Which Mobile Base is Best?

[James Combs]

My new G0690 is currently disassembled:rolleyes:. It is a perfect opportune time to put it on a mobile base. What are some of the pros and cons of the current crop of bases fro table saws? I appreciate any and all feedback.

[Milind Patil]

My G0690 is arriving in a couple of days and I am also in process of preparing a mobile base. I think shop made base would be the best. Take a look at Jim O'Dell's mobile. He did an awsome job. You can get ideas.

[Jason White]

I prefer the one I made myself! :D

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=1105611&postcount=3

However, I did recently purchase an HTC2000 for my drill press. It was a pain to put together (lots of parts), but is pretty sturdy once assembled. If you have a fairly flat floor, it's a good base for the money.

If you want to be able to go over small bumps, cracks, extension cords, etc.... get one with larger wheels like this monster from Rockler...

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21257

Jason



My new G0690 is currently disassembled:rolleyes:. It is a perfect opportune time to put it on a mobile base. What are some of the pros and cons of the current crop of bases fro table saws? I appreciate any and all feedback.

[Rob Holcomb]

I have two Shop Fox mobile bases and although they work, I'm not very impressed with them. They hold the weight ok but the bolts tend to strip out the threads because cheap material is used for the adjustable bracing. I ended up making my own hardwood cross braces and secured them with lag bolts.

[Steven J Corpstein]

I have several HTC Products (http://www.htcproductsinc.com/) mobile bases and like them a lot. Well made and stable, easy to move around.

[Cary Falk]

I have never been happy with an mobile base out there. The major flaw in all of them are that 2 of the wheels are fixed. That makes it very difficult for me to move around in my garage. All of my mobile bases are home made. I use double locking swivel casters.

[Steve Rowe]

Over the years I have had a number of different mobile bases including several OEM versions. I like the Vega mobile base the best.

[Mike Heidrick]

HTC Heavy duty tool specific bases are nice but pricey.
I have a number of Jet regular and heavy duty bases.
I hate the shopfox bases.

I now prefer the ones I make myself that work with a pallet jack and are the cheapest of the three.

[James Combs]

Home made! Sounds intriguing. Do you have any photos or better yet any written/drawn plans?



I now prefer the ones I make myself that work with a pallet jack and are the cheapest of the three.

[Cary Falk]

Home made! Sounds intriguing. Do you have any photos or better yet any written/drawn plans?

Not a pallet jack but....
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0381.jpg

[Stan Mitchell]

The best commercial mobile base that I've used is the Rockler all-terrain. It has very large wheels that move about easily - but comes with a hefty price tag.

Having said that - I've made all the other mobile bases in my shop. The shop-made base is the better way to go. As long as you choose quality wheels, you'll have a mobile base that's custom made to your piece of equipment, it will be sturdier, and not cost a fortune.

[John Coloccia]

I'm with Cary on this one. I'll go one better. My Jet/Performax drum sander has NO casters. All it does it go back and forth. To turn it, I have to drag the wheels, risking a tip-over every time. How's that for stupid? And before anyone chimes in with the 30 good reasons why it's like that, I don't care...I want casters anyway. WAAAHHHHHHHH! :D

I have a couple of the Woodcraft ones, and generally I'm not all that pleased. I have some others that you assemble with plywood you provide, and they seem much sturdier, but I haven't assembled them yet. Honestly I think I would probably make my own at this point, and probably use these:

http://www.greatlakescaster.com/products.php?cat=262

or bolt them directly to the machine. You can generally get them with plate mounts or stud mounts.

[Scot Roberge]

I'm still pretty happy with the one I built from suggestions here on the creek:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=124587

[Neil Brooks]

IMHO, if you have a decent set of casters, then a shop-built is a pretty simple, pretty cheap, and pretty effective proposition.

Recently, out of frustration, I stopped the project I was working on and -- literally -- banged one out in about 30min:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_WVVYjLCNo2w/S52sS_9u4pI/AAAAAAAAA1g/s7oEfo7OmlI/s512/P1040716.JPG

It works just fine, for my needs.

Locking, swivel front casters. Non-locking, non-swivel rears.

For bracing, I built a frame using 1-1/2" square mahogany rails that ... um ... didn't quite get mortised correctly, and some scrap oak for stiles.

The brad nailer built the frame, and attached the frame to the OSB deck.

The triangular cutoffs are ... just sitting there ... doing nothing ;)

The Ridgid jointer is a fairly heavy beast. The measured sag, in the center, is negligible. The 3" additional outboard, at either end, helps with the stability of the jointer, on long pieces, too.

If anything, I think a "form-fitting" commercial base might do the opposite -- raising the center of gravity a bit.

Next one would probably use two-layer ply @ 5/8 or 3/4" thickness, each. Big believer in over-engineering.

This is my first wheeled stand. Immediately, I realized ... the rest of my tools -- already on stands -- have wheels in their futures, too. I'm not totally pressed for room, but ... the convenience and versatility ... is well worth the little bit of time/$ involved.

Good luck!

[Myk Rian]

I needed one with large wheels for my jointer. Made it out of what I had handy.

[James Combs]

Has anyone tried using angle iron to fab a mobile base? I would like to have my saw about 2-3 inches higher then standard and I was thinking last night that a few pieces of angle iron bolted together with casters mounted underneath would make a good mobile base and raise the saw at the same time. Take a look at this sketch and help me with some ideas. This sketch uses 2" angle iron. It will also need some sort of lock unless I use locking casters.:)

[Milind Patil]

James, I think this design (the one in the picture you posted) is not practical unless you are over 6' tall ! The caster which you will need to support G0690 will be at least 5" tall. Which means this design will raise the saw by at least 5 inches. That is simply too much for a saw that is 34" high (floor to table top). You need a base which supports table saw at lower level than the casters.

[Mike Heidrick]

They are more like shiping pallets.

The one my shaper came on.

http://mysite.verizon.net/resoh894/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/t1002s6.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/BloomingtonMike/base3.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/BloomingtonMike/base4.jpg

The one I made for my 16" RAS. Just 2Xs, OSB, and screws.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/BloomingtonMike/slatwall2.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/BloomingtonMike/base1.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/BloomingtonMike/base2.jpg

[Rod Sheridan]

Has anyone tried using angle iron to fab a mobile base? I would like to have my saw about 2-3 inches higher then standard and I was thinking last night that a few pieces of angle iron bolted together with casters mounted underneath would make a good mobile base and raise the saw at the same time. Take a look at this sketch and help me with some ideas. This sketch uses 2" angle iron. It will also need some sort of lock unless I use locking casters.:)

James, this is a photo of one I made for a General 650 saw.

The base is only about 3/8" to 1/2" above the floor.

The right hand side shows a black vertical post, which is the support column for an Excalibur overarm guard.

It's a great base, moves very easily.........regards, Rod.