DIY Retractable castors for workbench

[carrera4s]

I am busy building a split top Roubo workbench and recently added some retractable castors that can lift the bench off the ground to move it around, and drop it down again to ensure it stand still when in use.
=35s

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[hdv]

Wow! That sure looks much more sophisticated than my bare bones solution. I was lazy and just bought some of the shelf retractable castors (I think it was Axminster, but it might have been Amazon) and made a pedal out of two pieces of beech that I glued together. By comparison your version is almost a piece of art. Well done!

 

[Gregor]

That is a very interesting idea.

 

[Sparktrician]

Wow! That sure looks much more sophisticated than my bare bones solution. I was lazy and just bought some of the shelf retractable castors (I think it was Axminster, but it might have been Amazon) and made a pedal out of two pieces of beech that I glued together. By comparison your version is almost a piece of art. Well done!

OK, I'm confuzzed.  [huh]  How to you keep the casters in a locked-down configuration> 

 

[ChuckM]

Wow! That sure looks much more sophisticated than my bare bones solution. I was lazy and just bought some of the shelf retractable castors (I think it was Axminster, but it might have been Amazon) and made a pedal out of two pieces of beech that I glued together. By comparison your version is almost a piece of art. Well done!

OK, I'm confuzzed.  [huh]  How to you keep the casters in a locked-down configuration>

The casters stay locked down when you push them down:https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/casters-and-wheels/110198-workbench-casters

 

[ChuckM]

I am busy building a split top Roubo workbench and recently added some retractable castors that can lift the bench off the ground to move it around, and drop it down again to ensure it stand still when in use.

Snip.
[attachimg=1]

That's a clever design... and much simpler than other shop-made caster solutions I've seen. The use of dominoes is a bonus feature. ;D

 

[hdv]

What ChuckM said. You push the lever down and the construction of the system ensures the wheel stays locked. To unlock you just move the lever up again. I was too lazy to do this for each leg every time. That's why I made the bars. It also makes "finding" the right place for your foot much easier. I can keep my eyes on the important things now and let my feet do the pushing or pulling without having to look.

I didn't buy these castors at Lee Valley, but those look like they are exactly the same. They probably are from the same (Chinese?) factory with just another name on box.  [unsure]

 

[ChuckM]

I got my casters on Amazon long before Lee Valley started carrying them. My design is similar to hdv's and others that have the casters linked together, except that I include a hole so I can engage the casters with a dowel.

 

[ear3]

That's freaking brilliant.  Definitely will incorporate that design if I ever build a heavier mobile workbench.  Bravo.