Welded Mobile Bases

[Steven DeMars]

I have searched the SMC Forums for "Pictures" of welded mobile bases.

I currently have a typical what I call lightweight factory mobile base on my Delta Contractors Saw 5X, Dewalt Scroll Saw & Delta 14" Bandsaw 5X.

While I am happy with these, especially the Delta unit, I need one for a new piece of equipment.

I just purchased a JET 12" Jointer/Planer Combo. Unit weighs 530 lbs. I am wanting to build a welded heavy gauge (3/16") angle iron mobile stand with ZAMBUS like casters from Great Lakes Caster. These casters can support 220 lbs each rolling and 550 lbs when the pads are down @ a 1/3 of the cost. I am considering using (5) casters, an "H" pattern with one centered off the back as a sort of "outrigger" for support when the jointer table is tilted back wards. With proper design, I should not have to elevate the unit more than a 1/2" when rolling or stationary.

I was hoping for some input and ideas from those of you that have built are at least "paper" designed the ultimate mobile stand. What ever ideas I get I will post the finished product. :o

[Rod Sheridan]

I made this base for a General 650 with 32" rip rails and an Excalibur overarm guard.......Rod.

P.S. It's made from 2" X 2" X3/16" HRS angle. and raises the tablesaw 1/2" above the floor.

[Murray Roblin]

Check the forums at owwm.com and search on mobile stands. There are several pictures of interesting welded-up mobile stands for big machines.

[tim mathis]

hi,
this base has zambus casters rated at over 2600 # .
raised the lathe 1 1/2 inches but you can make it raise your machine any height you want . the zambus casters are very stable and easy to lower and raise. i made the stand wider and longer than the lathe footprint.the lathe is bolted to the stand and is adjustable up and down.this stand weights about 100# and it is holding about 900#. when the pads are down it is as if it was on the floor. tim mathis.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x84/powermatic3520/lathedrawer006.jpg

[Steven DeMars]

hi,
this base has zambus casters rated at over 2600 # .
raised the lathe 1 1/2 inches but you can make it raise your machine any height you want . the zambus casters are very stable and easy to lower and raise. i made the stand wider and longer than the lathe footprint.the lathe is bolted to the stand and is adjustable up and down.this stand weights about 100# and it is holding about 900#. when the pads are down it is as if it was on the floor. tim mathis.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x84/powermatic3520/lathedrawer006.jpg

Any chance you have a few more pictures? That is a very nice stand. What type of finish did you go with . . . very nice!:o

[tim mathis]

steven ,
i don't think i have any pictures of the lathe off the stand, the paint is gloss black with gold paint flung on to create a web pattern.then i applied a clear coat.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x84/powermatic3520/powermatic3520b002.jpg

[Don Abele]

Tim, that's a really nice base. On the Zambus casters, they have a little star wheel you have to turn to lower the pad.

It would seem that it doesn't actually lift the wheel off the ground, just make snug contact with the ground to stop the wheel from rolling.

A few questions please:

How many turns does it take it lower them down?

How hard is it to turn them (physically and in regards to is it a pain in the posterior to bend down and turn them)?

Lastly, where do you buy them...their site only has a section for requesting a price quote. That always makes me think that they are ridiculously expensive.

Be well,

Doc

[tim mathis]

hi don,
it takes 21 half turns to lower the pad from the fully raised position.( so 10 1/2 turns)

it is very easy to turn up and down with your thumb.i have a small woodcraft level on each end of the stand to make sure the lathe is level. and it is easy to get it level everytime. it is quick to do.

on their site there is a phone number you must call to order them.
mine are # ac-600.they are not cheap. they move very easily and lock solid. once the pads are down the wheel is almost off the ground (you could move it from side to side. ) there is a nut you could turn (under the star wheel ) with a wrench that would lift the wheel off the ground . but i don't think that would be necessary.
tim in centerville, ohio

[Kurt Loup]

Steven,

I have the Great Lakes Casters Zambus style casters on my bandsaw and the locking Hartville tool casters on my Delta 15" planer that is listed at 340 lbs. Let me know if you want to come over to check them out.

Kurt

[Eric DeSilva]

Not to hijack the thread, but since all the welders are here... Anybody care to comment on a good MIG rig? Without getting into religion, Miller v. Lincoln?

[John Thompson]

Tim.. if I may ask... how did you get the picture so large as the site tells me I can go no higher than 106 kb I believe? I am kind of ignorant with these computer things and my pics come out very small when sized down to meet those requirements?

Thanks...

Sarge..

[Eric DeSilva]

I think I might be able to answer that... The size of a picture doesn't necessarily correlate to the size of the file due to compression. The jpg standard provides a 10 levels of quality, so if you have the capability of saving your jpg at a lower quality level, you will create a file of a smaller size. There are many factors at play in jpg compression, and you may find that a lower quality jpg doesn't impact the picture that much.

