Mobile Base from 2x4's w/ 3" casters?

[Sean Kinn]

I've looked at all sorts of home-built mobile bases here and on other forums, and I've seen some very elaborate setups. I'm just looking for a simple way to move my band saw and drill press around my small shop. Any folks out there ever just build a simple 2x4 frame with some decent double-locking casters? Only real negative I can think of is that it would raise the height just a tad more than a fancy pre-made steel unit, and that the footprint may just be slightly larger. I figure even with decent casters, and misc. nuts and bolts I should only be into $30/ea at most versus $60+ for a pre-made unit. Any other thoughts? Thanks.

[Rich Rice]

I'm going to build one for my Rikon 14" BS this week, either angle iron or 2X4's.. Harbor Freight has casters way cheap.

[Cary Falk]

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0310a.jpg
Not 2x4's and not a bandsaw but along the same lines. This is made from 5/4 RO with 4" casters. Bandsaw should be fine on 2x4's. I have seen some cabinet saws on 2x4's and plywood. After building it, I like it better than any store bought base I have. I do wish i had a welder though.

[Kendall Landry]

I built a 4" x 4" moble for a bench top drill press with 2 swivel and 2 non swivel 4" casters. Carriage bolted together. Made it bout 16" high so I can sit in a chair while drilling. I have arthritis and need to sit when I can. Fast and easy to build. No welding.

[Rich Rice]

Not 2x4's and not a bandsaw but along the same lines. This is made from 5/4 RO with 4" casters. Bandsaw should be fine on 2x4's. I have seen some cabinet saws on 2x4's and plywood. After building it, I like it better than any store bought base I have. I do wish i had a welder though.


Nice base. Looks real classy. Awesome looking saw, too. I wish I had the space for a big unit like that one...

[Sean Kinn]

Now that's what I'm talking about! Nice simple square frame with 4 casters. Thanks fellas. I don't mind spending the hard earned cash on a machine, but for some reason the pre-made mobile bases just strike me as overly expensive for what they are.

[Don Taylor]

Here are some simple home-built mobile bases:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p48/Dontee47/Picture1-1.jpg http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p48/Dontee47/Picture2-1.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p48/Dontee47/Picture1.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p48/Dontee47/Picture2.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p48/Dontee47/Picture3.jpg

Hope this helps

DT

[Larry Rasmussen]

It's an HTC 2000, almost two of them as a matter of fact. Picked them up during a close out "as is" sale HTC was having. Not quite two units as the adjustable feet and hardware to level the unit were missing from one box although overall everything was pretty much as new and I've got a set of directions.

I just took this base off my router table yesterday, I found I like another shop built option better and am going back to it as I rebuild the set up. I already have the parts and casters on hand so it was just a matter of picking which set up I like best.

With the extra parts you could expand the size the HTC 2000 will accomodate. You can read about the product on amazon.com if you are so inclined.

Terms- you pay UPS ground from Seattle 98101, I'll put a note in the box as to how much is was, you can send a check. Probably $10-20. I have tripped over it a couple times today and voila- here is your post. It would be my pleasure to pass it along to you.

Drop me an email at larry206@comcast.net if you want to give it a try. I can pack it tomorrow for pick up Tues morning. I would not like emails from anyone else expressing an interest if Sean can't use it. I will dontate it locally.

Larry

[Jim Becker]

Cary's got the right idea for a table saw setup...you could even use a little angle iron on the inside of the 2-by material for the machine shelf to keep it as close to the floor as possible. And make sure you use double locking casters...they need to lock for both rolling and for swivel to be stable for this application. IMHO, of course.

For the DP...simplest way to move it around is with a hand truck. Do be careful with any mobility for a DP as they are extremely top heavy and easy to tip if you zig or zag too quickly... ;)

[Sean Kinn]

Wow...I've been on various forums for years and I'm still amazed at how helpful everyone is. This forum is definitely a wealth of info. I'm new here, and I've already learned so much by reading through the old posts. Larry - your offer was amazing, thanks a million. However, I decided to go the home-built route for now. I've got some 2x4s laying around, and I ordered up some decent casters from Grizzly. Don, that's nearly identical to what I was thinking for my Delta DP. I figure these will get me by for now until move back to the country and build "THE" shop. If I want to build something more elaborate then I'll just recycle the casters.

[Cary Falk]

...you could even use a little angle iron on the inside of the 2-by material for the machine shelf to keep it as close to the floor as possible.

That's what I did. You can barely see the white 2" angle iron at the base of the tablesaw.

[Frank Hagan]

That's what I did. You can barely see the white 2" angle iron at the base of the tablesaw.

I'm wondering why your table saw is not "shop trained" yet!

Looks like a puddle there ... ;)

I'm thinking of re-doing my cheapie HF stand I bought for my band saw; its never been convenient to use, but looking at these pics, I guess I do have all the hardware I need to make a better one.

[Cary Falk]

I'm wondering why your table saw is not "shop trained" yet!

