Shopsmith Forums

I received Chrispitude's tires/nuts/bolts and installed them a few days ago. I like it so much I'm getting a couple more from him. I tinkered with the idea of remove the entire caster assembly but then decided to lift the Shopsmith up by hand and pull the wheels out by hand. I found that by sticking a piece of wood under the feet, I would then have enough clearance to pull the wheels out. Of course I realized this after pulling the first couple out (putting them back was at least a little easier). I tried hacksawing the tire out by holding it in my hand and then just put the straight piece in a vice grip and like Chris said earlier, the axle is pretty soft metal so in 20 seconds or so I was able to cut through. It really was pretty easy. The only thing I didn't do at the time (because I didn't have any) was put a little grease on the inner part of the wheel. But since all I need now is a wrench - I can easily remove it and apply the grease I just got. And the red tires make a nice contrast to the rather colorless shopsmith.

-Tim

Hi all,

I have one more set of four polyurethane caster wheels plus stainless steel assembly hardware. Prices are per my message above. PM me if interested!

- Chris

Chris,
I tried PMing you last night. I'm not sure if any of my messages went to the correct address. I have never used the message feature of the forum.

In any event, I realized I need six sets of wheels. so I simply ordered directly from Grizzly.com

So please do not hold a set for me.

Tony

Hi Chris,
I found a source of hardware which looks to be reasonable: Bolt Depot.com.
They charged .28 per nylock nut; .49 per bolt; and .07 per washer- all stainless. Shipping was $6.32 for enough hardware to do 24 casters.
This might be cheaper than your local & it's delivered, to boot.

Tony

backhertz wrote:Chris,
I tried PMing you last night. I'm not sure if any of my messages went to the correct address. I have never used the message feature of the forum.

In any event, I realized I need six sets of wheels. so I simply ordered directly from Grizzly.com

So please do not hold a set for me.

Tony

Hi Tony,

It's okay, I responded this morning that you should order directly for that quantity. Thanks for a pointer to that bolt website - I'm definitely bookmarking it for future projects!

- Chris

My pleasure Chris. I ordered 24 wheels. !6 shipped; 8 on backorder until June 8th.

I received my order of stainless steel parts yesterday. I also happened to have a new wheel from Shopsmith on my kitchen table. I had ordered 4, so I though, but they only shipped me one... I've had a number issues lately with stuff showing shipped, but never making it into the shipping container. But that's a subject for another thread.

So I look at my 1.25" bolts & notice they are 1/4" too short....hello! then I go back to the thread & continue reading... The boltdepot.com place will credit me and send me 1.50" bolts, my bad. Even with the return shipping charge, I'm ahead of the game.

For what its worth........this thread has several miles on it, but I will add another little twist anyway. I am always looking for an easier way to move my machines around. The dual casters slip right in although you will need to reset the Retractable Caster Assembly 5/16 inch higher on the legs. Setting the 520 on a couple of saw horses and removing the legs to drill the holes, install casters and remount the legs took about 1 1/2 hrs. The casters have double ball bearings so it is easy to move the 520 in any direction.

The casters are from McMaster-Carr product #87855T61

Pics will probably make more sence than my explanation.

ldh wrote:For what its worth........this thread has several miles on it, but I will add another little twist anyway. I am always looking for an easier way to move my machines around. The dual casters slip right in although you will need to reset the Retractable Caster Assembly 5/16 inch higher on the legs. Setting the 520 on a couple of saw horses and removing the legs to drill the holes, install casters and remount the legs took about 1 1/2 hrs. The casters have double ball bearings so it is easy to move the 520 in any direction.

The casters are from McMaster-Carr product #87855T61

Pics will probably make more sence than my explanation.

Do they have to be set higher because the wheels still touch the floor when the wheels are retracted?

Dusty,
Yes you will need to set the caster frame about ¼" to 5/16" higher with the double wheels. Remove the caster frame and measure with the SS casters then with the McMaster Carr casters and you can determine the difference. I have done a couple of sets now and found one to be ¼" higher and the other was ok at 5/16". I am about ready to put a set on a 520 that I use here in Phx. and I have a little modification that I plan to add to that install. I will post some pics when I finish.
ldh