Interestingly, although not really relevant for web pics, the "size" of a picture is also not related to the resolution. On the web, that sort of gets lost, and pictures get displayed based on the number of pixels involved. So a 4' x 5' 100 dpi picture displays the same as a 2' x 2.5' 200 dpi picture. But, for some applications where size is king, resampling or cropping down to a lower resolution may help as well.

You might also try saving the file as a png (portable network graphics). I think they are supposed to be smaller.

[Steven DeMars]

Not to hijack the thread, but since all the welders are here... Anybody care to comment on a good MIG rig? Without getting into religion, Miller v. Lincoln?

I THINK Miller by far is the most durable machine available. Max amperage of machine plays a part in selection of which model. I have a Millermatic 251 - that will handle 1/2" steel in one pass. That is way overkill for making items around the house that will probably be constructed of square tube, pipe & sheetmetal. The best place to go is lurk at the following forums.

http://millerwelds.com/resources/communities/

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/

Sorry Lincoln guys, they do not sponsor a forum. I have a Lincoln stick machine also. Lincoln's smaller MIG units are sold at Walmart, Lowes, etc . . . Miller is only from a dealer. Hobart can be purchased at Sears for one.

[tim mathis]

hi eric,
i am a welder by trade. i have used all types and brands. first you have to decide what you want it to do. the thickness you will most often weld with it and the power supply( 110 v - you can take any where and plug it up and weld.
220 v - will weld thicker metals in one pass.)

Miller migs are my favorite, they are also the most expensive .

Lincoln migs and Hobart migs are very good machines.


if you went with any one of these brands you would have a great welder.

i have owned a hobart mig for about 20 years and it has seen heavy use at times and i have not had problem one out of it.
if price was no consideration i would go with the millers , based on my personal experiences in using the welders all day long.
but if you want one to use every now and then and still be of high quality i am sure you would love the Lincoln or the Hobart.
hope this helps tim in centerville, ohio.

[John Thompson]

Thanks for the picture explanation as it is what I expected, Eric. What I expected was that I wouldn't have a clue even after it was explained and that proves to be true. My wife understood about every word.. but she can't pick up a sharp chisel without cutting herself. So... things all balance out I suppose. :D

Again thanks for your attempt to make it clear to someone that is quite fogged in on the subject.

Regards...

Sarge..

[Bruce Wrenn]

For some reason, I think Hobart and Miller are now one company. I have a Hobart 140 mig and my son has a Lincoln 125 mig. Both have more than served our needs. I bought the Hobart, as Northern had it on sale and I had a $75 off coupon. Look at how the Delta mobile bases are made. I have my 15" Delta planer on one that I welded up, using 14 ga rect. tubing. I used the wheel set from a Delta mobile base kit. If I hadn't already had the Delta mobile base kit, buying one already made would have been just as cheap. Rockler will sell just the lifting caster from their mobile base kit. Under my 6" Grizzly jointer I have an HTC mobile base. You have to turn a bolt to lock the wheels in place. Homer Tools has a mobile base for about $20, from which you can salvage the wheels, and feet. The lifting caster isn't anything to brag about though. If you don't weld, go to community college, tech school and take a course. I found that my bi-focals give me problems. When I flip the shield down, down go my glasses also. I went to the dollar store and bought a set of reading glasses and corrected this problem. Last week end, I bought an auto darkening helmet, but haven't had a chance to use it.

[Cary Falk]

Not to hijack the thread, but since all the welders are here... Anybody care to comment on a good MIG rig? Without getting into religion, Miller v. Lincoln?


Eric,
I have a Hobart HH187 and love it. Stick with Hobart, Lincoln, or Miller and you will be fine.
Cary

[Steven DeMars]

Just curious if anyone else has welded a mobile machine stand, or has designed one and has not yet built it for whatever reason. I will initially be putting a JET Jointer/Planer on the one I am looking at doing now. It will utilize ZAMBUS style casters.:D

[Cary Falk]

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/caryincamas/DSC_0109.jpgSteve,
I threw this together this weekend. It's nothing fancy. I will put a board in the bottom for a shelf. The castors are from The current Woodcraft sale.

[Howie French]

For some reason, I think Hobart and Miller are now one company.....


looks like they are both owned by the same parent company

"In 1996 Hobart was sold to ITW. Up until that time they’d still been family owned. Interestingly, ITW is also the parent company of Miller Electric"



Howie

[Ed Kilburn]

I’ve built a base for my TS, and shaper. They will be mounted side by side so the shaper will be the side table of the TS. This will take up less space and make more room for new tools. It just got back from the power coater tonight, and I wanted to get it upstairs. Thanks to my hoist operator taking it to the 2nd floor was a breeze. I got the shaper set on the base, but the TS will need to have the fence rails removed first.

