CPOworkshop.com Experience

[Bill]

I have a hard time visualizing that with the bolt on castor but I'll keep trying.

Yes, I was. Thanks.

[Larry Jaques]

While I disagree with the idea of a mobile base for a top-heavy DP, you can buy them already built for $70 from Grizzly. Just add a couple thicknesses of 3/4 baltic birch ply for a bolt-down base and Roberta's yer auntie.

people are like Slinkies ... not really good for anything, but you can't help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.

[dadiOH]

What's hard?

1. A wood base with a plate caster in each corner.
2. A lag (or bolt and threaded insert) near each corner.

Turn the bolt/lag one direction and it goes down eventually touching the floor. Keep turning and it will lift that corner off the floor. Repeat with other three bolts/lags and the whole shooting match is off the floor and won't roll. Repeat in reverse and it will be sitting on the wheels and will roll.

Seems to me you have three decisions to make...

1. Do you want it on a base? Useful IMO.
2. Do you want it to be moveable? Personally, I find that desireable.
3. If moveable, do you want the ability to make it unmoveable. Again personally, I have never had that need or desire.

[J. Clarke]

2x4 frame. A couple of layers of 3/4" ply on top. Casters bolted to ply underneath.

Gives a nice flat easy to clean surface, 2x4s give plenty of stiffness and hide casters.

As for the bolts, get some long cabinet levellers and T-nuts--should be able to find 'em at Home Despot, if not then Lee Valley has them. You can adjust the levellers from the top with a screwdriver or drill a hole to take a piece of welding rod or whatever for a handle.

[J. Clarke]

Wait a minute. How about casters with threaded stems, put a tee-nut on the bottom a cross-piece and a hex nut on the top, when it's time to move you loosen the hex nut, turn the stem down until the weight is on the caster, then sock down the hex nut to hold it in place. When you've got it moved reverse the procedure to lift the caster?

[Bill]

I see. So the unit rests on the four lag bolts all of the time it is stationary. With the wheels on the bottom of the base, that means the lag bolts would have to extend beyond the height of the castors. Perhaps it shouldn't, but the thought of subjecting each bolts to

1/4* 260 pounds=65 pounds of continuous force makes me hesitant. One good push and they all bend or snap??? Maybe I just don't fully appreciate the strength of a half-inch diameter bolt...they are pretty ominous looking... Maybe I'll try making a SketchUp drawing.

Thanks! Bill

[Bill]

The reference to a "threaded insert" is very helpful to me. I assume it has some sort of flange and should thus be fit from the bottom. A washer and nut at the top, and two washers and a lock-nut on the bottom and it would be good-to-go, no? Maybe another threaded insert at the top?

Q1. Two attach the 2by8 SYP to the top of the frame (to which the DP is secured). I assume to use 2 3/4" screws with the top board pre-drilled. 4 of those on each end of each board ought to hold the darn thing down, no? It may also give me a chance to test out the 10-Amp DeWalt drill I bought myself on sale for Christmas. :)

Q2. I assume you position "coasters" under your lag bolts to prevent disintegrating the concrete.

Thank you for the lesson!!

Bill

[Bill]

The description above makes more sense now. At first, I though the lag bolts and the castors were mechanically connected... it's more like two separate systems.

Bolts seems to make more sense than screws With all that weight sitting on a retracted screw, it seems like it wouldn't take to long to strip out the wood. I'll know more after I see what sorts of parts, like thread inserts, I can get at the BORG.

Do you think these castors will work okay (they are rated for 176 pounds each). The 4" ones won't quite fit on the twobyfour frame, and it's not like they are going to see much mileage):

[Bill]

Much of the value, for me, is in learning how to do stuff myself (but I Know I don't need to sell you on that). You have to start somewhere, so I'm starting at the bottom on this project! ;)

A few years ago, in another forum, folks were giving me a bad time because I was interested in carving my own banjo pegs (while there are machines that can spit them out faster than you can talk about it). The end that matters is done with a tool resembling a pencil sharpener--which of course, if you look in the books, you can build yourself if you don't want to fork over the $40-$80. Reamer for where the peg goes, extra. If you want to carve pegs for a viola or another instrument, you'll mostly-likely need another set. Even if you do buy the pegs, you'll need to at least buy the reamer to do a proper fitting. Maybe in the coming years we can finish this instrument together...

Bill

[Puckdropper]

Bill wrote in news: [e-mail]:

A threaded insert has wood threads on the outside and machine threads on the inside. A T-nut will have some sort of flange, and often have spikes to keep it from turning. The T-nut spikes can't be trusted to keep the bolt from falling out if the piece is lifted, while the threaded insert can.

If you'd like pictures, just type in "T-nut" and "threaded insert" in Google.

The nut/washer washer/nut system also works well if you can go through the piece. The threaded inserts and T-nuts work well for things like legs where going through the piece is impractical.

