Mobilizing a mobile base

[poolhound]

I have been considering the best way to make the mobile base for my BT mobile. I do have some 4" fully locking caster which was my first thought but of course being 4" I end up with some wasted space although I have also thought about adding a thin sliding drawer under the torsion box. these casters are pretty substancial but their profile doesnt look like there will be a heck of a lot of contact point with the floor. I also have some HD cabinet levelers that I could add to each corner but this would just make setup a bit of a pain.

I just realized that once I get my BT off its current stand the herc-u-lift will be unused. If I can adapt it to fit my jointer stand which currently uses an HTC2000, the HTC2000 can then be used.



This mobile base wont be big enough to just sit the torsion box in but I wondered if I just took the corner pieces and attached them to the corners of the torsion box (with internal support added inside the torsion box) wether this would be a good solution.

It seems like a good idea to me but wanted to see if there is some stupid gotcha I hadnt considered...

[Tom Miller]

I think that could be made to work. One issue, though: it appears the bolt holes on those corner pieces are placed such that the lag bolts (or whatever you use) would be going in to the bottom skin of your torsion box. Maybe you could bolt on a vertical strap, and attach the strap a little higher up. You'd have to make a little cutout in your torsion box to accommodate the bolt, and maybe the strap.

Another issue: can you get away with two swivel and two fixed casters? I.e. is that mobile enough? I only bring it up because it wouldn't be in my shop.

The fact that these mobile bases drop down to at least 2 solid fixed feet is a plus in my book. I've never been a fan of locking casters, and now all my homemade mobile bases use the less expensive non-locking casters, and homemade hand-operated leveling feet.

Regards,
Tom

[dbhost]

What about the HF mobile base and some 1-1/4" square steel stock? This would probably require welding, but I am thinking just cross brace it. I am pretty sure the wheels can handle it...

[poolhound]

I think that could be made to work. One issue, though: it appears the bolt holes on those corner pieces are placed such that the lag bolts (or whatever you use) would be going in to the bottom skin of your torsion box. Maybe you could bolt on a vertical strap, and attach the strap a little higher up. You'd have to make a little cutout in your torsion box to accommodate the bolt, and maybe the strap.

Thats a good point, I will need to meaure more accuratley but the holes are approx 3/4" up. I was intending of making the torsion box from 5/8 and 1/2 MDF. I havent decided which of the two thicknesses to use for the skin but either way I may only just clear the skin with any bolt. I cant quite picture what you mean by "attaching a strap" can you clarify?

Another issue: can you get away with two swivel and two fixed casters? I.e. is that mobile enough? I only bring it up because it wouldn't be in my shop.

I think this should work, all my tools must live around the edge of my garage and are pulled out when I turn it into a shop. My BT is aways the first thats moved so while it wont be the most maneuverable it will have the whole empty space to be moved into.

The fact that these mobile bases drop down to at least 2 solid fixed feet is a plus in my book. I've never been a fan of locking casters, and now all my homemade mobile bases use the less expensive non-locking casters, and homemade hand-operated leveling feet.

Regards,
Tom

Thats what I was attracted to as well. Also this base is less than 1" off the floor.

How do you make your "hand-operated leveling feet."

[poolhound]

What about the HF mobile base and some 1-1/4" square steel stock? This would probably require welding, but I am thinking just cross brace it. I am pretty sure the wheels can handle it...

Do you mean the one intended to have your own wooden beams added? It looks pretty similar to the HTC from an operation perspective.

[tribalwind]

the two that HF has look little chintzier in the wheels.2" casters wont roll as good as your 4's,they are also the same price ($40 and $50)
this one gets Lots of good reviews at rocker,

seems like a good idea to me too.some lags in each corner-side i would think should be strong enough?
my caster locks are hard to reach as i put them under the base,maybe too deep from edges,i need to redo that cause theyre all but useless as in

heres a couple other ideas,
youtube videos.
DEFINITELY check out the other vids from teh first link!!! this guy does soem cool stuff! airpowered wooden engines???! slick! and it plays a FLUTE! haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=122w40ZBrJg (see more from this author!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko3-Lzt7BFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QYHpe0qQqg

[Tom Miller]

...I cant quite picture what you mean by "attaching a strap" can you clarify?

Something like this -- the blue vertical piece is the strap:

I think this should work, all my tools must live around the edge of my garage and are pulled out when I turn it into a shop. My BT is aways the first thats moved so while it wont be the most maneuverable it will have the whole empty space to be moved into.

Oh yeah, you'll have plenty mobility.

Also this base is less than 1" off the floor.

I agonized about that "loss of valuable space" issue myself, but finally just sucked it up.

How do you make your "hand-operated leveling feet."

Here's a pic, and an old thread that shows how to make them. Probably not useful in this case, though.



Regards,
Tom

[poolhound]

Something like this -- the blue vertical piece is the strap:

[ATTACH]12433[/ATTACH]

Thanks Tom, now I get what you mean.

[poolhound]

,

seems like a good idea to me too.some lags in each corner-side i would think should be strong enough?
my caster locks are hard to reach as i put them under the base,maybe too deep from edges,i need to redo that cause theyre all but useless as in

Thats the same problem I have with the locking casters on my fliptop planer base, two are easy to get but the others are always a pain.

,
heres a couple other ideas,
youtube videos.
DEFINITELY check out the other vids from teh first link!!! this guy does soem cool stuff! airpowered wooden engines???! slick! and it plays a FLUTE! haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=122w40ZBrJg (see more from this author!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko3-Lzt7BFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QYHpe0qQqg

Cool ideas, they wont really work for my app but I think the 2nd one is a great idea for a GP mobile base.

[poolhound]

I did meaure the height of the side holes and they appear to be 13/16 above the base plate. If I skin the base with 1/2" that leaves me 5/16 and allowing for a 1/4" lag bolt should mean there will be 3/16" clearance from the skin. My intent was to fix some 3/4 ply inside the corners of the torsion box to screw into.

Also if you look at the construction of the corner bracket you will see it has a thick metal plate across the bottom. this is a triangle approx 6x6". I was thinking of drilling holes through this so I could add some larger lag bolts from underneath into the ply inside the box.

One last thought was to skin edge of the box with ply (over the MDF) a) for cosmetic reasons and b) it will give the lagbolts something to bite into even before they go through the mdf edge of the torsion box.

I cant see anything too wrong with this picture, please tell me if I have missed something really stoooopid as I intend to start construction this WE.