[Bret Leishman]

I have a Grizzly 12" J/P and have cut flat steel plates the size of the existing feet. Small tabs are welded on sides of plates and these will be bolted to holes in legs that bolted unit to delivery pallet. Holes will be drilled in the plate and greatlakes casters attached. Have this set up on my 675 lb Grizzly G0636X bandsaw (I have pictures in post I made at time). The casters bolted to existing holes in saw base so no steel plate cap necessary. Will be putting J/P "shoes" on this weekend and will post pictures. Had no stability problem with bandsaw and dont anticipate any with J/P. Greatlakes Zambus style casters dont raise the machine much so I find using existing holes or simple leg caps allow mobility without sacrificing stability. No massive welded frame platform to stub toes on either.

[Randy Klein]

Tim.. if I may ask... how did you get the picture so large as the site tells me I can go no higher than 106 kb I believe? I am kind of ignorant with these computer things and my pics come out very small when sized down to meet those requirements?

Thanks...

Sarge..


Tim's pic isn't an SMC-hosted pic, but a link to photobucket. The limit you mention is when uploading your pic to SMC. There is no limit to linked photos that I know of.

[Chris Barnett]

Glad to see someone using the Woodcraft casters (the orange ones recently on sale). Bought four for my lathe, but before I drill and rethread for 1/2 inch, was hoping to hear if they can support the advertised load.

Also hope to hear about the welded frame which I also need to make for my heavy planer. Have the steel angle but wonder also if the 330# each capacity [WC] casters are adequate for 800#. Maybe I should suck it up and just buy the Zambus. Or don't know if I should buy the MIG or stick welder and make my own base. Have not been happy with store bought for the TS or BS.

DW says I can buy the arc welder for my birthday (yes) but not the MIG [yet].

Hope you get a lot of input on your question since I have the same problem.

[Cary Falk]

Chris,
The WC casters should be fine. The 4 should hold #1300. They move so smoothly. Wait and get the MIG. It is well worth the wait. I have so much fun with mine. I look for things I can fix/weld.

[Chris Barnett]

Uh....Cary....if you are looking, I have these pieces of angle that would like to be together...:D:D....joking of course.
Thanks for recommendation. Question...do you find that you use an excessive amount of wire when using MIG. I use just plain mild steel rod, a lot of it, with my acetylene set and wondered if I would be spending all my time replacing reels if butt welding perhaps 1/4 inch.
And fine, will try the WC.

[Cary Falk]

Uh....Cary....if you are looking, I have these pieces of angle that would like to be together...:D:D....joking of course.
Thanks for recommendation. Question...do you find that you use an excessive amount of wire when using MIG. I use just plain mild steel rod, a lot of it, with my acetylene set and wondered if I would be spending all my time replacing reels if butt welding perhaps 1/4 inch.
And fine, will try the WC.

Is using a whole 2lb spool of MIG wire to weld an 8" lenght of 1/4 plate excessive?:D:D:D:D Just kidding.
I bought a 2lb spool of .35 flux core wire when I bought my welder back in March. I don't do a lot of welding but I seem to trim off quite a bit while I'm welding. I don't think I made a huge dent in the spool yet. My Hobart 187 will take a 8lb spool. Buy a bigger spool of wire and you won't have to worry about changing itso often.:D My 2lb spool will probably last me all year. I bought a small brazing kit before the MIG and it was a huge disappointment to me trying to get the metals hot enough to melt with the volume of gas supplied. If you are going to do 1/4 plate then get a 240V machine. Of course the stick welder won't have a problem with it but I did stick in HS and hated the cleanup. FYI, I am not the greatest at welding but I have a great time. That's what they make grinders for anyway.:eek:

[Gene O. Carpenter]

I built a base for my 25 year old Griz G1023 TS with about the same configuration as Ed in post #11 page 2 with the exception of placing my caster base pads on the bottom of the 2"X2" sq tbng which raises table height about 3-1/2" which in turn eases the strain on my 6'-4-1/2" frame.
But I built a 36" extension table to the right and planted a Freud FT2200 Router in that table and added a Router Raizer works great I might add.
I'm also re-working an older tool stand for my Delta 22-580 Thickness Planer, that will place the work level height at my waist level which means that I won't have to bend to feed the board into the machine and bend again to retrieve the planed board and maybe have to do it repetitively for each board.
Then if I can find some material I will build another elevated stand for a sickening Orange colored Rigid Oscilating belt sanderEB44241...Absolutely hate that color! Can see a paint job in near future..
I do my welding with this setup, if I can figure out how to post a photo, which is a Millermatic 175 and a Miller Spectrum 2050 Plasma Cutter..I haven't had the opportunity to use the PlasCutr as it requires 90 LB air pressure and my/our K9 master is deathly afraid of any loud hisssssing noises, even cowers behind cabinet when I use a brad nailer.I have only used the 80 gal compressor 2 times in the 9 years we've,, no he's had us!! I suspect the people that had him for his 1st year must have tormented him with an air hose! The guy was a painter and did have a compressor

[Chris Barnett]

Well, when he was dumb, he was really, really dumb.

