PeteDE
Plastic
- Joined
- May 28, 2010
- Location
- Newark, DE
I have a small shop at home with limited floorspace. Most of my tools and equipment are on casters. I recently acquired a Bridgeport milling machine, and I'd like to put a rolling frame under it. I have four 5" swivel casters rated at 1000# each. I was thinking of making a frame out of 4"x1/2" angle iron and attaching the casters on the four outside corners with 6"x9"x1/2" steel plates mounted on gussets and welded to the angle iron. The plates would protrude 6" from the angle iron, but have to be 9" wide to allow the caster to swivel freely. I'm looking for about 1" floor clearance. I know that the mill weighs around 2000#, and the milling vise and material being milled would add a couple hundred more. There's also an old coolant tank and pump inside the machine that's not operational. I don't have an engineering background, so I'm kinda fluing by the seat of my pants. Do you think that 4"x1/2" angle iron will be stiff enough, or will flexing be a problem? The flexing could come from both directions, the weight of the machine on the base, and the leverage of the plates on the corners of the frame. Thanks for any input you could provide.