the same problem: you want them to be very stable when stationary, and move easily when unlocked.

[bywc]

If it were me I would just keep it simple just use locking swivel casters im sure a kid is able to step on a lock lever to lock and unlock the wheels.

or this kind

[jhl.verona]

I suppose it depends a lot on the weight of the stairs, but most 'movable' scenary I've seen has (only) two wheels at the back - just touching the floor.

So it doesn't move when flat, but you only have to tip it up a little to get it onto the wheels, and away you go. Use two bigger wheels at the back and perhaps round off the bottom rear angle. You could always add a couple of hand sized cut-outs in the sides to have something to grip when tipping - and for steering. Say just under the second step.

Between being stable when you've got dancers on it, and being mobile (can't have both, sorry), I'd go for stable first.

HTH

John

[PaulMarcel]

John's answer works well. When I performed, we had portable stairs in the studio made like John stated. In our case, the two fixed wheels were inside the box near the back and the back beveled enough to allow you to lift and move it. Couldn't lift it a lot, but this hid the wheels. Dunno if you have issues with the stairs moving now, but ours had rubber strips on the bottom so they were rock solid.