Contractor SawStop model - replacing feet with casters?

[Jimmy Mooney]

I have a used SawStop with the 52" extension/T-glide coming today and I'm working out ideas to move it around. I work in my driveway, and I wheel tools in and out of my shed up and down a little ramp (including a 12" bandsaw on wheels, and a DW735 mounted on a cabinet with drawers). Currently I have a RIDGID R4518 that I built a base cabinet with wheels and roll it in and out. The SS with 52" table is considerably longer and heavier, but still needs to fit into the shed when not using it.

The SS mobile base only has two swiveling casters and that makes it difficult for me to move it into the space allocated in my shed -- I really need four swiveling casters so I can push it forward through the door and then slide it into place.

Has anyone ever replaced the rubber feet and posts with locking casters -- and is there anything to be worried about here? My current saw is a contractor RIDGID on a home-built cabinet with locking casters and I haven't had issues with movement but the SawStop is like 300 lbs, whereas the contractor one I have is about 65lbs. It's a considerable weight difference.

Also, if I put wheels on the main saw stand, I will probably have to replace/extend the feet on the extension table to accomodate.

Another option: I could replace the SS contractor base with another home-built wood cabinet on casters. I haven't seen anyone else do this because I imagine the weight of the machine makes this difficult.

Thanks for any advice!

[Stan Calow]

I have this saw, with the mobile base. You mention a ramp. I'd be concerned that the mobile base. or legs with casters in place of feet (which may not provide enough lateral support) wouldn't support it well during that kind of movement - its pretty top heavy. I like the idea of a home-built cabinet, but I would add some handles or something sturdy you can push/pull on to maneuver it. Maybe a compromise is a sturdy home built mobile base with casters?

[Jim Dwight]

I have a PCS with the 36 inch fence and it sits on a home built stand to raise it up to my preferred 38 inch height. The stand has wheels from a commercial mobile base but it wouldn't work for your situation. I think you can put 4 swivel casters on a home built base that will work fine. The PCS is heavier than the contractor saw and my wood base works. If you do not want it much higher, the wheels can be on kind of outriggers to get their bases above the bottom of the saw. But the saw will have to be taller by the necessary ground (ramp) clearance and the thickness of whatever supports the saw, probably 3/4 plywood if I did it. If you google mobile bases for table saws you can get some ideas. If I did it right, this is a link to one idea: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/376824693796096278/

[Andy D Jones]

I would not replace the existing feet with casters. The legs and foot attachment are designed for feet, not a free-moving caster. Though the SS has better leg braces, I had a 1980's craftsman TS, with the supplied casters, and it always felt like the legs would come apart when I rolled it around.

The Bora portamate 3550 mobile base has all 4 swivel casters, but ground clearance may be an issue going on/off the top of the ramp, depending on how steep it is. I have this base, but I have not tried it on a ramp. It is an excellent mobile base. It is currently on sale for 15% off at Woodcraft ($170).

Bora has a new model 3800 that has larger wheels (to roll over cords, cracks, etc. better), but they do not say what the ground clearance is with the feet raised. It doesn't look like it is much (if any) better than their standard bases. And it only has two swivel casters, with two non-swiveling casters.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Jimmy Mooney]

Thanks for all the advice here. Turns out that the saw wouldn't work for my shop. SawStop doesn't advertise well that most of the depth measurements on the saw don't include the depth of the motor hanging off the back. With this included depth the saw won't fit through my shop door (I have to move it in and out to the driveway as I said before) and therefore won't work for me.

Three hour round-trip drive for nothing. Oh well! Maybe I'll buy their jobsite saw someday.

[Frank Pratt]

Thanks for all the advice here. Turns out that the saw wouldn't work for my shop. SawStop doesn't advertise well that most of the depth measurements on the saw don't include the depth of the motor hanging off the back. With this included depth the saw won't fit through my shop door (I have to move it in and out to the driveway as I said before) and therefore won't work for me.

Three hour round-trip drive for nothing. Oh well! Maybe I'll buy their jobsite saw someday.

The PCS doesn't have a motor hanging out the back and is a better saw. I wouldn't get a job site saw of any kind unless I regularly needed to move it from site to site.

[Curt Harms]

I built a mobile base for a Craftsman 113.xxxx saw years ago. I made it work sort of like a wheel barrow only with 2 large fixed casters instead of a single centered wheel. I shaped the base sort of like grain wagons you see in farm country where there's a door and the bottom sections slope toward that door. Instead of a door I had a dust collector fitting. That, along with a panel with magnets attached for the back of the saw made for pretty good dust collection. I've also never had a saw with a 52" table. In part because I've always had to make my saw portable. I know people use part of the 52" tables as an assembly surface but I have a collapsible bench for that purpose. I have the fence on my Griz 1023 cut to 28" so it fits its storage space. I can rip 24" and that's all I've needed. I can't maneuver a full sheet of 3/4" plywood so use a saw and guide to size large sheet goods so I can handle them.

[Alan Lightstone]

I don't want to violate the forum rules, but I have a very long blog on another woodworking website that describes in detail building a new wood cabinet for a SawStop contractors saw. It greatly improved dust collection, and provided a huge amount of storage. Plus it was on casters.

Try googling: "Sawstop and Router Cabinet / Infeed Table / Outfeed Table Project"

The weight of the saw wasn't a problem. I built a sturdy cabinet for it.