Shopsmith Forums

How about drilling it out? Works on pop rivets.

Drilling will work on the newer wheels as they have a dimple on one side of the axle that a bit will easily follow, but the older wheels have a quite pronounced mushroom on both of the sides of the axle making drilling out a real chore. I still think grinding is the best. I will take the time to get out my die grinder next time I do a set and use it instead of the bench grinder. Grinding is just soooo much fun with all the sparks I hate to give it up.
ldh

I just finished mounting the new wheels.

I tried drilling using a drill press and grinding with a Dremel and sanding drum.

The drill bit kinda slid around - and the caster was difficult to keep flat and immobile (because of the arm).

The sanding drum ground the head down, but was difficult to grind it all away without damaging the arm.

I also tried cutting through the axle with a Dremel tool and abrasive disc. This worked, but lots of sparks.

Here, in the Land of Power Tools, I will admit that my favorite, safest way was using a hacksaw.

Jim

For those who are just insistent on drilling the axle out you will need a small flat ground on the axle (old style axle) to center punch, a drill press vise to hold the assembly and a sharp bit (split point bit works best) to drill it out. Jim, post a pick when you finish.
ldh

OK, the caster sage continues, the dremel grinder worked best. Less then one minute and the rivet was virtually gone. One hit with a center punch and it was apart. Now the question, in the photos below you will see the support arms are not parallel and both arms are not perpendicular the the crossbar. Is this normal or do I need to do some metal bending before replacing the wheels?

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In the picture notice the support arms are flat with the table but the stud also touches the table.

The arms of my casters didn't require any bending when I replaced my wheels.

I do remember that the bolt fit better on one side - but don't remember which side. I'll peek tommorrow when it's light and warm outside.

Jim

[quote="paulmcohen"]OK, the caster sage continues, the dremel grinder worked best. Less then one minute and the rivet was virtually gone. One hit with a center punch and it was apart. Now the question, in the photos below you will see the support arms are not parallel and both arms are not perpendicular the the crossbar. Is this normal or do I need to do some metal bending before replacing the wheels?

Paul,
In that I have put my $.02 worth into this subject earlier in the thread I will continue with the cheap advice. The sides of the caster should be parallel with the stem of the caster. The sides can get bent for a multitude of reasons so just whack them parallel or use what ever method achieves this for you and assemble the wheels. Keep in mind that the steel bushing must fit in the same place as the original axle. Do post a pic of the finished caster.
ldh

Paul,
I agree with Idh; the arms and stud should be parallel. Fix that before you put the new casters on.

Hi all,

I just stumbled over this topic and this sounds like a nice, inexpensive and fun upgrade. Is anyone here selling a complete kit with casters, shoulder bolts and nylock nuts? It would be nice to get everything in one shot. Just running to the nearest hardware store and back costs me about $4 in fuel. If some of you refurbishers here have piles of these parts sitting around, it'd be great to get everything in one easy shot.

If not, I'll just pay Grizzly's $7.90 "admission fee" and check the local hardware stores for the shoulder bolts and nylock nuts. I live in a town of about 4000 people so our selections are limited.

- Chris

I'm about in the same boat.. I looked at the casters on the new-to-me SS and they're prettty chewed up.. Not completely failing yet, but not too far down the line..