Moving heavy machinery around the shop

[Larry A Miller]

I have a garage based shop that by necessity for family life has to be mobile, meaning I move machines into and out of use positions as needed. I recently found a local seller who has an old PM FS305 and Pm180. Both are in good condition with Byrd heads. Well cared for. The jointer (900lbs) will largely be stationary but I would have to move the planer into and out of position. It weighs 1250lbs. I was thinking of bolting one or both onto machinery rollers (strongway or something similar) but I don’t know how difficult it is to push and pull this kind of weight around. The floor is concrete with a slight slant. My goal is to do this without injury, if that’s not realistic then I’ll have to go with a smaller planer. I’m open to suggestions and critiques. Thank you.

[Patrick Kane]

Hey Larry, I wouldn’t screw around with the mobile bases. I would keep the machines on skids up off the concrete, and buy a pallet jack. You will be able to easily move both of those machines with it, and it will be very useful for future machine moves.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Larry, if the concrete floor is smooth you shouldn’t have too much trouble moving the machines around on wheels. You could build a mobile base for the planer and I’d recommend heavy duty steel casters if going that route. You could also find a used pallet jack and block your machines up on 4x4s or similar and move them around that way.

I have a 1500# 20” SCM planer on a mobile base with steel casters (built by previous owner) and a pretty roughly finished basement slab that’s not smooth or flat and I still manage to drag it around a bit when I need to shift it out of the way at certain times. I would recommend all 4 casters be the swiveling type otherwise you can get into some annoying directional situations if trying to move the machine in a cramped space. If I had more room in my shop to keep it close by permanently I would use one of the 2 pallet jacks I own to move it around, but my space is cramped as it is and don’t really need to move it more than a few feet usually.

[Richard Coers]

Mini pallet jack. https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680712_200680712

[Bill Dufour]

The bigger the wheels the easier they roll. I used 14" cast iron ag wheels on my tablesaw. It weights around 900 pounds and moves fairly easy. then diameter has to do with the angle of attack over a small bump or piece of something is reduced. With a small diameter almost all the movement is vertical and the gravity component is huge.
Bil lD

[andy bessette]

...I would keep the machines on skids up off the concrete, and buy a pallet jack...

This, pallet jack.

[John C Bush]

Hi Larry,
I built mobile bases for a 900# lathe, 1200# jointer, 600# planer, 500# BS, with 3" x 1/4" angle iron and leveling casters--Santa brought me a Mig welder a few Xmases ago. I "park" the machines against the walls of the shop and easily roll them out a couple of feet to use, then back when done. I can scroll down the "feet" on the casters when milling large or heavy stock but don't need to very often. My shop floor is smooth and level so just a little muscle is needed to move them around. The DC ducting is ceiling mounted with 4" flex hose drops with power cords and automatic gate wiring attached. Works great for my hobby shop. The casters are from Great Lakes and IIRC they are 300# rated. 500# rated caster are available as well. If you like those machines -go for it- mobile base will work just fine for you. Good luck.

[Keith Outten]

I agree with Patrick, a pallet jack is the best solution.

I purchased the mini pallet jack from Northern Tools a few years ago, can't believe I waited so long.
I can move the heaviest machines in my shop with a fraction of the effort using the wheels I installed when I built most of the stands.
I can park the pallet jack under my table saw wing, laser engraver or a dozen other places to keep it out of the way until I need it. I have even used it to move lawn mowers and other pieces of equipment when I need to work on them when space is tight. It's nice to be able to spin yard machines around in their own length when I have to.

[andy bessette]

I moved my 2000 pound milling machine with my pallet jack.

[Jared Sankovich]

Another pallet jack user here.

[Clifford McGuire]

For those that use a pallet jack, what do you have for the base of the heavy equipment? A real pallet?

[Larry A Miller]

It sounds like the pallet jack is the most common solution. The wheels on those are pretty small. Regarding Bill’s point about wheel diameter, why isn’t that any issue?

[Ron Magliocco]

I have these under 2 machines and have been very happy with them. They only raise the machine about 1/2” off the floor.

[Brice Rogers]

The pallet jack approach is pretty solid and pretty do-able.

I worked on a high-tech electronics project involving nuclear energy with heavy shielding and we had two heavy equipment bays that weighed 16,000 pounds each. I was able to roll them into and out of position by myself. (think of the equation force = mass x acceleration - - as long as I kept pushing it with a constant force, it would slowly move at an increasing pace). We were using industrial recirculating bearing rollers. But the concrete under it had to be totally clean. Even a small piece of wire clipping was a big impediment.

[Jim Becker]

For those that use a pallet jack, what do you have for the base of the heavy equipment? A real pallet?
One common method is to place stout wood cauls under the tool aligned with the normal "feet" that sit on the floor, fastening them in place, of course. These do raise the tool height, but provide the clearance necessary for the jack to slip under them. So it's kinda like a pallet without the pallet part. :) The required thickness for the cauls depends upon the specific machine. Some machines have built in provisions for using a pallet jack. My slider is that way.

[Andy D Jones]

The Bora 35xx series (including 3550) are rated for 1500 lbs. My ~850 lb planer/jointer is no problem to move on a 3550 across my garage floor (slightly better than my concrete driveway's finish, but certainly not a polished surface). And when the base is locked, it is very stable.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Alan Lightstone]

Felder suggested I get a narrow pallet jack before my equipment was delivered, and it was definitely money well spent. I took the Northern Tool route also.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

For those that use a pallet jack, what do you have for the base of the heavy equipment? A real pallet?


The wheels on a pallet jack are bigger than any mobility base that I know of. They are also on bearings and the push/pull forces are easy to apply directly to wheel height by the handle. You can really shove on a pallet jack. I was moving a pallet of thinset yesterday, #3500 and it's fairly effortless. Sweep first, but once you get it moving it's momentum keeps it going over little debris.

[Andy D Jones]

Felder suggested I get a narrow pallet jack before my equipment was delivered, and it was definitely money well spent. I took the Northern Tool route also.

It was Felder (in Dallas) that recommended the PM3500/3550 for my Hammer A3-41, since I needed it to roll lengthwise in my shop setup (their mobility kit only supported rolling broadside, and steering).

The delivery driver put the machine, on its pallet, in my garage. I had cut 30" long ramps out of a 2x4 to help get his pallet truck over the 1-5/8" step from the driveway to the garage floor.

I rented an engine lift to transfer it off the shipping pallet, onto the mobile base.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Joe Jensen]

I just moved an 1100 lb machine 150 feet up a paver driveway that is not especially flat with a pallet jack. I was worried about how it would roll but no issue at all.