Mobile Workbenches on Casters

[Uncle Hook]

I am planning on building a new workbench and I would like to make it mobile. However I am concerned about the stability of the bench for things like hand plane work if I put the bench on casters. I am interested in hearing others experience with this.

The top of my bench will be 1 3/4' laminated maple 5' long by 28" wide similar to the one sold by Grizzly.

http://grizzly.com/products/Solid-Ma...1-2-High/H9689

I am leaning towards building a workbench base in the form of a plywood box for tool storage while allowing some clamping space (6" - 8" ?) between the top and base.

Will 4" heavy duty double locking swivel casters like the ones found Woodcraft be substantial enough to support the workbench load and provide a sufficiently stable base the won't move when the casters are locked in place? I have read some concerns about a lack of stability involving workbenches on casters and I am wondering if the concerns are valid or somewhat overblown.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/Pro...9-7f8c103a366f

Comments and suggestions invited.

[JR]

I think your concern about casters is a reasonable one. I would lean more toward a system that lifts the bench onto casters for movement, then settles onto the feet for work. Something like mobile base used for tools.


JR

[Mr__Bill]

I have in the last few weeks seen two good ideas for moving a workbench. The first the guy used a motorcycle lift, rather like this one, that had swivel casters on it. He had a sturdy shelf off the floor enough to slide the the lift under it and just jacked up and moved the bench. When I saw him he was cleaning the floor of his garage and had all his bikes out in the drive and was moving the benches out too. The second had the bench equipped with 4 trailer jacks, like this, on each leg with a large swivel caster on the bottom. They had hex nuts instead of the cranks and he use a drill/driver with a long extension through the bench top to run them up and down.

I liked the jacks on the bench as I haven't the room to store a motorcycle lift, however the lift cost about the same as 4 jacks and could be used for other things.

Bill
over here in the rain

[pelligrini]

What sort of finish floor is it going to be on? and how far and often do you think you'll move it?

I did mine all out of Southern Yellow Pine. With a laminated 2 1/2" thick top, 5x5, and 5x7 legs it is pretty heavy. I can move it on the OSB floor of my shed fairly easily, but it won't move when planing.

I've got the woodcraft 3" double locking casters on my flip top planer cart, my drill press stand, and my dust collector cart. They are pretty stable with the wheels locked, but not absolutely stable. You might get a little movement from them if using them on a bench though, especially with strong lateral movement like when planing. If you don't have any changes in finish floor height that you are trying to move over; cracks, thresholds, etc. you probably don't need the 4" ones. JR's thought about a lift is a good one too.

[Uncle Hook]

What sort of finish floor is it going to be on? and how far and often do you think you'll move it?

The workbench will be on a concrete floor. I will be moving it between my garage and my workshop which are adjacent to each other. I have a doorway to go through with a slight threshold. And then I may move it within those two spaces, but not every day.

I have been toying with the idea of using a jack like this to lift up one end of the bench and somehow place a set of casters affixed to a board underneath a trestle style set of feet.


http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...act+floor+jack

[Pappy]

My tool table has swivel casters from Darnel Rose, 2 dbl locking/2 non locking. The locking mechanisms are better than those on the Woodcraft casters and I still wouldn't trust them to hold a workbench steady.

I would also go with a lift system of some type.

[Kensrock]

Rolling workbench

e New Yankee Workshop (Norm Abrahms) has plans for a nice work table that rolls around, but can be steadied by dropping a couple of hinged leaves to the ground.

[big tim]

Mobile Workbenches on casters

This is how I did it:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=24318

Tim

[pelligrini]

With the threshold you'll probably want to use the 4" or bigger wheels. I built a knock down cart for moving some dart standards for our association and another one for all the floueescent lights. I used some small 3" casters on the light cart initally. They had some problems getting over a 1/2" threshold. I put some bigger ones on there and it worked much better. The standard cart has 4 of the 5" woodcraft casters. When fully loaded with 6 standards it's rolling well over 500 lbs. The 5" casters will go over the threshold fairly easily.

[3thumbs]

This is how I did it:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=24318

Tim

That's very clever! Good work, Tim
DM

[jabe]

Nice bench, Great design for the casters/lift system Tim.

[Cochese]

I saw a bench/workstation that was set up on regular swivel casters but had toggle(?) clamps set up to raise the piece off the wheels when stability was needed, like four little jacks.

****ed if I can remember where I saw it now.

[capncarl]

I purchased trailer tongue jacks with side cranks for my mobile workbench.
After fiddeling around with it for a day I decided it was not worth the hassle and saved the jacks for something else and installed 2 eye bolts in my wall and pull the workbench tight against the wall with 2 turnbuckles. That is where the workbenck always winds up anyway.
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

I always thought it would be neat to have shop equipment on Pneumatic lifts.
Ever see how the Indy cars are lifted for tire changes? the jacks are built in and peumatic or hydraulic, they plug a hose into the car when it stops and all four corners are lifted by permanent jacks built into the car.

So similarly, you could jack as many as four corners or perhaps just two (two legs whells full time and two fixed or rubber-footed legs. Attach pneumatic cylinders to the fixed legs, with swivel casters on the extending rods from the cylinders.

The inlet supply to extend the cylinders should be teed to a male quick connect by fixed or flexible hoses. The cylinders need to have a stroke of about 2-3 inches max and a piston area (bore) of around >1.5 sq inches (to give 135# lift to each for 90 PSI supply air). These might be available through surplus industrial equipment sources. The cylinder square inches multipled by the PSI will give the lifting force for each cylinder.

To operate, attach your shop QD air hose to the male stud and the castors (normally retracted about an inch) will extend and lift the table. You can roll the table around while connected to the air. Disconnecting the air will let gravity push the table down and the weight will be on the original feet even though the wheels still touch the ground but will not bear the load. Some Cylinders have a spring return which will retract the rod all the way.

A few possible improvements:
1. A flow restrictor in the air line will make the table rise and fall smoothly and not jump when the air is attached.
2. a Valve in the air line will trap the air in the cylinders, permitting the table to be moved while elevated after the air line is disconnected. opening the valve will let the table descend.
3. A two-way valve and another set of air lines will allow Double-acting cylinders to positively power retract so the wheels don't touch the ground, when in the stationary position.
4. Instead of a short stroke cyl. use a longer stroke cyl with levers and pivots (fulcrums) to raise and lower a small platform with the movable casters. You'll get more mechcanical advantage and won't need so large a bore.

Here;s a brief tutorial on Air Cylinders:
http://www.scaryguys.com/aircyl.htm

[atgcpaul]

My bench has an enclosed base frame constructed of 2x4s. There's a sheet
of plywood on top of that and then the main workbench cabinets and drawers,
etc. The whole bench must weigh at least 300lbs. I have 6 casters screwed
to the underside of the plywood and they work pretty well on my concrete
floor.

There's about 3/8" clearance of the frame to the floor. If I want to
immobilize it, I get my prybar, lift up an edge of the frame and slide a thick
shim between the floor and the frame, raising the wheels off the floor. I have
4 shims under it now so it's level to my TS.

I can do all my heavy duty hand planing on the vise and the thing will not
budge.