Looks like a puddle there ... ;)
.
That was from my little contractor saw when I turned on the Uni for the first time. :eek:

[Larry Rasmussen]

I was going to suggest Grizzly but you beat me to it. The thing I didn't like about the HTC was the system that elevated it, I'd rather just lock up the wheels and have everything stay just where it is. Have fun and welcome. I'm pretty new myself and have learned so much here. It never wears off either, the postings are contstantly varying to introduce topics that engage me even though some themes run along over time. LR

[Brian Erickson]

The Delta 50-345 (the one you have to make the wooden slats) was on sale at my local Lowe's for $12. I'm pretty sure that's cheaper than buying castors...:D

[Greg Doyle-Wandell]

Here are some simple home-built mobile bases:

Hope this helps

DT

Don

I have a similar drill press and wanted some sort of mobile stand, but because it is so top heavy I have been concerned about it tipping at the wrong time (well, at all).

How does your mobile base function with this in mind? It is a nice solution that I would like to borrow.

Greg

[Jim Heffner]

Sean, there seems to be a multitude of mobile bases around for about any application that you could think of or have a need for. I was reading the thread about this and I looked in my Popular Mechanics "Do it yourself
Encyclopedias" I bought the entire set of these books from a thrift store about a year ago (all 20 volumes) about $20.00 these are from 1978!

The second volume has a section on building a mobile base for a Delta Unisaw...it belongs to one of the contributing authors of these books
his name is Harry Wicks. He says that everytime his saw appears in
of the written stories in Popular Mechanics he gets a ton of letters asking about the saw dolly underneath his saw...so he did an article on it
explaining all the necessary info. for anyone wanting to build one for themselves. The point to this is....most good mobile bases are built out of necessity....whether or not they start out as shopmade or factory made.
I think you have the right idea about building your own....make it to suit
your own needs and machines you will be a lot happier in the long run.

Woodcraft and others have mobile base corner kits with the casters in them... for a few bucks, you cut a proper size piece of 3/4" plywood
bolt the corners on and you have a good solid mobile base! I have one
under my 6" jointer and it works great....not a thing of beauty...but I
don't care....it is the mobility I need here instead. Hope this idea and the long post helps you decide.....Don't forget to look in some older books
some of the info. there will inspire some good ideas even today.
Jim Heffner

[John Seiffer]

I like the bases that keep the machines close to the ground - I'm going to redo my drill press base because I just put it up on casters and it's so high I don't like working on it.

The best casters I've found are from Hartville tool
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11883

They are only a bit more $$ than the ones from Harbor Freight but much easier to lock in place (I have some HF ones and have to jiggle them if they are not in the right position.)

[Dave Sinkus]

Their 3" casters at $3.99 each. Bought em.

I am going to build a mobile base for the contractor's saw I have in the garage/shop. probably 3/4" ply and 2x4. Maybe some flashy pocket holes for the bolts..... Goal is to be able to wheel it outside for cutting, blow off the wood dust, and roll it back in. It's only 70 lbs. but I'm tired of stepping on the power cord, etc.

[Jason White]

Hi Jim.

Would you be willing to email or PM me a picture of the Harry Wicks base that you describe?

Thanks.

Jason



Sean, there seems to be a multitude of mobile bases around for about any application that you could think of or have a need for. I was reading the thread about this and I looked in my Popular Mechanics "Do it yourself
Encyclopedias" I bought the entire set of these books from a thrift store about a year ago (all 20 volumes) about $20.00 these are from 1978!

The second volume has a section on building a mobile base for a Delta Unisaw...it belongs to one of the contributing authors of these books
his name is Harry Wicks. He says that everytime his saw appears in
of the written stories in Popular Mechanics he gets a ton of letters asking about the saw dolly underneath his saw...so he did an article on it
explaining all the necessary info. for anyone wanting to build one for themselves. The point to this is....most good mobile bases are built out of necessity....whether or not they start out as shopmade or factory made.
I think you have the right idea about building your own....make it to suit
your own needs and machines you will be a lot happier in the long run.

Woodcraft and others have mobile base corner kits with the casters in them... for a few bucks, you cut a proper size piece of 3/4" plywood
bolt the corners on and you have a good solid mobile base! I have one
under my 6" jointer and it works great....not a thing of beauty...but I
don't care....it is the mobility I need here instead. Hope this idea and the long post helps you decide.....Don't forget to look in some older books
some of the info. there will inspire some good ideas even today.
Jim Heffner

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Here's a link to a post with pictures and plans of mine:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=72796

Paul

[Jason White]

Cary, what is the total table height of your saw on this base?

Jason


http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0310a.jpg
Not 2x4's and not a bandsaw but along the same lines. This is made from 5/4 RO with 4" casters. Bandsaw should be fine on 2x4's. I have seen some cabinet saws on 2x4's and plywood. After building it, I like it better than any store bought base I have. I do wish i had a welder though.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Duh! Sorry. You said Band Saw and Drill Press. The plans I posted probably wouldn't work well in that case.

But... Glenn Bradley made a pretty good mobile base for his Drill Press. You might try sending him a PM.

Paul


Here's a link to a post with pictures and plans of mine:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=72796

Paul

[Josiah Bartlett]

I'm not entirely happy with my shop fox mobile base, but one really good feature that it has is the locking feet. Its a bolt threaded through the base with a foot on it and a knob. You crank the knob down and it takes a bit of weight off the casters. It works a lot better than a locking caster and it can also be used to level your tool when you are dealing with uneven floors.