Shopsmith Forums

wiredone wrote:Okay, so being the cheap bastardo that I am, (plus they were back-ordered on the ones at SS), I bought a set of casters on Fleabay. Finally got them the other day, they're okay, but have kind of a gummy wheel, which is nice on a smooth CLEAN floor.
I do metal work in my shop as well and these would be picking up every piece of swarf and stay embedded in the tire.
SO, I put them in a cart I use in my house which has a nice tile floor throughout.
The casters that were on the cart were also 3", some very nice hard rubber with bearings and wheel locks.
They had the correct 7/16ths stems, so in they went on to the Shopsmith.
Here's the trick on the spacing of the holes. The holes need to be 1 3/8" higher than whats already there. Easy PEasy etc...............
I don't know what spec Shopsmiths template is, but with the 1 3/8, I've got a nice half inch clearance in the full up position.
See the pic.
Oh, and Holy Crap! this now rolls Sooooo easy, what a major improvement!

And when raised, do the steel legs support ALL the weight? The casters can be touching the floor, but not actually carrying any load.

I agree regarding the 'HC"!:D

yeah at rest you can just lift the caster up MAYBE a sixteenth of an inch.
I find it perfect.

wiredone wrote:yeah at rest you can just lift the caster up MAYBE a sixteenth of an inch.
I find it perfect.

Bingo!!!!!

I still have a caster set sitting by the Push-me pull-me drill press to install on it. They will be a bit of a pain since I don't do floor level work very well any more and it will not lend itself well to rolling it upside down on a pair of saw-horses like a regular SS. I will just have to set up a pair of horses and tip it over with a second set of horses to support the headstocks with it laying on its side. While the concept is working out fine, without wheels it is a little awkward to move around. Even with a caster set it is going to be a little hard to move up in the "new" new shop in few weeks. It is prone to be a little top-heavy like any SS in drill press mode but with two heads the upper weight is doubled. I will lower both tables and heads as low as possible but I don't think I will try to move it up steps alone. I'll have my son drop by and help me move it.
Most of my planning (except for getting all of the stored crap gone) is working out fine. I am amazed at how many things I have flip-flopped on and how many things have eventually circled around and come back to my original planning as things happen.


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[ATTACH]14422[/ATTACH]received shopsmith ones this week. finally around to put them on today.

I installed new casters (shopsmith) into the lifting mechanisim then slid into leg with machine in normal position. gave it that 1/8 inch clearance from floor so caster floats from floor..... measurement that i have to raise the holes 1 5/8 inch which i did and drilled holes and installed bolts.... I have a wooden floor that is quite level and in down position casters just barely float.

So, if you are on any kind of uneven floor that 1 3/4 inch measurement that the shopsmith templates are , is probably the measurement to use. otherwise the wheels may not float in the down mode.

will try to attach pictures.... one is down, one is one click up 1/4 inch mdf is just a little loose. one is second click up 1/2 inch piece of oak is just a little loose........

that is all the height you can get with the cam setup and still have wheels float in the down position[ATTACH]14420[/ATTACH]

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So, what is the concensus here?.

I also am holding off installing my new casters (because of the issues noted above). I would like to install them with the same clearence as the original ones. So, would that be 1 3/8"???

still_waters_43 wrote:So, what is the concensus here?.

I also am holding off installing my new casters (because of the issues noted above). I would like to install them with the same clearence as the original ones. So, would that be 1 3/8"???

Slide the caster onto the leg. Since they will be going higher towards the narrower top of the leg, they will wedge slightly. Slide both sides the same amount. Clamp the casters in position. Check the clearance and height raised. and reposition the casters until the desired operation is attained, then mark and drill the 1/4" holes..

I suggest initially setting the legs on something 7/16" thick with the cams in the max (caster down and loaded)position(both casters on both legs simultaneously) and clamp them. Then check the raised and the half lowered positions.

Keep in mind that although the casters may be touching the floor when fully 'raised', that the play in the stem will prevent any weight being applied to them(feet firmly supporting all the weight).

I do not think 1 3/8" is a good distance.

yeah, you have to take it by a case to case basis.
My casters could be just a touch smaller than others, or bigger, these things are sized "nominally" not to spec.
I would always want to do a mock up and use common sense before drilling.
It's worth the trouble so you only have to drill each hole once.

After rereading all the posts on this subject i think some are thinking that bigger wheels will lift the machine higher off floor. If you have eight inch wheels the cams will still only lift the macine 1/2 inch off floor.... But, be careful it rolls sooooo much easier. no more tugging to get it rolling...

oldc6 wrote:After rereading all the posts on this subject i think some are thinking that bigger wheels will lift the machine higher off floor. If you have eight inch wheels the cams will still only lift the macine 1/2 inch off floor.... But, be careful it rolls sooooo much easier. no more tugging to get it rolling...

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