This little project originated because we are replacing the carpeting in the living room. It has seen better days. Of course this requires removing all of the furniture from the room. The coffee table weighs 225 pounds empty, is solid maple, as are the side tables I made. SWMBO wanted them movable by us and not a moving company, so I mounted casters under the tables. Unfortunately, when I designed and built the tables, I didn't give ANY thought to moving them after they were finished and placed in the room. Thus, each table required a slightly different solution. So I added two 2" diameter, 90 pound load casters to the three tables I made. I always put 3/4"x2" frames around the top and bottom of the carcasses I make, so there was a mounting flange for the casters. I did have to make 1" thick riser blocks to get the casters to be proud enough to sink into the carpet pile while leaving the coffee table baseboard corners just touching the carpet.
Second table. The underside of this table was done a bit differently and required a different solution to get the casters at the proper level. I had to make a thin plywood mount with a 3/4" piece behind it to mount the caster. The 3/4" piece was glued to the carcass frame rails in the corner. Everything was attached with #12 hex head self tapping screws in predrilled pilot holes
Last table had the structure underneath dictating a different approach to the caster mounts. The area needed about 1 1/2" build up to get casters at the needed height, so two layers of plywood seemed a way to that end. I thought about shaping the two layers differently, but using two identical layers was easier with less set up for the saws. The first layer was screwed and glued to the side rails with #6 1 1/4" screws. The second layer was glued and screwed to the first layer with the same screws. The casters were attached with the same #12 3/4" hex head self tapping screws as before. Yes, probably way over built, but I tend to do that with everything. This Table is extremely bottom heavy now.
The only piece I couldn't put on casters is the 84"x60"x17" maple entertainment cabinet I built. It weighs 325 pounds empty, so we will have to pay the installation crew to move it out of the way and return it to its resting place once the new carpeting is down.
Second table. The underside of this table was done a bit differently and required a different solution to get the casters at the proper level. I had to make a thin plywood mount with a 3/4" piece behind it to mount the caster. The 3/4" piece was glued to the carcass frame rails in the corner. Everything was attached with #12 hex head self tapping screws in predrilled pilot holes
Last table had the structure underneath dictating a different approach to the caster mounts. The area needed about 1 1/2" build up to get casters at the needed height, so two layers of plywood seemed a way to that end. I thought about shaping the two layers differently, but using two identical layers was easier with less set up for the saws. The first layer was screwed and glued to the side rails with #6 1 1/4" screws. The second layer was glued and screwed to the first layer with the same screws. The casters were attached with the same #12 3/4" hex head self tapping screws as before. Yes, probably way over built, but I tend to do that with everything. This Table is extremely bottom heavy now.
The only piece I couldn't put on casters is the 84"x60"x17" maple entertainment cabinet I built. It weighs 325 pounds empty, so we will have to pay the installation crew to move it out of the way and return it to its resting place once the new carpeting is down.
Comment