3" Caster Upgrade - My Review

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu May 24, 2012 8:01 pm

I received my Caster Upgrade Kit yesterday. Installation was delayed by a shopping trip for a new RV and Truck (which we did not and will not purchase) but it has not been terminated.

The first thing to do is inspect the parts upon receipt. I did that and discovered that I have one damaged wheel (probably a manufacturing error not damage). I have not yet reported this to Shopsmith. That will be done first thing tomorrow.

The instruction sheet is excellent. It is a six (6) page document that includes clear color photos and concise verbal instructions. The instructions estimate that it should take me about 30 minutes to complete in modification and installation.

Also included was a template for drilling the new holes. The diagram uses the original mounting holes for registration. Those registration marks lined up perfectly with the Shopsmith legs. Those registration marks also also register properly with the holes in the caster housing. I understand that this was not the case with previous versions.

The template is Rev D (05-12) and the instructions are Rev B (04/12).

I have high hopes of completing this task early tomorrow but my efforts may be redirected to clearing out the old RV so that my wife can get in there to begin preparation for our next road trip. That trip isn't scheduled for months but....

This review will be completed....later.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Thu May 24, 2012 9:04 pm

Oh Come on Dusty spend some of that money you are hanging on to and buy Momma a new RV.

Don't you know when Momma isn't happy ain't nobody happy.

Been there and done that and sticker shock is not just an expression. It is alive and well and living in car lots, truck lots and RV lots everywhere.

Back to the casters.

Dusty please let us know the outcome and give us all the gory details. I'm hoping there aren't any but in the case there are let us know.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Fri May 25, 2012 1:50 am

My experience is the wheels are not positioned correctly. Only in the lowest position are the legs off the ground and then by less than 1/4". I am deciding if I want to more them lower by drilling another set of holes or living with them this way.

I have not researched how much I would have to move them and if that is possible. I actually screwed the templates into the existing holes with the existing screws so I know I positioned them exactly in the right position and the holes were drilled in exactly the correct place.

I don't think we have the same template since yours is dated this month and I got mine last month.

dwevans · Post by **dwevans** » Fri May 25, 2012 9:13 am

I just installed these new castors on my Shopsmith, what a difference!

I did read on another post about the new holes not being in the right place, but I installed them at the positions show on the templates. They were indeed not quite at the right height for the rough floor I have in my shop, so I added 3 - 7/16" washers on top of each castor, works perfectly now. In fact, you can almost just look at it and it will move. When I looked at my old castors they were pretty much shot, so it was a good thing to replace them.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri May 25, 2012 10:50 am

dwevans wrote:I just installed these new castors on my Shopsmith, what a difference!

I did read on another post about the new holes not being in the right place, but I installed them at the positions show on the templates. They were indeed not quite at the right height for the rough floor I have in my shop, so I added 3 - 7/16" washers on top of each castor, works perfectly now. In fact, you can almost just look at it and it will move. When I looked at my old castors they were pretty much shot, so it was a good thing to replace them.

Please correct me if I am wrong! Adding 3 washers to the top of the casters has the effect of "lowering the wheels" in all positions. This would imply to me that the holes you drilled were higher up the leg than would have been a perfect location. Is that correct?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri May 25, 2012 2:23 pm

dusty wrote:Please correct me if I am wrong! Adding 3 washers to the top of the casters has the effect of "lowering the wheels" in all positions. This would imply to me that the holes you drilled were higher up the leg than would have been a perfect location. Is that correct?

That would be my conclusion as well.

AIUI the 'older' template put the new hole centers about 1 3/4"[???] above the original holes.

Earlier discussion and descriptions of resultant floor clearance(as well as Ed's thread) indicates that they need to be lower at about 1 9/16".

We are eagerly awaiting your divulging the result of using the newer template(how much the holes are moved up).

I do not understand what the different hole spacing for the original casters was about.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri May 25, 2012 2:50 pm

JPG40504 wrote:That would be my conclusion as well.

AIUI the 'older' template put the new hole centers about 1 3/4"[???] above the original holes.

Earlier discussion and descriptions of resultant floor clearance(as well as Ed's thread) indicates that they need to be lower at about 1 9/16".

We are eagerly awaiting your divulging the result of using the newer template(how much the holes are moved up).

I do not understand what the different hole spacing for the original casters was about.

Without being able to make measurements, I am not inclined to try to analyze some of the previously stated problems.

This task is really quite simple. If larger casters are going to be used, the caster assembly must be raised an appropriate amount to facilitate them. To do this, one must know just how much more room is needed (precisely) and then move the caster assembly (the mounting holes) up higher on the legs by that precise amount. It is my belief that distance is 1 1/2" (higher off the ground).

Separation between the original top hole and the new top hole is 1 11/16" (NOT 1 1/2"). This is the same for the new lower hole.

A straight line drawn between all four of the resulting holes is the hypotenuse of a 65° right triangle. The floor being one side and a line dropped from the top hole to the ground being the other.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:33 pm

dusty wrote:Without being able to make measurements, I am not inclined to try to analyze some of the previously stated problems.

This task is really quite simple. If larger casters are going to be used, the caster assembly must be raised an appropriate amount to facilitate them. To do this, one must know just how much more room is needed (precisely) and then move the caster assembly (the mounting holes) up higher on the legs by that precise amount. It is my belief that distance is 1 1/2" (higher off the ground).

Separation between the original top hole and the new top hole is 1 11/16" (NOT 1 1/2"). This is the same for the new lower hole.

A straight line drawn between all four of the resulting holes is the hypotenuse of a 65° right triangle. The floor being one side and a line dropped from the top hole to the ground being the other.

If that be the case and based on the "other" ed's experience (which I tend to trust more than SS)

I would say using the 11/16 measurement will put the casters 2/16 too high.
This also agrees with the DWEvans experience where he had to place 3 washers above the casters. 3 washers to me equal 3/16 ( 1/16 x 3) and if he used the 1 3/4 hole height would lower the wheels down to 1 9/16 exactly where Ed said they needed to be.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:58 pm

Ed in Tampa wrote:If that be the case and based on the "other" ed's experience (which I tend to trust more than SS)

I would say using the 11/16 measurement will put the casters 2/16 too high.
This also agrees with the DWEvans experience where he had to place 3 washers above the casters. 3 washers to me equal 3/16 ( 1/16 x 3) and if he used the 1 3/4 hole height would lower the wheels down to 1 9/16 exactly where Ed said they needed to be.

I don't know what you or others are considering to be "too high" but doing what I said puts the wheels just off the ground (about 1/16") when the legs are grounded. In the intermediate lift position, the legs are off the ground and the Mark V can be moved. In the upper position, the legs are off the ground about 1/2" (I did not measure it).

mountainbreeze · Post by **mountainbreeze** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:59 pm

A while back, I mounted a set of old SS casters on a workbench (see this post). They are working great - even with a very heavy workbench. Of course, I had no template to tell me where the drill the holes for mounting so I devised the following method which, maybe could be used for mounting a new caster set on a SS.

First, I decided that when the casters were fully retracted, they should clear the ground by 1/8". This was an arbitrary amount that seemed right to me. You can use whatever seems right to you.

Then, I took a piece of scrap wood 1/8" thick and put it under the wheels with the mechanism in the fully retracted position.

Then, I clamped this arrangement to the workbench legs, marked, drilled, mounted, and viola, casters mounted perfectly. In the first position, the workbench is slightly off the floor and in the second position, is is well off the floor.

Given all the discussion about the mounting hole templates for the new casters, when (if) I ever get a set, I think I'll use this method.