3" caster upgrade

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dusty
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by dusty »

RFGuy wrote: Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:57 pm
dusty wrote: Thu Jan 12, 2023 12:50 pm I agree wholeheartedly that when the wheels are up the machine must rest FIRMLY on the ground. Obviously, to far up voids the lift and thus the purpose of thr wheels. Strike a happy midground..
Dusty,

Just an fyi...but the SS premium casters have quite a bit of play in them. For example when I checked mine yesterday, yes mine are firmly resting on the ground BUT there is no weight on them. I could easily push on the wheel to "cant" them inwards because the swivel mechanism allows this. I am just pointing this out that straight vertical measurements here will only get you so far because the casters when not bearing a load can deviate off of the vertical axis quite a bit. In other words, this may or may to be accounted for in your measurements/drawing. Until there is some preload on the casters, the casters have quite a bit of side-to-side play but can still be firmly on the ground, yet not bearing any of the Mark V load.
Yes, if there is no weight on the casters/caster assembly there can be a deal of movement.That free movement dissipates immediately as soon as the wheels begin to bare a load.

I have a leg with caster assembly and 3" wheels setting here on my work table. This was where I gathered the dimensions. I had hand pressure on the wheels when the measurements were taken.

Had to do it this way. I can no longer count on getting up off the floor if I got down close enough to take those fractional measurements.
2" caster installed without redrilling the leg
2" caster installed without redrilling the leg
Caster 3 inch.jpg (80.45 KiB) Viewed 596 times
The legs are part of of the iitems going to sand blasting and powder coat soon to become a new Shorty.
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Caster Template (NEW) 1.12.jpg
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dusty
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

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I made some changes (very minor) and changed to fractional notations. I create these sketches using decimal measurements and forgot to change to fractional before I posted.
Caster Template (fractional).jpg
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dgale
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by dgale »

I just installed the "premium retractable caster" set (#556247) on my 520, as it never had casters or brackets when I acquired it. I used the printed templates that SS sent me with the set and followed their directions to a "T". It all worked out fine, but I found some of the bolt hole locations were slightly off by maybe 1/8" - no big deal and I was able to make it work with a bit of finesse, but it wasn't perfect. The height was perfect, and they work great, but I did have to coax a few bolts at a slight angle into the holes.

After 40+ years of the original casters on my 500 and no casters on my 520, I will say this upgrade it nothing short of perfection. I never did figure out why the original owner of the 520 would spend that much money on a new 520 and not get the casters, but I'm very pleased to not have to grad it across the shop floor anymore. I also have a set of the premium wheel for my 520 and need to move those brackets next. I guess I'll get a second chance to see how the templates work and will be interesting if there is any difference on a 45-year-old machine vs my 520, which is much newer (I assume not).
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by JPG »

Curious why at this late date the holes were 1/8" "off".
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dgale
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by dgale »

JPG wrote: Wed Mar 01, 2023 8:55 pm Curious why at this late date the holes were 1/8" "off".
Good question - the paper templates they send are a bit funky to work with but I followed the instructions exactly as printed and I had hoped the bolts would fit perfectly but as noted, they were mostly a bit off. Definitely workable but not perfect. I'd happily have paid a bit more to SS to have them send a higher quality template but instead they were just printed on a piece of paper to be cut out. Seems like there has to be a better way but it ultimately worked.
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jsburger
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by jsburger »

Many years ago SS had a big problem with the paper templates. They ran out of the printed ones and started reproducing them on an in house copy machine. The scaling was off. I thought they fixed the problem with a metal templet. Are they going back on the cheap again with paper?
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JPG
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by JPG »

Some folks never learn!!!
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Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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dusty
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by dusty »

dgale wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:02 pm
JPG wrote: Wed Mar 01, 2023 8:55 pm Curious why at this late date the holes were 1/8" "off".
Good question - the paper templates they send are a bit funky to work with but I followed the instructions exactly as printed and I had hoped the bolts would fit perfectly but as noted, they were mostly a bit off. Definitely workable but not perfect. I'd happily have paid a bit more to SS to have them send a higher quality template but instead they were just printed on a piece of paper to be cut out. Seems like there has to be a better way but it ultimately worked.
I doubt that it is a "good" question. Unless the template is 1/8" off which I seriously doubt the 1/8" error must be the product of workmanship. The OP did it to himself. I also suspect that the 1/8" error is an exaggeration. With that much error you couldn't get all the bolts to go through the holes.
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dusty
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by dusty »

jsburger wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:22 pm Many years ago SS had a big problem with the paper templates. They ran out of the printed ones and started reproducing them on an in house copy machine. The scaling was off. I thought they fixed the problem with a metal templet. Are they going back on the cheap again with paper?
They did fix the problem with the metal drilling template---if you buy it. It did not come with the machine. I don't think it is still being offered though. What was the part number.
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Re: 3" caster upgrade

Post by RFGuy »

I have only done this upgrade once, but I have to say the metal drilling jig/template was effortless to use and the results were spot on. I can't understand why they stopped selling it. I have used paper templates for other things in the past and there can be issues with perfectly aligning them. This doesn't even mention the copy/print issues associated with getting a perfect 1:1 scaling that is needed. Oftentimes I will make my own copy of the original (in case I mess up), so copy issues are always a concern even if the company made a good paper template to begin with. Yes, you can mitigate these issues, but a hard, fixed template is always preferred to a paper template IMHO.
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