Mark J Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I'm going to get a mobile base for the new bandsaw, but curious about other people's opinions and experience. First, let me say that the first rule in my shop is that all the stationary tools have to be mobile stationary tools. Which I recognize isn't everyone's approach. Most of the bases I've seen have two wheels at the back which are fixed and two swivel casters in the front which can retract. Has anyone ever had a problem with this type of base leaving the machine too mobile when it was supposed to be stationary? Portamate does make the 3550 model with 4 retracting swivel casters, but it's very heavy duty (1500 lbs) and expensive ($180). Other thoughts and observations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 Band saws have a small footprint so steering them with only 2 swivel wheels isn't difficult. I have the HTC-1000 on my band saw and it works flawlessly, If anything the band saw is a bit light for it. I find that the cams on the wheels work better with a bit more weight. What is your bandsaw? https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Universal-Portamate-Equipment-Stability/dp/B00016BI5O/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1543162428&sr=1-3&keywords=htc-1000 Also the "new" design on this solves the 1 major problem the old one had which was plastic cams that would break eventually. i have 2-3 spares sitting around but have only broken 1 so far between the tablesaw and bandsaw and that was because i dropped a log on it. Now they are aluminum so no more worries when throwing logs around your shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted November 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I bought the Jet 14 SFX (I know, you wanted me to get the Laguna 1412). The mobile base you referenced looks like the one that Rockler has in their Black Friday sale. They have another similar model on sale, too, which I like better-it has the orange cam levers. Now that I am starting to acquire some real tools I was just wondering if anyone has had problems with any of these mobilie bases rolling when they shouldn't, particularly on a tool where you are applying a lateral force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I have the wheels oriented like this on my bandsaw. I've never had it move even pushing hard on it with big resaws ect. I have the wheels positioned in line with how you would push on my table saw and that doesn't move either. The rubber pads that sit on the ground when the cams are up have good grip. If i push as hard as i can table level on my bandsaw i'll tip it over before it slides or moved. I just tried. The jet is 300 lbs and my laguna is slightly heavier at around 325. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 9 minutes ago, Mark J said: I bought the Jet 14 SFX (I know, you wanted me to get the Laguna 1412). Just from spending time with the 2 side by side i liked the laguna better. Most of that comes down to the ceramic guides and the tool less guid adjustment. Other than that the jet is probably better except for the guide height adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted November 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 42 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I have the wheels oriented like this on my bandsaw. I've never had it move even pushing hard on it with big resaws ect. I have the wheels positioned in line with how you would push on my table saw and that doesn't move either. The rubber pads that sit on the ground when the cams are up have good grip. If i push as hard as i can table level on my bandsaw i'll tip it over before it slides or moved. I just tried. The jet is 300 lbs and my laguna is slightly heavier at around 325. Thanks. I like what I'm seeing and hearing. I was thinking of putting the retractables on the spine side, but I think your arrangement is more stable. Also I noticed that you arranged both cam levers to operate on the side of the casters away from your feet-good idea. I would have automatically set them up going opposite directions. Also, I see you used one 4" hose with a wye to your 2 dust ports. I was going to run two hoses. Is that working for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, Mark J said: Thanks. I like what I'm seeing and hearing. I was thinking of putting the retractables on the spine side, but I think your arrangement is more stable. Also I noticed that you arranged both cam levers to operate on the side of the casters away from your feet-good idea. I would have automatically set them up going opposite directions. Also, I see you used one 4" hose with a wye to your 2 dust ports. I was going to run two hoses. Is that working for you? So the cams going the same direction was more of an accident than intentional. You could put the cams on either way and having them both to the center might be the best but it's open to interpretation. The big thing is to have the rubber feet on the outside with the wheels positioned the way i have them. It's less stable when rolling but it's more stable in use. The stability in use is WAY more important to me than when it's rolling around. It's by no means ever going to tip over either way unless you are doing something stupid but if it started to tip while sawing that'd potentially be a lot worse than starting to tip while rolling it. Yes. I didn't really think about it much before now. When you open the bottom door you can hear an increase in air movement so that indicates that the bottle neck is at the saw not the 4" line after the wye. Running 2 separate lines to a trunk woulnd't gain anything, on the Laguna at least. I'm unsure how well or not the jet is sealed i assume it's comparable. Also you can see in front of the door it's clean, that's from the suction on the lower part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan McCully Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I’ve got my Jet jointer on a Portamate 2500 with two swivels in the front and fixed in the rear. Makes for some difficulty maneuvering occasionally when I’m moving it, but haven’t had any issue with it moving during use. I could see it potentially being a problem on a lighter tool, but my jointer is fairly heavy (250lbs or so). Just bought another of these bases for my drum sander. We’ll see how well it works for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 