*snip*

Hope this helps,

Puckdropper

[Bill]

Yes, very helpful! Thanks!

Bill

[Morgans]

Not quite.

I use the castors (wheels) that swivel on a ball bearing base in all directions. Mount them so the base is an inch or two off the ground. If you make a 2 x 4 base, you could cut or leave a (lets use approximate dimensions) 2" x 3" hole in the base. Cover over the hole with a piece of

3/4" plywood onto the top side of the base. If you used a 3" caster, and mount it to the underside of the ply, which would leave the base a little over one inch off the floor.

Put the bolts through from the top of the base close to the outer edges of the base for maximum stability. The end are on the concrete when you tighten them up and continue tightening the bolt until they lift the wheels a fraction of an inch off the ground. The action of threads only lifting one corner of the machine at a times makes it very effortless to lift a very heavy machine, and level it perfectly and not have it move when you apply any side forces to the machine.

[Morgans]

You could do it like my very recent post, or you could make a base (perimeter only-add wood for where the DP sits and bolts to the base) by laying two 2x4's directly on the floor parallel to each other. Add 2x4's at a 90 degree angle to those first two 2x4's to form the perimeter and more across the top to set the machine on. Don't make joints, other than the fact that the second layer is sitting on the first two on top of the first ones, and screwed together.

Mount the base type casters on the bottom of the second layers. If you used a 2" wheel, your base of the first two 2x4's would be off the ground by a little over 1/2". You could use taller wheels and longer bolts, or use

4x4's for the first two pieces and use 4" wheels. I never use less than that, or the wheels are too hard to move over slivers of wood and screws and crap that are on the floor.

[Morgans]

"Bill" wrote

Two different parts that are both there at the same time. The bolts are just to the side of the wheels, but only the wheels or the bolts are used at any one time. I agree with the comment of using casters on a screw on plate. You can use two fixed non steering, and two all direction plates, or use all direction plates. I liker the latter better.

[Morgans]

Look up blind nut. They would allow you to use machine bolts. If lag, cut the end off square to protect the concrete. Lag bolts through 1 1/2" pine would last 20 years, no problem with strength if you pre drill the hole so the wood does not spit. Use 1/2" bolt.

[Bill]

Jim,

Thank you for all of your posts this morning. I read them very carefully. I like your design above. I'll be looking for some wheels that have total height of about 4+ inches. You say "don't make joints" but I assume you intend butt-joints for the four twobyfours on the floor (otherwise it could be pushed over sideways?). The SYP going across the top will overhang by about 4 inches on the sides to account for the wheels which will be attached to them. I hope that doesn't end up feeling like a safety hazard. I may need to put up rails (like at the bank) so that you need to enter the DP area head on... LOL.

It's too bad I don't have a DP to help me drill those 1/8" holes near the ends of half-inch diameter bolts. Maybe I'll pick up a few extra drill bits while I'm at the store.

Thanks to everyone who has helped and to everyone who is following along. Mike, would you route with an ogee or a roundover bit around the top (j/k)?

(And to think, 3 days ago I was just going to mount my DP to a piece of plywood...and judging by my floor, the DP would never have been level!).

Bill

[dadiOH]

Let's see...176 x 4 = 704 lbs. Minimum. Your DP weighs what, maybe 275# tops?

Yes, those would work. Lose the brakes though, no need if you are going to stick in bolts and crank the thing up & down.

[Larry Jaques]

That's precisely why I buy magazines. People who have invented very expensive items advertise them there with large, detailed pictures. I use those to make my own, being the chea^H^H^H^Hfrugal guy I am.

I took the best features of the existing glare guards and came up with the lightweight, tough, very durable laptop glare guard which I sell.

Sometimes it's easier to buy premade items like that. But you can just as easily take a look at the tools used, and then make one yourself. Existing plane irons can be retasked into tapered peg sharpeners. Finding used tapered reamers is usually not too hard, either.

What are the custody agreements, sweetie? (Viola, NOT banjo! ;)

I have an extra copy of FineWoodWorking's _Making and Modifying (Woodworking) Machines_ if you're interested. $12 delivered.

-- Some people are like Slinkies ... not really good for anything, but you can't help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.

[dadiOH]

You would have had one if you had just built the damn base instead of obsessing over it :)

I still would. Specifically, to two pieces each 3/4" thick.

and judging by my floor, the DP would never have been

It doesn't have to be. Or are you worrying about the ply sitting on a non-flat floor? The wheels handle that well enough.

[Bill]

In case anyone remains interested, I put a scale drawing of my rendition of the the mobile DP baseboard that you-all helped me with this week.

a look if you like. I should probably round off the outside corners for the sake of my ankles... The drawing should be good enough to help me select my materials. I'll fine-tune it after I settle on suitable castors/wheels.

Bill

Morgans wrote: