What Kind Of Wheels For HD Use?

[Derek Arita]

I'm looking at casters on Amazon and prices are very good, however I don't know exactly what wheels I should be looking for. I want the casters for heavy duty use, so do I want poly, pvc, TPR and steel or what?

[Matt Day]

What kind of weight are we taking about here? I’ve decoded to forgo the mobile base route, build “pallets” under my big machines and find a used pallet jack.

As for wheels, to be safe each caster should be rated for the weight of the machine. 4 casters rated at 100 lb won’t hold 400 lbs.

[Doug Garson]

I use these on all my shop equipment (table saw, 14" bandsaw, 10" radial arm saw etc. (the 2" swivel with brake), on concrete floor. While these are not really heavy loads, the bigger ones have higher capacities. What do you consider heavy duty use and what type of floor do you have?

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Hardware/page.aspx?p=66166&cat=3,51976&ap=1

[Robert Hayward]

http://www.castercity.com/about.htm

The above link will give you some information to help you choose. Also on the site are compatibility charts.

[Derek Arita]

Thanks. Good tips. For my purposes, I need wheels that can handle 250lbs and not develop flat spots over time. They'll always be on concrete in the garage.

[Bruce Page]

My local caster shop (Casters of Albuquerque) recommended Red Polyurethane wheels for my 600lb Woodmaster drum sander. They replaced the horribly flat spotted OEM wheels that came with the machine’s mobile base. It’s been several years and they’re still like new.

[Rick Potter]

Ditto Bruce's experience.

My Woodmaster came with a "HD" Shop Fox base. The rubber wheels flattened almost immediately, and I have to move it with a Johnson bar. I have a pallet jack for other tools, but don't trust the mobile base to lift the sander (37"), so I got some cast iron wheels to put on the base. I only move it about 2' when I need to use it.


Hmmm. Got me thinking. The weight is mostly on the motor side. I wonder if I could lift it with the pallet jack lengthwise?

[Bill Dufour]

Anything other then steel or cast iron will develop flat spots. How much and long until they cause problems depends. That said any softer tire will make it easier to go over minor bumps in/on the floor. The bigger the diameter the better.

[Andrew Seemann]

The red polyurethane-tyred wheels seem to work of best of the non-solid steel/iron wheels. I seem to remember some FWW article coming to the a similar conclusion; no idea which issue. I think the ones I use are the Shop Fox brand. You can get them in a double locking configuration which is very nice. Hard rubber is OK, not my favorite, but it generally works for small sizes.

The soft rubber gray ones only work for really light things. I have pulled them off of most things that I put them on, because they deform with not much weight and can be difficult to roll. The ones I dislike the most are the cheap hard plastic casters. They have no give and bounce over everything; they basically have all the disadvantages of metal casters but have little capacity or stability.

Swivel casters with wheels with rounded sides turn easier, the tradeoff is that they can deform easier from the narrower cross section in contact with the ground. If you have the option of putting two fixed casters on one side of what you are mobilizing, it makes moving the item much easier. Using all swivel casters make things difficult to steer.

[Andrew Seemann]

I have to move it with a Johnson bar.

I haven't heard the term Johnson bar in ages:) Not since I worked in a research lab shop in college. I remember when we would be unable to move something with 4 guys, and then someone would say, "Looks like we'll have to Johnson it."

[Rich Engelhardt]

Forget Amazon - head on over to Casterdepot.com

They used to be Great Lakes Casters.

They have closeouts that are so inexpensive, even though you have to pay freight, the price ends up being much lower than anywhere else.
They also have a - casters 101 - info section.

Excellent content. (https://www.casterdepot.com/caster-info/?_vsrefdom=www.google.com)

[Jim Becker]

http://www.castercity.com/about.htm

The above link will give you some information to help you choose. Also on the site are compatibility charts.
That's the vendor I now use for a lot of caster purchases. Good resource.