Wheels on MFT

[John Beauchamp]

Has anyone tried to put wheels on an MFT without raising the height more than about 1/4".  My shop was set up to work fine before I got the MFT/3. I mostly used it for a pattern to lay over and drill holes in my run out table. Now it's in the way and without wheels it's hard to move. I do use it for certain cuts that are easier than on the table saw but mostly its just another flat surface that gets filled with junk till I need it. I don't want to take the legs off as it still can be used on a job site.  I'm thinking U shape so I can still keep the CT under it. Any ideas?

 

[TomGadwa1]

I built a sled that the entire MFT rests on. It is made up using a two by four frame that is slotted to receive a three quarter inch plywood shelf. The shelf can easily accommodate a CT and much more. For me being a huge amount of off cuts!!! I have a small shop so it is imperative that all my router tables, MFT and HAMMER A3-31 are mobile.

 

[suds]

I had retractable wheels but ended up taking them off.  It was just as easy to simply lift the table and move it where I wanted it.  I have two 1080 tables and the retractable apparatus was always bumping into each other or the wall behind the bench.  I'm challenged for room and most everything else is mobile.

 

[Mr Heavy]

Ummm... just foldup/take the legs off and mount the whole thing on a trolley table which you can turn into proper underbench storage or a dc house. If you fold the legs you still have the option of taking the mft out and about if you need to.

 

[Holmz]

http://www.benchworks.be/mftc.html

 

[Stone Message]

Hi John,

I have a design in my head - I hope that I can explain it.

Imagine either a castor carriage or a low drawer unit on castors. It fits within the lower leg area of the MFT3 such that any drawers can be accessed when it is under the MFT3.

The very bottom of the castor carriage or drawer unit has some "tabs" that stick out and the centres of these tabs are exactly the centres of the for MFT3 legs.

When you wish to move the MFT3 you lift it, one end at a time, onto the tabs - that will take little effort as it would be less than 1".

When you want to use the MFT3 you wheel it in place and lift it off the tabs, one end at a time.

The advantage is that the MFT3 in use is still at its designed height and, with the drawer unit, you could end up with some extra storage and a place on top for any bigger stuff.

If the unit is heavy then the legs of the MFT3 will have to have recesses in the tabs so that some lateral force can be applied via the MFT3 in order to move it around.

Peter

 

[Holmz]

Peter - Did you look at the link I posted ~2 hours ago?

 

[Stone Message]

Peter - Did you look at the link I posted ~2 hours ago?

No, but I have now. That is a well known (and brilliant) design by Timtool. It is not what I had in mind in my post as I assumed we are using an existing MFT3 which needs to be able to be taken to job sites without the wheels when required.

Peter

 

[Bohdan]

I have a design in my head - I hope that I can explain it.

Peter

[member=11196]Peter Parfitt[/member]

I think that lift on/off idea will soon become a PITA as the trolley will move while your trying to align the feet onto the pads.

My suggestion would be to build a trolley box (drawers) that fits under the leg cross braces. The raising of the MFT could be accomplished by a lever that slides the MFT up a set of small ramps between the box and the cross brace lifting it clear of the ground. It is then moved and the lever is used to lower the MFT by sliding it down the ramps onto the ground.

The MFT can be used on its own by just lifting it of the trolley.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Bohdan,

Yes, I see your point about it moving but we need to keep it simple. Your idea of getting the cross braces over the top of the drawers on castors would work well and might not need any lifting mechanism as it would be inherently more stable when putting a bar (the cross rail) on top.

Anyway, it has given the OP some ideas to play with.

Peter

 

[John Beauchamp]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm sorry I didn't get back sooner but I have been reading the unread posts section and this didn't show up. Guess I can't trust that section to give me everything new. I have some ideas starting to gel finally. The mft will probably stay in the shop as I have a MFTC to take on site if I need it. Very handy by the way. I don't use the MFT very much as I have a 4x7 run out table for the table saw which I use as an assembly table. That's why I wanted the wheels so I can push it out of the way until I need it. The height difference doesn't matter if it's just an inch or so. I may use Peters idea but leave it on the cart and use locking wheels. Too busy right now to mess with it. 

 

[Gary in Texas]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm sorry I didn't get back sooner but I have been reading the unread posts section and this didn't show up. Guess I can't trust that section to give me everything new. I have some ideas starting to gel finally. The mft will probably stay in the shop as I have a MFTC to take on site if I need it. Very handy by the way. I don't use the MFT very much as I have a 4x7 run out table for the table saw which I use as an assembly table. That's why I wanted the wheels so I can push it out of the way until I need it. The height difference doesn't matter if it's just an inch or so. I may use Peters idea but leave it on the cart and use locking wheels. Too busy right now to mess with it.

John, just in case you weren't aware of this feature, if you click the "notify" button, you will receive an email notification that someone has posted a new reply to this thread, or for any post you might be interested in seeing new replies.

Gary

 

[QuailRider43]

Do a Google search for "3 wheel dolly caster".  I use these on an MFT/3, and they work great.  Just kick them out when you want a solid platform.

 

[Akacam]

Do a Google search for "3 wheel dolly caster".  I use these on an MFT/3, and they work great.  Just kick them out when you want a solid platform.

Cool, thanks for mentioning these.  I have at least 12 of these already and never thought of them!  Not 100% sure how well they will move on rough cement, but certainly worth checking out.  Rough cement tears the heck out of smaller wheels.