1 minute ago, Jonathan McCully said: I’ve got my Jet jointer on a Portamate 2500 with two swivels in the front and fixed in the rear. Makes for some difficulty maneuvering occasionally when I’m moving it, but haven’t had any issue with it moving during use. I could see it potentially being a problem on a lighter tool, but my jointer is fairly heavy (250lbs or so). Just bought another of these bases for my drum sander. We’ll see how well it works for that. I have my jointer on a 2500 as well and it was a mistake i think my jointer is 610 lbs and the base is rated for 650 and let me tell you that rating is on the liberal side. My jointer is making that mobile base cry. It does move the tool around great but the beams are sagging pretty seriously. So if you are goign off their weight ratings subtract 100 lbs. I also noticed the 2500 is on sale at rockler for about the same price as the 1000. I still to some extent like the 1000 a bit better. In the moving position the levers don't stick out as much esp if i don't need the weight capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted November 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 If I had my 'druthers I would have 4 swivelling casters, but the only unit I see with that feature is the Portamate 3550. The 2500 was what I was talking about at Rockler, but now I find this at their web site. https://www.rockler.com/htc3000-universal-mobile-base The fixed rear wheels have locks, which seems like a good idea. Then again it must be a discontinued product because I don't find it at the Bora web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I'd rather have the cams engage the wheels than the stops. If something shiftts and it falls on the wheels the saw could all of a sudden be mobile where the other way around it'd fail to the stopped position or in other words fails safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted November 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 Interesting point. Though I note that the Portamates intended for heavier loads all have retracting posts/feet rather than retracting casters. That may be so the caster attachements can be more robust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave's Not Here Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I put this mobile base under my table saw and have been extremely satisfied with it, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD6B9/ref=sxts_kp_bs_tr_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=dHHXz&pf_rd_r=JEP06TX7NRRFGBF6CYS1&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B0000DD6B9&pd_rd_w=FHGJi&pf_rd_i=shop+fox+mobile+base&pd_rd_r=119f6f95-3b39-422c-ba78-c361c939754b&ie=UTF8&qid=1543186608&sr=1 When set to be stationary it's solid as a rock and the base itself is very heavy duty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted November 25, 2018 Report Share Posted November 25, 2018 I have HTC2000 lifts on my band saw (Rikon 10-325) & drill press (General 17", very top heavy). I assembled them both a few inches wider than the machine bases for added stability, more so on the drill press. The front casters are arranged so the plastic cams swing in the same plane & have a 4" wide joining them together. That's so I can extend or retract the front casters with just 1 press of the foot. With the casters retracted I've never noticed any instability & the machine is just as stable as if it was sitting directly on the concrete. I've read about others having the plastic cams break, but it's never happened to me & I've been using them for several years. Just be careful on the band saw that you don't grab the table to move it around. The trunions tend to break easily when that is done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 I have the HTC-3000 for my bandsaw (a 14") and it works just fine, but I don't need to move it around a lot - usually only when I need to saw/resaw long pieces to get the outfeed around my lathe. I wouldn't have any issues if I had to move it more often, it seems to be a solid base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 I just picked up a Laguna 14 bx 2.5, and didn't feel like paying $200 for the Laguna mobile base, so I got a cheap base (https://www.kmstools.com/king-canada-mobile-base-100938). I figured that these aren't high tech devices, and a bandsaw isn't the heaviest tool in the world, so this should suffice. I have the same one for my drill press, and it seems to work fine. There are no plastic cams, and the frame seems quite robust. I won't be setting this thing up for a while as it's also meant to be a Christmas present, but if it becomes a problem, I'll update this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumRunner Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 On 11/25/2018 at 10:08 AM, Mark J said: I'm going to get a mobile base for the new bandsaw, but curious about other people's opinions and experience. First, let me say that the first rule in my shop is that all the stationary tools have to be mobile stationary tools. Which I recognize isn't everyone's approach. Most of the bases I've seen have two wheels at the back which are fixed and two swivel casters in the front which can retract. Has anyone ever had a problem with this type of base leaving the machine too mobile when it was supposed to be stationary? Portamate does make the 3550 model with 4 retracting swivel casters, but it's very heavy duty (1500 lbs) and expensive ($180). Other thoughts and observations? I just purchased one of these bases for a new to me PM66 I'm restoring. It's a great base, WAY TOO much for a band saw. The base on my band saw has the two fixed wheels in the rear and mobile in the front. It works extremely well. As an FYI you can find the Portamate stuff MUCH cheaper on Ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Hey welcome to the forum. Yeah the 3550 is way more load capacity than needed, but it does roll very well. Your gonna like it under your PM66. I'll probably go for the 2000 model, but I'm in no hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumRunner Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Thanks Mark. It's a really beefy kit. I'm going to have my powdercoater coat it black when I have him coat the PM66 Cabinet Mustard Yellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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