Had major problems with the casters that came with my ShopFox mobile base for the 1023, and then again with the same base for my 514 BS [so :o shame on me]. Just finished redrilling and tapping the holes and installing the orange casters from Woodcraft on the 3520B.

Man, am I dumb or what??? I ordered the 3 inch casters with the 1/2-13 stud for the lathe. I also bought from stock the 3 inch casters with just a hole so I could adapt to the PM planer (hear the casters on the 209 are junk I have had enough junk casters to do me a lifetime). Go Big Orange....I can push the lathe around with one finger! No joke! I am so stupid for not also ordering casters for the TS and BS while they were on sale.

Figured I saved about $60 over the Zambus; the kitty for the 220V TIG is growing :D. New math....can I count saving the same in the future for the TS and BS and go ahead and put an additional $120 in the kitty???
May not be Zambusized, but it rolls...

Now to weld up my mobile base for the planer...since I am on a r-o-l-l (pun intended).

[Cary Falk]

Chris,
If you haven't ordered the casters for the BS and the TS yet Hartville tool has some pretty nice casters. The 3" with brake are $6.99 and the 4" with brake are $9.99. They don't quite lock down as solid as the ones from WC but are great for the money. I have them under my Unisaw and my BS and they are fine. They have a 15% discount if you type Woodnet in the shipping instructions box and are currently having free shipping if your final order amount is more than $75. They are a great bunch of people to order from.

[Harley Reasons]

Here is the one I built for my table saw extension:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/ripnrun2007/SB9Yw4QXpXI/AAAAAAAAAIk/duOtB6yyj7A/100_3012%20%28Small%29.jpg

[Ed Kilburn]

I've got the TS set on the base, now for the fun part lining everything up. :eek: I've used the left wing to span between the TS and router, and have a replacement on the way for the left. The base rolls around easy for all the weight that is on it.:)

[Kent E. Matthew]

hi eric,
i am a welder by trade. i have used all types and brands. first you have to decide what you want it to do. the thickness you will most often weld with it and the power supply( 110 v - you can take any where and plug it up and weld.
220 v - will weld thicker metals in one pass.)

Miller migs are my favorite, they are also the most expensive .

Lincoln migs and Hobart migs are very good machines.


if you went with any one of these brands you would have a great welder.

i have owned a hobart mig for about 20 years and it has seen heavy use at times and i have not had problem one out of it.
if price was no consideration i would go with the millers , based on my personal experiences in using the welders all day long.
but if you want one to use every now and then and still be of high quality i am sure you would love the Lincoln or the Hobart.
hope this helps tim in centerville, ohio.


I find the Miller Passport to be the best 110v machine I have ever used. One tip for the 110v machines of any brand. Input is the most important factor. Make sure you use a least a 20 amp circuit. 30 amp is even better.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Nothing to add in the way of technique - but -

I did manage to score some low (as in no) cost steel a month ago.
The neighbor acrss the street from one of our rentals was having a garage sale. We were in the process of repainting the rental, and as i was taking a break on the front porch, I noticed they had a couple/few old bedframes [ the steel ones].
I was going to go over and see how much they wanted for them, but it started to rain and I didn't get a chance.

As luck would have it, the frames didn't sell, and next morning they were out by the curb with other trash.

By my rough estimate - based on the price of the stock at Lowes - I got close to $100.00 worth of good "base" material.

[Lewis Cobb]

I've got the TS set on the base, now for the fun part lining everything up. :eek: I've used the left wing to span between the TS and router, and have a replacement on the way for the left. The base rolls around easy for all the weight that is on it.:)


Ed - I'm liking your mobile base. It has that "extreme" theme that I tend to use when building things :D

Would you mind sharing a few details of it? What's the overall dimensions, what dimension box-beam is it made out of, what type/size casters are you using on it and how high does it hike the tools off the floor?

If you have a "plan" or drawing that you are willing to share that would be awesome as well.

Thanks !

Thanks
Lewis

[david scheidt]

By my rough estimate - based on the price of the stock at Lowes - I got close to $100.00 worth of good "base" material.

Buying steel from the BORG is even more of a rip off than buying wood from them.

[John Petsche]

nice caster input (self leveling), thanks.