Trolley for Hammer A3-31?

[Bob Gerritsen]

Hi! I want my A3-31 to be easier to move around, I'm using the Hammer weels now but find those to clumsy. Anyone put their machine on a trolley or put casters underneath?

Don't what it to get too high but need to pick proper quality wheels under there.... Hmmmmm......

Any suggestions?

Cheers!

 

[Mauri Motti]

Hoi Bob,

I did this and am very pleased with it. I have brakes on all four wheels and this is definitely a necessity.
The machine stands very stable. If thickness planing thick, long and heavy beams of wood (say 200mm by 200mm 2 meters long Oak as I did recently) you do need infeed and outfeed support.

Some of my ranting with pics

Groet,

Mauri Motti

 

[Mauri Motti]

And oh Bob,

I would have loved to get the Felder wheels but didnt want to put the cash in. I payed 35€ for the casters and metal.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

Zambus casters is I put on mine -- they are awesome! 

Scot

 

[RONWEN]

Hoi Bob,

I did this and am very pleased with it. I have brakes on all four wheels and this is definitely a necessity.
The machine stands very stable. If thickness planing thick, long and heavy beams of wood (say 200mm by 200mm 2 meters long Oak as I did recently) you do need infeed and outfeed support.

Some of my ranting with pics

Groet,

Mauri Motti

Clever idea Mauri!   [thumbs up] 
I bought the new Powermatic drill press that I may do something similar on.

 

[Phred]

I put Foot Master ratcheting leveling casters from Great Lakes Casters on mine.  They are very similar to the Zambus but less expensive.  Do a search and you can find a coupon code for 25% off.  This is the model I used, but less expensive options are available.
Foot Master

 

[Mauri Motti]

[/quote]

Clever idea Mauri!  [thumbs up] 
I bought the new Powermatic drill press that I may do something similar on.
[/quote]

Beware of tipping over though! A drill press has such a small footprint that I don't know if it is a good idea or not..  You'd have to place the wheels much further apart then the press' footprint.

I put Foot Master ratcheting leveling casters from Great Lakes Casters on mine.  They are very similar to the Zambus but less expensive.  Do a search and you can find a coupon code for 25% off.  This is the model I used, but less expensive options are available.
Foot Master

That lever function is awesome I think! But then again.. I payed 6,50 € per wheel.

 

[RONWEN]

Clever idea Mauri!   [thumbs up]  
I bought the new Powermatic drill press that I may do something similar on.
[/quote]

Beware of tipping over though! A drill press has such a small footprint that I don't know if it is a good idea or not..  You'd have to place the wheels much further apart then the press' footprint.

I put Foot Master ratcheting leveling casters from Great Lakes Casters on mine.  They are very similar to the Zambus but less expensive.  Do a search and you can find a coupon code for 25% off.  This is the model I used, but less expensive options are available.
Foot Master

I am aware of that.
I did similar with my old Craftsman (top of the line) drill press which I've  tolerated (hated) for 31 years.  I have a nice smooth garage floor and I'm very careful when I need to move it any distance but the wheels have served well for years.

Adding the wheels in a fashion such as you've done actually improves the machine center of gravity some.

(What'd I just say???  What I meant to say is that fashion of mounting the wheels actually improves the centroid or tipping point.)

 

[Frank Pellow]

Hoi Bob,

I did this and am very pleased with it. I have brakes on all four wheels and this is definitely a necessity.
The machine stands very stable. If thickness planing thick, long and heavy beams of wood (say 200mm by 200mm 2 meters long Oak as I did recently) you do need infeed and outfeed support.

Some of my ranting with pics

Groet,

Mauri Motti

You did a nice job on that Mauri.  [thumbs up] 

It is definately better than the two wheels that I purchased along with my Hammer A3-31 and I might,eventually get around to bulding something like it.

 

[TomGadwa1]

To the proud new owner of the POWERMATIC I purchased a JET universal mounting base for my DELTA 18 inches. I laminated two pieces of three quarter inch plywood and bolted the drill press to that. I then fashioned aluminum brackets to securely attach the JET base to my laminated mounting plate. After I completed the mobile base I tested it for stability. I am happy to report it is actually MORE stabile on my base than before I installed the drill press on it. I can attempt to pull the drill press over towards me and it resists with reassurance. If I push hard on the unit backwards on my smooth garage floor with the wheels locked rather than tip over the mass of the drill press and base unit slides harmlessly along  the floor. The JET base works perfect for this application and can easily support a table saw much less a drill press.
[attachimg=#1]
View of the drill press trolley.
[attachimg=#2]
One of four custom aluminum "L" brackets to affix the drill press mounting plate to the JET mobile base.
[attachimg=#3]
Rearward brake on fixed wheel.
[attachimg=#4]
Front caster with locking ability.

Normally I just wheel the drill press where I want and have rarely even bothered to lock the wheels as the mass of the combined drill press, mounting plate and JET mobile base are inherently stabile for most of my use. Hope this gives you some good inspiration!

 

[RONWEN]

Good thoughts, thanks very much.

 

[Bob Gerritsen]

Hi guys, thanks for the great suggestions all of you! As it turns out I have a friend who does steel and such so I'm thinking the shortest route would be to have him copy Mauri's excellent idea. Then all I have to get is some nice quality casters with breaks. Also, I might be moving the machine around quite a bit so I like the idea to just get it of the breaks and go. Easy peasy. Those Zambus and Foot masters look nice too but I would need something quicker than that.

Thanks all! Problem solved.

 

[awdriven]

Great Lakes Caster are excellent folks to deal with. I've been working on rehabbing some Vidmar tool cabinets and fitting them out with some Colson casters bought through GLC. You might want to check into Colson products too.