Castering

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:19 pm

I was working on the shop a little today and was wondering if anybody has a Shopsmith that has fixed casters on one end. I want to be able to line most of my SSs up in a line kind of like a row of cows lined up in the old milking barns (or cars in parking spaces at Walmart for you city folks)

. I think that most of us already know that pushing a SS into a slot space from one end is a little like pushing a rope up a tree.

Even grabbing one end and pulling one out of a narrow space can be a challenge as the other end seldom wants to pull straight out of a narrow space and I don't want them banging into each other. I considered putting wooden guides on the floor but that is not flexible enough since I might want to line them up against one wall one day and another wall the next.
I finally thought that maybe I could remove the left end caster set on each of them and mount a set of straight casters (if they are straight are they casters?) on that end so that steering would all be at the other end.
Another thought was to just mount a straight set on a mount that would allow me to put them down for parking or moving a long distance across an open floor and put the weight on the original caster set for swiveling the SSs around into working position. I think I like that better.
Excuse me while I stop and chuckle at the concept of open floor space in one of my shops...

-
My general shop thought is to keep my big table saw and my 510 out in the open floor all of the time along with the "Push-me Pull-me" drill presses after I get it put together, and keeping almost everything else lined up in narrow parking spaces.
That is the plan. Noticie that I didn't promise any fixed accomplishment times.

nomoman · Post by **nomoman** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:59 pm

I am not sure of your question. I do have the casters on my SS. They came with it when I bought it. It was already assembled when I got it so I didn't have to go through the hassle of the assembly. They sure do make it easy to move around. I have the SS stored in a space about the size of a bicycle. When I need to work, I just lower the wheels and pull it out. I can grab the "the tubes" and just pull it out. When I am done. I lower the wheels again (raised them when it was parked). And push it back into position.

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:15 pm

Farmer,
I don't use any fixed casters on my SS, but I do use dual wheel casters on bearings. Easy to move and precise. McMaster/Carr carries them.
ldh

[ATTACH]6360[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]6361[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]6362[/ATTACH]

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:47 pm

ldh wrote:Farmer,
I don't use any fixed casters on my SS, but I do use dual wheel casters on bearings. Easy to move and precise. McMaster/Carr carries them.
ldh

[ATTACH]6360[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]6361[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]6362[/ATTACH]

Anyone else notice the 'run stains' inside the legs in pix 1????

Did you need to relocate the casters, or were they the same dimension?

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:36 pm

JPG40504 wrote:Anyone else notice the 'run stains' inside the legs in pix 1????

Did you need to relocate the casters, or were they the same dimension?

Is the run stain some type of disease that I should know about? I certainly don't want any of my other Shopsmiths to catch it. I did have to relocate the attachment holes slightly higher on the SS in the pics, but that is not the case with every machine. The 520 in my shop here did not require any change in mounting the casters. It is quite easy to change the casters to see if any change will be needed.
ldh

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:44 pm

ldh wrote:Is the run stain some type of disease that I should know about? I certainly don't want any of my other Shopsmiths to catch it. I did have to relocate the attachment holes slightly higher on the SS in the pics, but that is not the case with every machine. The 520 in my shop here did not require any change in mounting the casters. It is quite easy to change the casters to see if any change will be needed.
ldh

Kill the Tom cat or cure the shop sweating problem.

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:11 pm

Hanged the son-in-law, live in the desert, has to be some other cause for the disease.
ldh

wgander · Post by **wgander** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:42 am

I have fixed casters on one end of a wooden stand for a scroll saw and don't recommend them for a Shopsmith.
I find it difficult to manuever: it's only 3' long and about 15" wide, and the scroll saw is an inexpensive Craftsman. The 2x4 construction weighs more than the saw.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:42 am

ldh wrote:Hanged the son-in-law, live in the desert, has to be some other cause for the disease.
ldh

The reason this 'subject' has been brought up is that the cause has been discussed b4 with no definite conclusions being determined. Do you have an explanation?

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:56 am

JPG40504 wrote:The reason this 'subject' has been brought up is that the cause has been discussed b4 with no definite conclusions being determined. Do you have an explanation?

JPG,
The pics are from a used 520 and I have no idea where the stains came from.
I honestly don't pay much attention to the cosmetic aspect of the machine, just its performance and my Shopsmiths have worked wonderfully for me over the years.
ldh