Caster Wheel Question

ldh · Post by **ldh** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 6:22 pm

This PENETROL sounds like it can do just about anything and I thought only SS could do that, heck I might just try it on my pancakes in the morning.
ldh

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:56 am

reible wrote:On the sage advice of Ed I got a can, 1 qt size at Ace but it wasn't cheap. Since I was there and wanted a can I spent the money but it may be a good idea to shop around, the Lowes price is about $2 less then I paid.

Here is a picture of the can... I had to ask for it, couldn't seem to see the writing on the can???

Ed

Thanks for posting the picture, Ed Reible]http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images ... umbup2.gif[/IMG]

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:46 pm

Update - I placed an order with Grizzly for 36 wheels. I'll need a set of four, so that leaves me with eight upgrade kits I can provide to other folks. I'll include all the bolts and nuts (stainless) to make it happen.

I started my Shopsmith caster upgrade yesterday. For me, the easiest way to get the old wheels out was to just hacksaw them out. There is room between the metal wheel and the metal arms to get a hacksaw blade in there. Keep the caster plugged into the full assembly so you have something to hold while you saw. I kept the blade tilted slightly towards the wheel so it wouldn't nick up the arm (not that anyone will ever see it). Once you saw through the pin, it will simply fall out on both sides, and the wheel comes out. All four wheels came out pretty quickly. I could have used the grinder, but it was down in the basement on a shelf somewhere, and I don't have a workbench.

I used a steel wirebrush on a drill to clean up the outside caster arms until they were nice and shiny. I poured some Penetrol into a small tray and soaked all the caster assemblies (sans wheels), blotted them semi-dry with a shop rag, then let them dry overnight. Penetrol is interesting stuff. This morning when I checked them, they felt a tiny bit greasy, but when I rubbed my fingers together there was no residue. It's almost like a waxy coating that keeps the metal sealed from moisture, but it doesn't seem to wipe off once it's dry.

The Grizzly wheels are backordered. Once they get here, I'll get the new wheels put on and offer some upgrade kits for any interested folks here.

- Chris

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:13 am

Update: Grizzly informs me that all 36 caster wheels are backordered until at least April 28th.

- Chris

timster68 · Post by **timster68** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:12 pm

Chris - Let me know when they're in. I'd love to update the wheels and have someone with experience to tell me the process.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:53 pm

timster68 wrote:Chris - Let me know when they're in. I'd love to update the wheels and have someone with experience to tell me the process.

I finished just before I left the country for a week, I will be back tomorrow and will post some pictures. The quickest way I found to remove the old wheels is with the Dremel tool and a brown grinding disk. You can remove on side of the rivet and and just punch out the pin.

Once I got the hang of it it took just a few minites. I had to straighten out one caster frame, the first I removed and the one I posted pictures of. I used two washers, one on each side of the wheel, a 1.5" bolt and a locking nut. Assmebly of all 4 took less than a minute.

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:00 pm

Hi all,

Part of the caster wheel order came in yesterday! The rest should be here next week. I ordered 36 wheels, which is enough to upgrade my Shopsmith and eight others.

I headed up to the local hardware store today. Unfortunately I cleaned them out of the bolts and nylock nuts, so I'll need to head back up there in a week to get more stuff. The 1/4" x 1.5" (edit: not 1.25") bolts work perfectly. I was able to get stainless nylock nuts and stainless washers too.

The upgrade is very simple. A hacksaw fits between the wheel and the caster arm and cuts quickly through the soft pin. Others have used drills and grinding wheels. Once the pin and wheel fall out, remove the metal sleeve from the new polyurethane wheel, grease it lightly, and reinstall. Then insert the new bolt through the caster arm and wheel/sleeve, keeping the two washers between the wheel and the arms. Once assembled, thread the nylock nut onto the bolt end and use a 7/16" wrench and socket to tighten until snug. The metal sleeve through the wheel is slightly wider than the wheel. The caster arms will tighten the washers against this metal sleeve, and the wheel will spin freely on the greased sleeve.

Here are some pictures of the raw materials and the finished product:

[ATTACH]1175[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1176[/ATTACH]

You can see a couple more pictures at this link. While the casters were apart, I wirebrushed up the caster arms and put a coating of Penetrol on them to keep them shiny and corrosion-free. When I reassembled everything, I put some grease on the posts.

How did it work? Well my garage floor is not the cleanest (which you can see in the photo in my linked photo album above). However, the polyurethane wheels roll around on my garage floor much more smoothly than the metal wheels did! It's easy to just guide and push the whole thing around with one hand. It's a very nice upgrade, especially now that I've also sanded and waxed up the foot-activated caster cam surfaces too.

The raw costs for me to ship these items out are:

4 0.85 3.40 1.5" stainless bolts (edit: not 1.25")
8 0.20 1.60 1/4" stainless washers
4 0.55 2.20 1/4" stainless nylock nuts
4 1.62 6.48 2" polyurethane wheels ($58.19 for 36 wheels)
1 1.00 1.00 padded envelope
1 2.50 2.50 shipping
17.18 TOTAL

I'll probably need to make two more trips to the hardware store for fasteners. They tell me the guy comes in every 1-2 weeks to refill the empty bins, but I suspect they won't fill up enough bolts the next time around for me to complete the sets.

I'd like to ask $19 shipped to your door for this upgrade kit. If you are paying by Paypal, please make it $20 to cover Paypal fees. With the first batch of wheels, I only have enough to send out one more upgrade kit. Timster, this one has your name on it if you want it - I will PM you and follow up.

If anyone else is interested, send me a PM and we can work out the details.

Thanks all!

- Chris

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:27 pm

chrispitude wrote: The raw costs for me to ship these items out are:

4 0.85 3.40 1.25" stainless bolts

I don't understand why but I used 1.5" bolts and the exact same wheels and hardware as you and my final picture looks like yours. Somehwere I lost 1/4".

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:46 pm

Hi Paul,

I just checked and my bolts measure exactly 1.5" under the head. I tried the ones at the store marked 1.5" and they were too long. I am guessing that they had all their bolt boxes skewed by one position in the caddy. Boy, I sure hope they restock them correctly. I'd hate to drive back up there and find a fresh box of a size I don't need.

- Chris

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:16 pm

Hi all,

I'm back from my work trip. All the remaining parts came in while I was gone. I have five more caster upgrade kits available. If I have any left by next weekend, I will probably just raise the price a few bucks (to cover Ebay's ridiculous new fees) and Ebay them off.

Thanks!

- Chris