Decent casters for mitre saw cabinet

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Mark18PLL

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Are all caster wheels pretty much the same or is their a couple of brands that are well made and not too expensive?

I am building a mitre saw station and it needs to be wheeled around to keep it out of the way when not in use, would need to be swivel, non marking and braked.

Cheers
Mark
 
I've used these on my mitre saw and various other sleds - so far, they have been fine.

There are braked and non braked versons:

GBL - Castor Wheels 50mm + Screws | 4 Moving Caster Wheels Heavy Duty 200KG Swivel Wheels for Furniture - Trolley Wheels with PU Rubber | Heavy Duty Castors for Furniture: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

The key thing, as far as I was concerned, was to get something which could deal with the weight and which had decent bearings and a solid enough frame. For the price, I felt that they were worth a go.
 
Screwfix has a range which I've used for my mobile machinery - the ones with the blue tyres seem best - swivel/non-swivel/braked/non-braked
 
My local B&Q has a good selection of castors in stock and I've found it helpful to be able to handle them before choosing and buying.
 
Just make sure you get double braked ones so the brake stops both the wheel and the castor from turning. If you only have a brake on the wheel but the castor is still free to turn then it won't hold totally still.
 
I've never liked locking castors. However good, the table/sled/saw station always wobbles. I put my t/s/ss on unlocked castors with a cantilever system that either pushes the castors down to deploy them or pushes small legs down to lift the castors. Most of mine are hidden away inside the cabinet - but this early one on my site saw shows the sort of arrangement. This is a "push the legs down" version. The "push the castors down" one is similar but pushes onto a hinged plate to which the castors are attached.
This way, I have two accessible levers to pull down, rather than having to hunt around for four little tabs on the castors - which are invariably tucked away under the cabinet anyway.
(And remember that, at my age, anything lower than knee-height is pretty inaccessible! If you drop something, you pick it up. If I drop it, I think carefully about whether I want it any more.)

Legs-Down.jpg
Legs-Up.jpg
 
Like the way you have made that, ingenious. Good point though locked castors probably ok for a mitre saw, less so for anything where you are going to push against it, like a thicknesser, or table saw. On my old Kity thicknesser I have used a pram type handle at one end, under the fixed table, and wheels mounted on the side at the other end. As soon as you lift it up more than a couple of inches with the handle the wheels hit the floor and you can trundle it about.
 
Castors generally are not my favorite. Because they rotate, they can line up at cross purposes and make it hard to move the machine when pulling in and out of a gap etc. Also, castors splayed outwards may make for a stable base, but if all are inwards, the base area of your machine effectively becomes less and the machine is much easier to topple if you hit an obstacle like an offcut on the floor while moving.
Consider using two bigger wheels on a fixed axle at the back and just putting two (locking) castors on the front.
Remember that if the saw is on three wheels or even two because of an uneven floor, the load on each castor will be as much as half the machine, not a quarter. And that's the moment they will fail and tip the thing over on top of you....
 
Like the way you have made that, ingenious. Good point though locked castors probably ok for a mitre saw, less so for anything where you are going to push against it, like a thicknesser, or table saw. On my old Kity thicknesser I have used a pram type handle at one end, under the fixed table, and wheels mounted on the side at the other end. As soon as you lift it up more than a couple of inches with the handle the wheels hit the floor and you can trundle it about.
That comment comes at a really good moment!! I'm just making an extractor beast - see the YouTube:

Go about 11.5 mins in.
A couple of wheels fitted at the back will save a lot of precious space. He's got castors on outriggers to save height - I am short of height and width so your solution will do nicely!
 
That comment comes at a really good moment!! I'm just making an extractor beast - see the YouTube:

Go about 11.5 mins in.
A couple of wheels fitted at the back will save a lot of precious space. He's got castors on outriggers to save height - I am short of height and width so your solution will do nicely!

Just welded a couple of triangular pieces of steel to the legs and a bar running between them with the wheels on each end. With it standing on the floor the centre of the "axle" is about 3 inches behind the legs, and the wheels just clearing the floor. As soon as you lift the other end up the wheels come into play and off you go. Copied the idea from an old Wolf workmate type bench which has a similar set up. Works really well and don't have to mess around locking and unlocking castors.
 
Just had these 75mm ones delivered. Seem to be solid enough. The lock works on both the wheel and the 'spin'. A tenner from fleabay.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383656455736?var=652063753151
Look the same as the ones I have fitted on a number of cabinets and such in the workshop, also from fleabay. Really good, especially considering the price. I have a really big set that I can fit to the lathe when I need to move it. They are supposed to be good for 250 kg each, and looking at them I can believe it. I think even they were only £15 each and let me trundle a 700kg lathe around single handed. I just made fixed legs with the same hole spacings so I can just jack it up and change legs for wheels on the rare occasions I need to move it.
 
I think that for a miter saw stand sitting on locking casters is ok but things like bandsaw, tablesaw, lathe and anything you push wood into need to have feet on the floor when in use. I have just made the mistake with a stand for my benchtop planer/jointer. It is ok with small bits of wood but with heavy bits being shoved across it's not as solid as I would like. Will have to make some feet to take the weight when its being used. The thicknesser also sits on a wheeled stand but thats ok as the power feed means you are not pushing it through.
Regards
John
 
I have just been putting this type (below) on a frame today. I don't have a source for them, as I inherited a box of them (now empty) but have used them on a lot of things, including my wadkin AGS and this current frame is for a large dual drum sander.

I don't know what they are, but I will try and find a retailer of them next time I need some.

IMG_20210625_182704277.jpg



(Note I realise I didn't need 100x50 box, but it was the easiest way to offset the castors to create a larger footprint for greater stability)
 
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