Curt Harms
02-12-2008, 7:36 PM
There is a related thread but I decided to start another one rather than hijack the existing thread. Below are 3 pics of the mobile base I dreamed up. I based it on one in Wood Magazine a few years ago, except it's steel, stouter, and the handle is removable. The issues I had were
The machine had to be portable.
The handles couldn't obstruct the planer infeed
I didn't want to push or pull on the tables to move it.
I didn't want to bend over to lock or unlock any locking mechanisms.The handles are temporary, I had no real idea how long they needed to be in order to lift one end of the mobile base without too much effort. They're just under 3' now, I think I'll make the permanent ones 6"-9" longer. It works pretty well, just hook angle iron bolted to the front casters under the angle iron of the raised portion of the base, push down on the handle which lifts the front of the machine and roll away. I thought about making all 4 wheels swivel instead of just the front 2 but decided against it for now. That may change with use, we'll see. I don't need to maneuver it a lot, just straight out and perhaps turn 90 degrees. One day soon I'll actually run some wood through this thing:o
The machine had to be portable.
The handles couldn't obstruct the planer infeed
I didn't want to push or pull on the tables to move it.
I didn't want to bend over to lock or unlock any locking mechanisms.The handles are temporary, I had no real idea how long they needed to be in order to lift one end of the mobile base without too much effort. They're just under 3' now, I think I'll make the permanent ones 6"-9" longer. It works pretty well, just hook angle iron bolted to the front casters under the angle iron of the raised portion of the base, push down on the handle which lifts the front of the machine and roll away. I thought about making all 4 wheels swivel instead of just the front 2 but decided against it for now. That may change with use, we'll see. I don't need to maneuver it a lot, just straight out and perhaps turn 90 degrees. One day soon I'll actually run some wood through this thing:o