Heavy duty double locking casters?

[Mark Rios]

I'm looking for four heavy duty double locking casters for a mobile base for my new Unisaw. Are these two webpages for the same casters?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=1989

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?Offerings_ID=5819&TabSelect=Details

Are these any good? Does anyone have any other recommendations?

I'm looking for 4" or 5" double locking casters with at least a 250# rating per each caster.


Thanks very much for your advice.

[Spence DePauw]

I've had good luck with these from Grizzley. Price isn't a major difference from Woodcraft, but it is another source.

http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2006/Main/264

Spence

[Jim DeLaney]

Mark,
I've used - and like - the ones from Woodcraft. Be advised, though, that Hartville Hardware has the same casters for a couple dollars less. You might want to check out their website.

One last question/comment. Are you building your own mobile base? Reason I ask is that the Woodcraft/Hartville casters won't fit on the pads on most commercial bases. Well, they'll bolt up - they just don't have enough clearance to swivel.

[Mark Rios]

Mark,
I've used - and like - the ones from Woodcraft. Be advised, though, that Hartville Hardware has the same casters for a couple dollars less. You might want to check out their website.

One last question/comment. Are you building your own mobile base? Reason I ask is that the Woodcraft/Hartville casters won't fit on the pads on most commercial bases. Well, they'll bolt up - they just don't have enough clearance to swivel.

Thnaks Jim, no....I'm having a base made to my specs tha will have inverted angle iron at the corners to mount the caster plates to.

Thanks again.

[Jerry White]

Mark,

I can only speak for the casters from Woodcraft. I bought a few and liked them so much I went back and bought more. They seem to be heavy duty with a positive double lock.

Hope this is of some help.

Jerry

[Jim Becker]

Mine are from Lee Valley...'have them on my router table and on my kitchen island. 4" grey rubber tires and a very easy to use double-locking system.

[Chris Padilla]

Griz has a whole bunch of casters...take a look-see.

[Allen Bookout]

Mark,

I have used HD and Grizzly double locking casters but like the Hartville Tool casters much better. Seems like that the Hartville and Grizzly are about the same price. One of the main reasons that I prefer the Hartville's is that they are always easy to lock and unlock. They perform well.

If a search brings up anything you will see that I am not the only one that likes the Hartville casters.

Do not get the type with only one bolt attachment. I have found that they have too much play and tend to move around a bit. At least that was the case with the four of that type that I got from Grizzly. The ones with a plate and four bolt holes were OK.

http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11883

[Bob Noles]

I have to vote with Allen on the Hartvilletool casters. Everything in my shop sits on them and they are GREAT!

[Don Bergren]

I've used both the 3" and 5" casters from Woodcraft. They roll easy and lock solid. So far I've used four 3" casters on a 38" W x 7' L rolling work table and they've been great. I also have four of the 5" casters on a cart for plywood handling and I'm real happy with them. I have another set of four 3" casters for an upcoming project, and also expect them to work perfectly based on my previous experiences.

The next time I'm in need of casters I plan on trying the Hartville Tool casters due to good reviews from a number of users. They look real good and are a bit less money. Plus Hartville Tool is very generous to folks who know the secret password. ;)

[Bruce Benjamin]

Another vote for the Hartville casters. I've used the Grizzly casters and then switched to the Hartville casters and not only do the Hartville ones seem to function better with locking but they are also rated for a heavier load. In my opinion, the Grizzly casters are good but the Hartville casters are clearly superior in at least a couple of ways. Also, don't forget the, "Woodnet 15%" discount. Just add that in the, "Instructions" box and when they ship them they will deduct the 15%, not on the initial order total.

Bruce

[Thomas Canfield]

You can also find heavy duty casters in all types at www.castercity.com. I ordered a set and they have worked well. They have a full line of rubber, plastic tire, and metal.

[Cecil Arnold]

Mark, I have 4 of the Woodcraft casters under my PM 3520a, which is 250-400 lbs heavier than that Uni. They work well.

[Bill Fields]

I probably have 25-30 5" and 6" in service. They are OK--for the price--which is WAY below all the others.

No offerings of locking casters, I think.

Here's the caveat--about 10-15% are badly out of round. So, best to shop the retail outlets. Sending back a $4 item does not make sense.

As to locking, I use the rubber furniture rug protectors. They work pretty well--at least as well as some of the "locking" casters.

Tempted by the Hartville offerings--but they seem to be "discontinued" on the sizes I'm interested in.

BILL FIELDS

[Chris Padilla]

One thing to keep in mind regarding the size of the wheel: the larger the wheel, the easier to move and the easier to go over things like the expansion joints in concrete, extension cords, etc. A 14-gauge extension cord will stop a 3" caster dead in it's tracks (and empty everything off the top of the table if moving the table quickly...DAMHIKT!! :( )

[glenn bradley]

Hartville here as well. Work great.

[Bruce Benjamin]

One thing to keep in mind regarding the size of the wheel: the larger the wheel, the easier to move and the easier to go over things like the expansion joints in concrete, extension cords, etc. A 14-gauge extension cord will stop a 3" caster dead in it's tracks (and empty everything off the top of the table if moving the table quickly...DAMHIKT!! :( )

Depends on how much the tool weighs. I have 3" casters on just about every tool I own and they work fine for me. I have my TS/Router table on casters as well as my jointer, (both of which weigh hundreds of pounds) and they both have rolled right over my 12 gauge cord without missing a beat. I really try not to do that since I'm sure it's not good for the cord but the rolling tools don't mind. Granted, for my lighter work bench or my planer a larger wheel will be easier but they still roll over everything else with no problems at all. You shouldn't be rolling over your cords anyway no matter how big your wheels are. The only major crack I have in my garage shop is at the big garage door and sometimes I'll roll one or more of my tools out onto the driveway. I feel the bump but the 3" casters don't stop at all. I guess it depends on how big the obstacles are.

The reason I didn't go with larger casters is that they were cheaper but mostly because I wanted to keep the center of gravity lower. Also, the larger the caster the more leverage there is that wants to rip off the casters from the bottom of the tool. As it turns out, the 3" have been perfect for me.

Bruce

[Chris Padilla]

Yes, my workbench had quite a bit of wieght on it so the extension cord did stop me dead in my tracks! :D Any, yes, I know I shouldn't be rolling over cords but I wasn't aware it was there....

[Bryan Hunt]

I got the casters for my rolling workbench from http://www.californiacaster.com

I called them up and told them I wanted a caster that locked both directions and had a plate with holes spaced such that it would fit under the end of a 4x4. They had exactly what I wanted.

Bryan

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

http://www.zambus.com/