I'm looking at putting my TS (Ridgid 4512) on a shop-built mobile cabinet base. I've been looking at various different designs, and I'm pretty sure I'm well on my way down the path to 'paralysis by analysis', but that's half the fun right?

Originally I was thinking in terms of making a 'pure' torsion box base (think like WoodWhisperer / David Marks torsion box assembly table, but for the base platform). Casters on the bottom, short box on top to mount the saw 'cabinet' / body to, and then storage cabinets / drawers on either side. Maybe some support on the right side for the ends of the TS rails.

Then I started thinking about whether it'd be too tall. I've dealt enough with too small casters on shop bases in the past; probably going with at least 4", probably more like 5 or 6" casters. Then again, *any* storage under the TS wings is more than I have now, so it's a net win either way.

I noticed a lot of designs seem to have open corners, and the casters attached to the 'ears' of the upper surface/skin of the torsion box. Some have the grid dividers extend all the way to the end, others do not. Similarly, it seems like a fair number of them only have a top skin, no bottom at all on the grid.

In the past I've been concerned - possibly unwarranted - about whether or not that would compromise the strength and rigidity of the torsion box, and if so by how much. Enough to be a legit concern, or not?

Given the number of designs out there that are like that, I'm guessing the answers are 'not much' and 'no'.

In a perfect world, I'd weld up some angle iron and build my cabinet base on top of *that*, but I don't have a lot in the way of metal working tools beyond an angle grinder, and it's been a *very* long time since I did any kind of welding... and I'm not sure I can justify (to myself) getting a welder for a one-off project like this