12" Jointer Mobility?

[Steve Mathews]

I'm about to purchase a larger jointer and question its mobility. All of my woodworking machines with the exception of a Oneway lathe are on mobile bases. But with a 12" or 16" Northfield jointer that may not be possible, especially with its 3 phase power requirement. Fortunately a jointer is one of those machine that work well against a wall but is it possible to construct a functional mobile base for it?

[Bob Hinden]

I have a Hammer A3-41, a 16" jointer/planer, on the Hammer mobile base. Works fine for me.

I have read about people putting it on the BORA Portamate PM-3550 Super Duty Mobile Base.

This might work for what you want as well.

Bob

[Brian Holcombe]

I think it best to pick a spot and leave it there. The machines typically have a three foot base.

[Dick Mahany]

I had a Jet JJP12 on a Shopfox D2058. That mobile base is rated to 1300 lbs although the Jet weighed 500-600 lbs. It was an excellent mobile base. The casters were converted to polyurethane wheels as mine had to be moved into position every time I used it and was easy to move. I don't know the weight of the Northfield jointers, however this may be a possible option.

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[David Kumm]

The NF is a 1500 lb machine. I put my Oliver 166 on mobile bases but a pallet jack and a crib are a better choice. If you move it, you should mark the floor and put it exactly back in the same place. A 12" is narrow enough that the tables won't move much if any but the wider the more problematic. Those old heavy long bed machines are best left alone as much as possible. Dave

[Dave Cav]

I have an Invicta 12" jointer on one of the Bora Portamate bases, but it doesn't get moved around very much, or very far. It also weighs "only" 800 pounds or so, and has relatively short tables.

[Richard Coers]

Anything is moveable. Watched some millwrights move a 6,000 pound cnc with some heavy machinery skates by hand. One skate had a handle like a little wagon, other skates had turntables on the top. Just takes the proper capacity rollers and a smooth floor. Seems unlikely you will gain much shop space by moving something around 16" overall width away from the wall.

[Jim Becker]

This is more of an "engineering" challenge than anything else because of the weight handling and necessary stability when it's stationary. For a big jointer like that, my personal choice would be to make it live in one spot. If it had to be mobile, my preference would be something like I have with my J/P combo which doesn't have any wheels on the floor unless it's being moved...a three point system with two wheels at one end and a lifting bar with a wheel that's used on the other end while doing the deed. A full mobile base will necessarily need to be very sturdy for a machine like that and will need to be absolutely locking from roll and swivel because of the nature of the tool and moving wood across it.

[Jared Sankovich]

Anything is moveable. Watched some millwrights move a 6,000 pound cnc with some heavy machinery skates by hand. One skate had a handle like a little wagon, other skates had turntables on the top. Just takes the proper capacity rollers and a smooth floor. Seems unlikely you will gain much shop space by moving something around 16" overall width away from the wall.

The 12" 3 toe Northfield is 34" wide.

[Edward Dyas]

I'm about to purchase a larger jointer and question its mobility. All of my woodworking machines with the exception of a Oneway lathe are on mobile bases. But with a 12" or 16" Northfield jointer that may not be possible, especially with its 3 phase power requirement. Fortunately a jointer is one of those machine that work well against a wall but is it possible to construct a functional mobile base for it?

I have a 12" Northfield jointer. I think the biggest problem making it mobile is chips getting underneath it. You might be better off making a skid to put under the jointer and use a pallet jack to move it. The larger wheels would be more forgiving with the chips.

If your shop has three phase it shouldn't be too much trouble running additional lines. If you are using a VFD on single phase you could attach the VFD to the jointer and then you would just need 220v outlets where you might need the jointer.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I have a 12" Oliver 166 and would never want to move it around and not even because it weighs 2000 lbs...more because I have it dialed in where it currently sits and there is no twist in the base. Even on a decent slab there are chances that you can introduce twist into a heavy and (relatively) wide machine like a big jointer. This is an slight advantage for a 3 toed machine like a Porter or even Northfield, even though I love my Oliver and wouldn't trade it even though it is more particular about what it sits on.

My current shop is in my basement and is maybe 500 sq ft on a good day, so I understand when people talk about prime real estate. My jointer never moves and pays its own way in the shop more than enough to earn the permanent parking spot.

[Dennis Yamamoto]

I believe a 16" HD Northfield jointer weighs about 2000 pounds. I would guess that any mobile base would settle to however flat your concrete floor is. You could loosen the bolt and nut on the single foot on infeed side to allow that foot to swivel and minimize twist in the tables.

As suggested you can move the jointer with a wide pallet jack and some blocks. A wide pallet jack is the right width to fit in between the legs and the dust collection chute. Temporarily remove the electrical box and roll the pallet jack in from the side.

3 phase shouldn't matter for mobility. Just use a 8, or 10 gauge 3 phase electrical cord.

Having said all of this, I agree with others and would not put a heavy jointer on a mobile base.

[Stewart Lang]

Steve,

I put my 16" Moak on a 4x4 pallet. Mine is single phase, belt drive, so I have the motor mounted to the ply base (I'm regretting that because it gives off too much vibration.). Fortunately I can move it around with a pallet jack, although I never have. I'd honestly like to take it off the pallet, I just don't know how lol.

As others have said, my jointer has earned it's right to have a permanent spot. I'm sure you'll come around to that idea in time.

The only benefit to having it on the pallet is I like the height. I can have a workbench on both sides without interfering.
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[Casey Carr]

I have a 12” medium duty northfield that I built a mobile base for. Working out of my garage, I have to be able to move things around and still fit the vehicles in. That being said, I’ve never actually used my jointer, so I have no fight in this whether it’s the smart thing to do as far as stability or movement. Just saying it can be done. I have it tucked away behind my work bench, mortiser, tablesaw, router table, and more, otherwise I’d have already taken a picture. But I found my cad files on how I built my base. I know the casters came from caster city online. 5” wheels, I think polyurethane, but I could be wrong. It’s been sitting on these casters for a few years and they haven’t taken a set, so I guess I picked right. I removed one of the fixed wheels in the picture so it’s a little clearer as to how it goes together. And I did it with a mig surprisingly. It was a big mig, but still a mig. Not as much penetration in the welds as you’d get with a stick welder. But it’s held up just fine with me rearranging the garage more than once and a move thrown in to boot. 1/4” x 2” angle iron and some flat strap thrown in for gussets and mounting surfaces for the wheels.F40BFDE5-92DA-49FD-9FD2-BAB6C2BDDC73.jpg

[Casey Carr]

If I had a pallet jack, the easiest thing to do would be build a frame out of rectangular tubing and put some holes in it for the pallet jack. I paid for a pallet jack when my Kmart was going out of business, but they wouldn’t let me take it home right away because they were still using it. Liquidation outfit said they’d call me when I could come pick it up and never did. I wondered, but figured it was worth the $50 gamble.