Lee Valley casters?

[Tamarack]

I have always been pleased by the quality of everything I've bought from Lee Valley. I got a new catalog from them a couple of days ago showing a line of casters I've not noticed before, rated for 140 lbs/caster and available with brakes (not sure about double-locking).
The weight capacity would be enough for what I have in mind, but these are much lower in price than any I've seen elsewhere. Made of nylon with steel axles and synthetic rubber tires
and your choice of bolt-, stem-, or plate mount. Has anyone here used these, and if so how satisfied are you with them?

Paul

[pelligrini]

I saw those too. The description seems to imply double locking. "The locking model simultaneously brakes the wheel and locks the caster."

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...0133&cat=1,240

I usually get my casters from Woodcraft, and I've had very good experience with theirs.

*edit: These probably are not the ones the OP is refering to.

[LarryG]

I have not used those particular casters, but have used similar ones. They usually work best on lightweight furnishings that need to be rolled around occasionally (as opposed to constantly) and need a caster that is attractive to look at and won't mar a wood or tile floor. If that's your application, they might well be fine.

I wouldn't use them in the shop, however. LV doesn't state the size, unless I'm overlooking it, but my guess is that they're not more than 2.5" diameter. That's pretty small; in a shop, they will catch on anything larger than a speck of sawdust. Also, 140lbs isn't much. Woodcraft's casters are rated for 300lbs even in the smallest 3" size. Then again, they cost about 10 times as much as these, too ...

[Uncle Cracker]

I've always paid the extra money and used the WC's, but LV stands behind their products religiously, so they might be worth a try. As Larry says, the difference in weight rating is significant, and probably indicates some compromises in materials or design.

[LarryG]

These are the new casters to which Paul refers (I think ... pretty sure).

Looking more closely, they *might* be 3" in diameter. (Strange that they don't mention the size.) And I went and found some of the similar casters that I have experience with, and note that they have a rating of only 40 to 75 lbs, depending on size and brand.

So, perhaps the 140lb rating on these makes them more useful than I originally thought, especially if they are 3" or so in diameter. I wouldn't use them for a mobile tool stand but they might be fine under a cut-off cart or trash barrel. At ten bucks for a set of four, it would certainly be a cheap enough experiment.

EDIT: Bad guess on the size. Lee Valley customer service says they are 2" in diameter.

[pelligrini]

OK, I didn't notice those in Larry's link. I doubt the wheels are 3", those bolts are supposed to be 1/2" long. Maybe 2" max.

I wouldn't use them in any shop environment. They would probably stop on a dime.

I use similar all nylon ones on all my tower computer cases.

[Mr__Bill]

Those look perfect for an up comming in-house project that I'm about do to start, a sewing room and home office make over. If you try them let us know how they work out.

As for shop roll-a-rounds I bet they would roll about in Rod Kirby's shop just fine, in mine however they would be stationary.

Bill
it's only a mess if you don't know where to find things...

[LarryG]

I doubt the wheels are 3", those bolts are supposed to be 1/2" long. Maybe 2" max.

Congratulations, Erik, you win the Marvel no-prize for today. I emailed LV CS and they responded within minutes: 2" for both the locking and non-locking versions.

(My 3" guess came from measuring the bolt threads and then the wheel on my screen. Not very scientific, I know; but apparently a lot less scientific than I thought. )

[cabinetman]

Those casters appear to be more for decorative type furniture applications to be used on smooth floors, i.e., homes and offices.
.

[pelligrini]

(My 3" guess came from measuring the bolt threads and then the wheel on my screen. Not very scientific, I know; but apparently a lot less scientific than I thought. )

Hehe, I used my mouse cursor arrow. It was about the same length as the said 1/2" bolt.