Preferred Mobile Bases?

[Steve Mathews]

Most of my woodworking machines are on mobile bases. Some work better than others but the best is one that was made by the previous owner of my cabinet saw. It's a simple design made out of 2" square tube with hard rubber wheels, 1 swivel on one end and 2 fixed on the other. It's my largest base that spans the cabinet saw and extension table but is the easiest to move around. The design works so well that I'm planning to make and replace all of my other bases with the same design. What is your preferred mobile base?

[Carlos Alvarez]

The only mobile bases I've used are the HTC, and I find them 100% easy and stable. So I can't give you a comparison, but I can tell you that as an impatient and picky person, I find these to be perfect. In fact I keep my jointer on one even though it never moves, because it's more stable than the jointer on the floor directly.

[Rod Sheridan]

My preferred base is the semi-live skid design.

It raises the machine a very slight amount, it can be made with large wheels to roll over objects, and it's perfectly stable when using the machine.

It's also the least expensive as all you have to do is drill 2 axle holes and put a small bracket on the other end of the machine. The capacity is almost limitless, it's often used on machines up to 2,000 pounds.

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regards, Rod.

[Nick Decker]

You had me at the pink streamers!

[Rod Sheridan]

You had me at the pink streamers!

Ha, thanks!

That's my older brother in the photo with his new Hammer N4400 band saw I delivered to his house last year.

I made the mobile base and tow bar, when I was in the store buying the rubber bicycle handle grips, I saw those streamers, couldn't resist.

You can tell from the smile on his face that he appreciated the joke, his grand-children love it.........Regards, Rod.

[Peter Christensen]

The mobile base for the big SawStop is great. A few foot pumps of the hydraulic jack lifts her up, you can roll the saw anywhere you want, then step on the leaver and down she comes. The only downside is the cost but for machines under a thousand pounds that will fit it can't be beat. Okay you have to have a reasonably flat floor too.

[Frederick Skelly]

JET - both regular and heavier duty models.

[joel cervera]

I don't weld so have needed to buy mine. I have one under my vintage uni that barely handles the weight. It works but is not ideal. Don't remember the brand. On there other hand I have two large machines. A vintage 20" Delta Bandsaw. About 700 lbs. The other is a minimax fs350 combo jointer/planer. Also about 700-750 lbs. Both are on Rockler all-terrain mobile bases. These machines are a pleasure to move around the shop. Highly recommended product.

[Earl Rumans]

I think the Jet mobile bases are the best. The thing I like most about them is the machine doesn't raise and lower, the wheels lock. I had the HTC and on a heavy machine it's hard to control the drop, some times it drops fairly hard, when you have it where you want it. I have all my machines on Jet bases.

[Mike Cutler]

I've had good luck with the Jet, Heavy duty, mobile base. Jet # 708119. I have them under my table saws, shaper, 18" band saw, and drum sander. Weights of my machines range from 250-550lbs.

[Brad Alexander]

Got one of these for my Powermatic 65. Its a beast and it rolls easily, for $75.
https://www.palletforks.com/adjustable-mobile-base-1200-lb-capacity-heavy-duty-universal.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw--DLBRCNARIsAFIwR26c_UKAjf4gNF737ES6rwR28mTlDBB3RgFZ YVXTx3D0ZcZTIK-_YAkaAmrgEALw_wcB

[Bill Adamsen]

Home-made. I have welded up a number of bases following examples by others. Examples that come to mind are Chuck Hess (Olivers) (https://www.hesswoodwork.com) and actually a great post here by Joe Jensen on the rehab of an SCM F3 (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?97380-SCMI-F3a-Jointer-Refurb-Completed-(lots-of-pics)) which illustrates perhaps the best mobile base design I've ever seen.

[Cary Falk]

I hate mobile bases with 2 fixed wheels. All of my tools must be on wheels so they can be moved into 1/3 of a 3 car garage at the end of the day. It is a puzzle the way everything fits. I buy 360 degree swivel, locking casters and weld my own.

[Nick Lazz]

Most of my woodworking machines are on mobile bases. Some work better than others but the best is one that was made by the previous owner of my cabinet saw. It's a simple design made out of 2" square tube with hard rubber wheels, 1 swivel on one end and 2 fixed on the other. It's my largest base that spans the cabinet saw and extension table but is the easiest to move around. The design works so well that I'm planning to make and replace all of my other bases with the same design. What is your preferred mobile base?

It's not my rule, so don't kill the messenger, but without a picture it doesn't really exist here on the forum. ;) I would like to see said mobile base.
I like mobile bases that are integrated into the bottom of the machine. I don't use them a lot but I dont like the one on my Laguna BS, where I need the stick to pull it. A better design would have been to add casters with a foot control to where you could pop them down to move and then release them back up when you wanted it stationary. Not a big fan of bases that sit too far outside the machine...which most are unless they are built in.

