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Does anyone make a levelling caster wheel with wheel dia of 5" or larger?

After much googling, the largest wheel I have found is 3.7" , for the leveling caster wheels.

Leveling Plate Casters, Leveling Casters

Leveling Stem Casters, Plate Casters, Ratchet Casters



I am wanting to make a custom mobile base for my mill, which weighs 4300 lbs. I would like to be able to move it around easily. A 3" wheel might be too difficult. A 5" wheel would make things easier.

Spud,

I would use a pallet jack modified for your mill and not add five inches or more of height to your machine, or are you going to mount the casters outside of the machine base?

One more item, unless your on a glass smooth floor, anything other than a steel or hard phenolic wheel on a caster is going to be tough to move?

I have a 10,000 pound capacity pallet jack with steel wheels, I have moved 6500 lbs. easily with it, just stopping the machine becomes the biggest concern!

There are custom pallet jack builders as well, unsure how much that would cost?

There was a pallet jack in the Boston area on eBay a few years ago that was adjustable for width for moving machines, the forks had a lip that was about an inch off the ground to get under the machine, it also had a bar that you put between the forks before picking the machine up to keep the forks from spreading.......I wish I would have saved those pictures from the add!

Kevin
 
Spud,

I would use a pallet jack modified for your mill and not add five inches or more of height to your machine, or are you going to mount the casters outside of the machine base?

One more item, unless your on a glass smooth floor, anything other than a steel or hard phenolic wheel on a caster is going to be tough to move?

I have a 10,000 pound capacity pallet jack with steel wheels, I have moved 6500 lbs. easily with it, just stopping the machine becomes the biggest concern!

There are custom pallet jack builders as well, unsure how much that would cost?

There was a pallet jack in the Boston area on eBay a few years ago that was adjustable for width for moving machines, the forks had a lip that was about an inch off the ground to get under the machine, it also had a bar that you put between the forks before picking the machine up to keep the forks from spreading.......I wish I would have saved those pictures from the add!

Kevin


I am going to make a custom cradle / frame to nestle the mill, that will have the caster outside the base with the mounting point for the caster base-plate well above the bottom of the base, to keep the mill as low as possible.

Am I correct in assuming that a larger wheel would lower rolling resistance than a smaller wheel?

 
I'm with Kevin / bsg on the pallet jack. Get yourself some good levelers Sunnex, royal or others. The pallet jack can live under the mill and be used for other things when needed.

Andy
 
Best bet is to add leveling screws near the wheels. Then use wheels as big as you want. I do not really understand, are you saying the wheels move up and down to level the machine? It never comes up off the wheels? They do make spring loaded casters that are over 8" wheels.
Bill D
 
Another vote for a pallet jack which you can buy for less than the cost of 4 casters shown.
I use adjustable foot pads on top of wood blocks so that the jack can just roll in, up, and move. This does raise the working height of the handles by a few inches but you may find you like it.
3-4000 lb machine easy by yourself, 7-8000 lb and you need a helper to get it moving.
That on a 5000 rated pound HF.( I know not safe to overload, I didn't think it would even lift my Cinci centerless but desperate times.....)
Sweep the floor clean first, these don't like crossing metal chips.

It's also handy to have for moving workbenches, surface plates and such.
If I move a mill or grinder often I'll want to move some others to follow it and this way you don't have to empty out the bench, cabinets, etc to move them.
Bob
 
The ones you link to in the first post are pretty-much the common standard for such self-levelling casters+feet. There is another variety, which is not as highly rated (should be just sufficient) which comes with 5" wheels:-
Heavy Duty Levelling Castors (WDS 12252), Levelling Castors | WDS.
You'd have to find a local supplier, but I'm sure they exist.

The important thing about any of the levelling caster/feet products is that you jack the feet down as soon as you have finished moving the machine. That way the wheels don't have a chance to take a set and become harder to move.

I've got ones of the same type as you listed for my 1 tonne mill, my 1/2 tonne lathe and the wife's 1/4 tonne pottery wheel!

 
Unless you lower the machine down on leveling feet that are under the machine, the machine will move, they will still pivot around the stem of the castor!

Casters are typically underrated, when your moving equipment across a floor sometimes one or more may lose contact with the floor, unless the casters are spring loaded? The same thing that happens with machinery skates!

