home made mobil base

[Mike Stanton]

:o I made an mobil base fot my jointer the other day. It is made out of two pices of 5/8 plywood glued and screw with old wheels I had then bolt the jointer down it works great. I got the idea from John Priv Who got it from John Adamsat the ridgid fourm . Thank you both for your help Mike

[Jerry Olexa]

Good, inexpensive, practical way to handle it..Nice job. Most mobile bases are near a $100. This way you can buy more tools...:)

[Ted Shrader]

Mike -

Looks strong, quick and easy. Do the wheels have locks on them?

Ted

[Bruce Page]

Mike, how do you keep it from moving during use? Are those jack-screws next to the casters, and if so, are they going to be stout enough? There is a lot of lateral push on a jointer particularly when face jointing.

[Steve Clardy]

Good idea!!

[Dave Richards]

Mike, good job. It looks to me like you have bolts or threaded rods to use as legs to keep the thing from moving. Is that right? How do they work?

[Tyler Howell]

I spy threaded rod to level and lock it in place. Good one.

[James Carmichael]

Nice work, Mike. I have the same jointer with a surplus mobile base I bought from Jordan Supply or some such (an SMC member posted the link). Glad to see you bolted it to the base, that light, narrow on the Ridgid's base makes it a bit spooky. Since my #1 helper is my 2-year-old son and the fence extension is just the right height to make a tempting ledge for him to swing from, I went 1 step further by driving a couple of bicycle hooks into the wall studs near the floor and hook the rail of the base into them when not in use.

P.S. the jointer is my first store-bought mobile base. Others for my planer, band saw, and router table use $1.49 swivel casters from Big Lots + scrap plywood or OSB scrounged from construction sites. Total cost: around $10 for a custom mobile base. As for leveling feet, just drill holes for threaded rod, epoxy a nut of the appropriate size and thread around the hole on the bottom side of the base, (and/or countersink the nut), then add a star, T, or whatever type of knob suits you.

[Mike Stanton]

:D The bolts work great to hold it in place and to level it.I have an planer so I dont use it to plane boards just to put good edge on boards. If you have any guestions email me be glad to help. Mike

[Jerry Ingraham]

Looks great! I have often wondered (but never asked) why mobile bases couldn't be so simply made rather than purchased. I guess the immobilization issue is probably the key. Your solution seems to be the answer for me. I suppose the extra height could be an issue as well, although in my case with a tenedency for back pain, the extra few inches in height would probably be a benefit. I used carriage bolts to level my HUGE outfeed table and they work great.