I had an old one in my shop I just cut down and re-welded to fit a spindle sander. It cost $0 and fits fairly snug with a low profile outside the machine so, thats probably my favorite.

[Bill Adamsen]

Shown is a base Joe Jensen fabricated for an SCM F3 rehab a few years ago. I thought this the "cat's meow" when I saw it, and have fabricated a few similar since seeing it.
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?97380-SCMI-F3a-Jointer-Refurb-Completed-(lots-of-pics)

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[Randy Heinemann]

Brad,

Is it correct that, each time you move the tool, the 2 feet would need to be retracted using the 2 threaded knobs? In the picture I see no other way to allow the tool to rest on just the casters. Isn't this a little inconvenient for a tool that would be moved into a usable position and back against the wall frequently? Other than that, it seems like a very heavy duty mobile base.

Also, I assume that there is no reason that a piece of 3/4" plywood couldn't be attached to allow bolting a tool to the mobile base for tools like a bandsaw or drill press where having a base wider than the base of the tool itself might desirable for stability.

[John Sanford]

Preferred mobile base, Characteristics:


It will provide enough clearance that the BASE doesn't high center or otherwise catch on things.

It will have large enough wheels that I don't have to get the shop photo-shoot ready in order to move my tools.

It will not flex during use, or at least not enough to either interfere with use or raise concerns of failure.

It will spin on a dime.

It will be unobstrusive, i.e. not viciously attacking my toes or attempting to trip me as I go buy.

It will lock/lift/lower easily when needed.

[Charlie Hinton]

HTC 2000 is my go to aftermarket mobile base.

[Phillip Gregory]

I work in a basement shop and everything is on mobile bases except my drill press and grinder, which sit in the furnace room and do not need to move. I have a number of the Shop Fox 600 pound mobile bases and I have also built some of my own for pieces of equipment with too large of a footprint to work with a premade mobile base, or too heavy to work with one. The advantages of the Shop Fox base are that the machine only sits about an inch higher than it would if you put it directly on the ground, and it also has built in jack screws to immobilize the base. These work fine but anything with a door in its base such as a bandsaw or most of Grizzly's mounted-on-a-cabinet sanders will hit on the bolts used to hold the rails in place. You would need to

I put casters underneath my Norm Abram router table since it was trivially easy to do so, and I had to make my own mobile base for my DeWalt GE with a 48" x 36" footprint, and also for my ~2200 pound Whitney No. 134 shaper. I half-lapped some 2x8s and put inexpensive 5" casters underneath the GE, it works great. I used 2x6s and bolted doubled-up stringers at the ends to the rails for the Whitney, and used the heaviest casters I could get without lifting the table up ridiculously high (5" 660 pound casters.) Pushing 900 pounds on 5" wheels is easy but pushing 2200 pounds isn't, but it's doable, particularly if you plan your turns well in advance to get the machine moving in the direction the two swivel wheels are already pointed and THEN steer it.


I hate mobile bases with 2 fixed wheels. All of my tools must be on wheels so they can be moved into 1/3 of a 3 car garage at the end of the day. It is a puzzle the way everything fits. I buy 360 degree swivel, locking casters and weld my own.

I dislike mobile bases with four swivel wheels. I did my Norm Abram router table that way and I always seem to have at least one wheel pointed perpendicular to the direction of travel, making it difficult to push at first. That's not that big of a deal with a router table that maybe weighs 100 pounds but put four swivel wheels under something heavy and it becomes impossible to push. Everything else since then has had two fixed and two swivel wheels. It takes a little more jockeying around to parallel park, but it's much easier than skidding a machine across a wheel turned perpendicular to the direction of travel.

[Frankie Hunt]

I have everything on the Delta style mobile base except for my 18" Laguna bandsaw. It uses a tow bar.

The Delta style is great. Use your foot to raise the base, use your toe to lower. No bending over and turning screws. Very stable, not depending upon a screw to tighten against a wheel. The pad also has more contact with the floor than the touching surface of a round wheel.

I do NOT like 4 swivel wheels, it is often hard to push your equipment it a particular direction because one or more wheels are pointed in the wrong direction. Not only is the starting direction awkward, it takes more effort to stay going in the direction you want to go. Having 2 fixed wheels it is MUCH easier to control the precise path of movement. I can maneuver within an 1/8" of another piece of equipment. With 4 swivel wheels, I would have to allow MUCH more room. I also think 4 swivel wheels are less stable when locked. The circular movement of the wheels allows a little bit of movement even when locked.

The tow bar for the Laguna works fine. Same as the Delta mobile bases, only using the tow bar as the third wheel instead of the foot control.

If I had to start all over I would consider a mini pallet jack and putting everything on a little custom made pallet. The pallet in the picture is too big for my liking. I would size it smaller in all dimensions. A pallet jack would not be very hard to store either, just slip it under something only taking up the very small footprint of the handle. (something I had not considered before) The only negative would be that everything would be raised up a few inches. (that may or may not be important to you)

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