Kevin
 
Don't get polyurethane casters. The poly disintegrates in a few years and generally sucks, plus it compresses enough to make castering while rolling heavy loads so hard I had to lift the machine up to turn the wheels in the correct direction by hand, then lower it and push. Pallet jack is the way to go for anything over 1000 lbs. phenolic, steel or cast iron wheels are good. last forever and much easier to push, but tough on epoxy floors
low rear view of fixed casters.jpg
 
Come on bud don't go the homeshop Harry route, do it the right way and use a pallet jack.


I have a pallet jack, but it's a pain to use. I need to get some Crown pallet jacks, which I've heard are the best.

The reason I want to make a mobile base for the mill is because I really don't want to set down wooden blocks or use a pallet everytime I want to make a small move.
 
Deckel in the photo but you should be able to get the idea of what I / we had in mind. If you use proper levelers there should be little or no need for anything more. At the very most you would need an extra small spacer added to the leveler. Just screw type Sunnex levelers in that photo the wedge type are even taller. I don't move that mill but there is a Doall V bandsaw that we move all the time and the pallet jack just lives there in between moves but the saw sits on mounts.
Do you have a photo of the mill in your shop? Why the need for small moves?

Andy
 

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Even on the smaller base of the Deckel FP3 with the smaller levelers no problem getting it under. The pallet jack in both photos is #5,000 with the smaller blades. Seems so easy using the pallet jack just one lever to control and the pump handle to lift.

Andy
 

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Deckel in the photo but you should be able to get the idea of what I / we had in mind. If you use proper levelers there should be little or no need for anything more. At the very most you would need an extra small spacer added to the leveler. Just screw type Sunnex levelers in that photo the wedge type are even taller. I don't move that mill but there is a Doall V bandsaw that we move all the time and the pallet jack just lives there in between moves but the saw sits on mounts.
Do you have a photo of the mill in your shop? Why the need for small moves?

Andy


I bought some regular casters, not leveling ones. The ones I got are rated for 2000lbs each. Eventually I will make a mobile base for the machine. I don't really want to use a pallet jack if I have better choices because with casters I can push on the sides and back and finagle machine around.

I don't have a shop right now, so need a way to move machine into storage and while it is in storage.

For the time being I am going to use a rented pallet jack and a heavy duty pallet to move the machine out of the trailer and into the building.
 
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I bought some regular casters, not leveling ones. The ones I got are rated for 2000lbs each. Eventually I will make a mobile base for the machine. I don't really want to use a pallet jack if I have better choices because with castes I can push on the sides and back and finagle machine around.

I don't have a shop right now, so need a way to move machine into storage and while it is in storage.

For the time being I am going to use a rented pallet jack and a heavy duty pallet to move the machine out of the trailer and into the building.

Here’s another option, there are others to choose from, this is the first one google came up with!

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...nsroller-pallet-truck-5000-lb-capacity-987663

The only drawback I see with this type, the pallet jack has to be raised and lowered to engage different sets of wheels?

And another option, these can be found used if your patient!


Here’s a couple at HGR, one is missing the bottle jack.....they’re having a sale Saturday, these would be marked down another 20%!

Used Skarnes Lift Dolly | HGR Industrial Surplus

Used Skarnes Lift Dolly | HGR Industrial Surplus

Kevin
 
Here’s another option, there are others to choose from, this is the first one google came up with!

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...nsroller-pallet-truck-5000-lb-capacity-987663

The only drawback I see with this type, the pallet jack has to be raised and lowered to engage different sets of wheels?

And another option, these can be found used if your patient!


Here’s a couple at HGR, one is missing the bottle jack.....they’re having a sale Saturday, these would be marked down another 20%!

Used Skarnes Lift Dolly | HGR Industrial Surplus

Used Skarnes Lift Dolly | HGR Industrial Surplus

Kevin


I have 4 of those Roll-a-Lift dollies that use a bottle jack to lift a machine. I think the 2 small ones I have are rated at 1850lbs and the large ones are 4K or 6K.

I assumed they are only good for machines with large flat side. On a mill like mine, wouldn't they cave inwards, because there is no large flat upright casting on my mill to keep the dollies upright.
 
You could modify them or make adapters so they stick in the forklift pockets in the base. A tight fit would keep them upright with nothing to lean against.

Or, you could use 4x timber to bridge across the mill, or in to the casting, so no flat frame needed.
 








 
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