Shop Fox mobile base/wheels disentagrating

[Mike Wilkins]

After years of use, the wheels on my Heavy Duty Shop Fox mobile base are falling apart. I installed this base in 2001 under my LT18 bandsaw, and have used it since then with no problems. Now the wheels are basically falling apart; the actual wheel itself. Anyone else have this issue, and if so, are there replacement wheels available? Looked in the Grizzly catalog, since they sell the SF mobile bases, but no replacement wheels. The swivel mechanism is working fine; just the actual wheel.

[Bill White]

Contact tech support at Grizz. NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE. The CS folks won't have the access to that info.
My guess is that you'll have to replace the whole caster. But..................
Bill

[Bill Huber]

If the casters are bolted on I am sure you could take them off and go to a caster company and get some replacements.

You I am sure could measure them and get some on-line.

[Keith Outten]

I use steel wheel castors for heavy machines in my shop. I have a concrete floor so the steel wheels work great and will last forever.

[David Masters]

I have two Grizzly machines that I bought used, and the wheels on both the Shop Fox mobile bases are disintegrating. On the planer, I tried to replace the entire caster, but found the holes didn't match the new casters I found at Harbor Freight, Home Depot, or the local farm supply store. I ended up replacing the wheels on the old castors with some I removed from Harbor Freight castors. I still need to replace the wheels on the table saw.

[Harold Weaver]

As Dave did, I bought a set of casters from HF to get the wheels off them to put on my Shop Fox base under my HD Shaper. The original wheels were the steel ones and made the machine rattle like a metal can of quarters every time I move it. They worked out fine. Just measure the ones you have and compare to the ones at HF and you should be good to go.

[Ed Reeder]

My SF casters just crapped out. I called Caster City (recommended on another thread) and spoke with George who spent some time with me to make sure that I got the proper fix. I ended up keeping the casters and replacing the axles and wheels. He recommended polyurethane wheels and said that the ones with aluminum centers were best because of the way the treads locked into the centers. This was important because of the possible sideways strain on the fixed wheels when the base was turned. The aluminum center wheels also have ball bearings.

The casters just needed to spread slightly for the wider wheels (you might need to remove the fixed casters to remove the SF wheels) no drilling required. The caster sides do need to be tight to the wheels (if you get the aluminum center ones).

Let me say my table saw glides around now and locks in place when needed. The aluminum center wheels were more expensive, but I am VERY happy with the results. BTW - the axles have grease fittings so you can lubricate them if needed.

This is what I ordered Ordered: PA3x1-1/4B 3" Blue Polyurethane on Aluminum Wheel and LA3/8x2-3/8 Lube (Zerk) Axle 3/8" x 2-3/8" with Lock Nut.

Hope this is of use to others with SF/Grizzly bases.

[Malcolm McLeod]

...This is what I ordered Ordered: PA3x1-1/4B 3" Blue Polyurethane on Aluminum Wheel and LA3/8x2-3/8 Lube (Zerk) Axle 3/8" x 2-3/8" with Lock Nut.

Hope this is of use to others with SF/Grizzly bases.

YOU ARE THE MAN!! (...and my profound apologies to all who find this misogynistic.) Yesterday I was in a TS turn - - at high throttle setting with full opposite lock on the steering - - and blew out my 3rd or 4th set of ShopFox casters (left a 3 foot skid mark!) And look what pops up? I've tried all the competing versions, but the 'swing diameter' keeps them from swiveling full circle and the bolt pattern seems unique. So I end up back at ShopFox, cursing the durability and the cost.

Thanks!

(Last time I ordered SF casters was ~2yrs ago and they were listed on the Grizzly website IIRC. Not sure about now....?)

[James Gunning]

I've had casters purchased from Woodcraft fail as well. Their 3" red ones. The casters I've purchased from them are the highest quality I've been able to source. Despite that, some of them have failed. In every case, the outside red material (polyurethane?) failed. Usually, the outside layer splits open and come off, leaving the rest of the caster intact. I searched around on the 'net for a place that sold replacement wheels, and finally found some. However, after a search today, I can't find the place I used, nor remember it's name. Other than the outside diameter, the length of the axle is fairly critical. I purchased replacement wheels that bolted right in to the caster frames. I suspect a contributing factor in the failures is the high summer heat in my garage.

[Ernie Miller]

After years of use, the wheels on my Heavy Duty Shop Fox mobile base are falling apart. I installed this base in 2001 under my LT18 bandsaw, and have used it since then with no problems. Now the wheels are basically falling apart; the actual wheel itself. Anyone else have this issue, and if so, are there replacement wheels available? Looked in the Grizzly catalog, since they sell the SF mobile bases, but no replacement wheels. The swivel mechanism is working fine; just the actual wheel.

Same thing happened to me on two Shopfox mobile bases. I just ordered 8 swivel wheel replacements, but haven't installed them yet. I don't think you can get the wheels without the swivel mechanism, but for a reasonable $7.95 each, it's worth it to just buy the whole unit. Here's the web page. The part number is #D4173.

[Dave Lehnert]

Not sure if this is the exact base you have but parts are available.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/d2057a/parts

[Malcolm McLeod]

...Let me say my table saw glides around now and locks in place when needed. The aluminum center wheels were more expensive, but I am VERY happy with the results. BTW - the axles have grease fittings so you can lubricate them if needed.

This is what I ordered Ordered: PA3x1-1/4B 3" Blue Polyurethane on Aluminum Wheel and LA3/8x2-3/8 Lube (Zerk) Axle 3/8" x 2-3/8" with Lock Nut....

Just received and installed the same replacement casters from Caster City. I can push my TS and it will coast 20 feet into the opposite shop wall. (Thanks, Ed!) About same cost as the complete Shop Fox caster bracket and wheel, but direct fit to old brackets and easy install. Dimensions on wheels match, so they still caster 360* w/ no issues.

We'll see how they hold up durability-wise...(fingers crossed).

[Gary Sostrin]

Malcom, Saw your response and I ordered the replacement wheels from caster city. Question, did yours come with2 blue caps that covered the sides of the bearing, and did you take these covers off before installation or did you leave them on?

Thanks gary

[John Stankus]

Grizzly has them
D4173 Hard Rubber swivel caster
D4174 Hard rubber Fixed Caster
THose were the ones that disintegrate
Better are the iron wheel casters
D4175 Cast Iron swivel Caster
D4176 Cast Iron fixed caster

As far as I can tell the only difference between the ShopFox D2058A and D2057A mobile bases are which casters they come with (and hence the load rating). I have been switching over to the cast iron casters.


Amazon has them too Search by the D4175 number

John

[Mike Wilkins]

I'm surprised this thread is still active.
I solved the problem by going to the local Harbor Freight, purchasing some casters with the same diameter wheels, and swapping them out for the original Shop Fox wheels. Worked great, but I may eventually switch to steel wheels since the shop floor is concrete, and not glass smooth.