What's the difference with castors?

[BigguyZ]

I was at HF last night and they had 4" and 3" castors on sale. They looked and felt sturdy enough, but I know a lot of people are picky about castors. What's the difference? Please educate and ignorant newbie.

[cabinetman]

The difference between the two is 1". No really, The differences could be of a variety. The type of axel used and it's diameter should be larger on a larger caster. Whether or not there are bearings, and how the axel is mounted in the wheel. The type of material used for the hub and tire will vary. There is soft and hard rubber casters. The quality of the swivel mechanism if it's a swivel. These are some of the differences in casters in general. For the same brand of production caster for general use, usually the difference is the size of the wheel and the size of the axel. In selecting a caster size, the larger wheel will usually have a greater capacity, taller clearance, and roll over bumpy surfaces better than a smaller one.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Tom Miller]

This may be one of those areas where you have to buy some cheap ones to really learn all the ways that casters can "under perform". You'll be surprised and amazed.

The bottom line is that casters can be (and usually are) an appreciable fraction of the cost of a piece of shop equipment. But, they also can make or break your appreciation for that piece of shop equipment.

One way that I've found to save a little money, though, is not to buy double locking swivel casters. I haven't found any yet that will lock rock solid with no (i.e. "not a hint of", aka zero) wiggle, which is a requirement of mine. Instead, I use standard swivel casters, and make my own leveler feet. Those meet my requirements exactly.

Regards,
Tom

[LinuxRandal]

I am going to be needing some for a project or two soon, could you all throw out some recommendations as to who you buy from?

Waiting on the go for the second project, if so I will be looking for greasable casters for it.

[Tom Miller]

I've been getting mine from Grizzly; the red poly ones, at the bottom of the page.

Regards,
Tom

[cobob]

"make my own leveler feet" ?? That is a provocative statement. I have been pondering this one myself. how do you do it?

[cobob]

ebay frequently has some GREAT deals on GREAT casters. The shipping cost is huge but phenolic 400 lb/ caster rated zerk fitted casters for ~$20 per wheel show up regularly

[BigguyZ]

The Castors I bought from HF were 4" with a black rubber tire and what looked like a cast metal frame. Bearings for the swivel part, and cost $3 or somewhere abouts.... They seemed pretty sturdy to me. They had fixed castors and swivel in 3" as well for about $2-$3.

I'm not worried about the locking mechanism, since I'll be making my own leveler feet as well...

[bigsteel15]

I like these that a local distributor carries a full inventory of.
http://www.fallshaw.com/
They are not cheap but very well made.
I have also bought the "cheap" ones at the local tools store but their inventory is never consistent so rarely can I get the same thing twice.

[Tom Miller]

"make my own leveler feet" ?? That is a provocative statement. I have been pondering this one myself. how do you do it?

Check out this thread.

I've since incorporated the "eye bolt" suggestion posted in that thread, and now I can fully operate these by hand (i.e. I can lift my BT3 mobile base off the ground by hand-turning the eye bolt).

Regards,
Tom

[BobSch]

I've been happy with the Grizz casters here http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2006/Main/264
Specifically the HO684 with double locks. Haven't seen any noticible movement when locked and they move easily when unlocked.

[Pappy]

Depends on what you are using them on. Mobile cabinets with medium weight factor, the Grizzly casters are good. Like Tom, I prefer the red poly wheels from them.

For heavier loads and mobile tool bases, I get mine from Darnell-Rose. http://www.casters.com/ US company that makes their own products at prices that are in line with the better import models. Best part is that if you order 4 casters or 4,000 you are treated like the most important customer they have!

The swivel bearings are double row, so steering/turning is easier. My tool cart weighs in at amost 400#'s and I can steer it from either end.

For mobile tool bases I use 2" hard rubber wheels on swivels in a modified Wood magazine designed base. I have the Grizzly G0555 on these and did have a 6" jointer on them. Working now on a base for an 8" jointer and lifts for my BT3.

If anyone is interested I can give specific part numbers and a point of contact.

[gmack5]

Here's another alternative for the eye-bolt lift/leverler

Here's an alternative to the Eyebolt type lift.
It's relatively easy to construct, I've used them several times as levelers, but they could just as well be used as lifts.

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip010608sn.html