Old Problem - New Fix

[Jon Lanier]

I believe that a mobile dust collector should be just that.... MOBILE. In my last shop I had a friends Jet and needed to give it back when we left. So I really couldn't do much with it. But it constantly got stuck with those tiny wheels on the smallest of debris. And then there was the top heavy tip over problem.

I can't have a dedicated collector with all the wonderful duct work moving all around to each station... Mine must be mobile. :(

I may not have solved things completely, but I did make it better (IMHO). With the newly aquired TS I was able to pick up also MY own Penn State Industries Mobile Dust Collector.

Here are the modifications that I made. Rather simple and probably crude but so far it's working. Notice, I drilled the holes through the already support struts for the wheels. (I can now alway go back and replace them if desired.)

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Just curious why you opted for wheels on a piece of wood rather than just mounting them to the base?

I never thought of upgrading the wheels on mine until this post. Wonderful idea. My DC has those pos 1" wheels, don't turn that well, gets stuck on power cords.....

[Chris Tsutsui]

Looks like it adds stability to that small footprint.

The one concern I have for my HF 2hp DC is that to move it around you have to push it by the motor or base, since the handle and mid section seems too flimsy.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I'd have done it with a round or oval disc with an apron that goes to with 1/8" of the floor. EVERY time you move an extension cord or air hose within 5 feet of that base, it'll get caught. The apron will push most floor debris and cords out of the way.

The larger the wheels, the easier they climb cords though. Good upgrade.
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[Jon Lanier]

Just curious why you opted for wheels on a piece of wood rather than just mounting them to the base?

I never thought of upgrading the wheels on mine until this post. Wonderful idea. My DC has those pos 1" wheels, don't turn that well, gets stuck on power cords.....

I wanted widen out the base for stability... less tip overs.

[Mike Cruz]

Certainly a worthwhile upgrade. Nice and simple good job.

The reason, if I may put words in Jon's mouth, for attaching them to a 2x4 instead of directly to the base is this: When you use swivel wheels, inevitably, 2 of the wheels will always be offset...inwards. This makes the unit above them a bit tippy to that side. By attaching the swivel wheels onto a 2x4 that extends PAST the base, all 4 wheels will always be either directly under or outside the base's footprint.

Good thinking, Jon. I don't know if you learned it this way or not, but usually, you learn these things from experience...bad experiences...