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Shop equipment like horizontal compressors, milling machines, welding tables, work benches etc is vastly easier to move when it's on wheels, but large bolt-on casters are expensive and inconveniently slow to remove, install and swap. Many items don't need permanent wheels but life gets much easier if you can toss them on when convenient then pull them for other use after placing your equipment.
Here's one of my favorite solutions that also works with the milling machine and lathe dollies in my other posts. Large scaffolding casters cost less in most cases and work much better. No need to deal with bolt holes unless you want to add mount tubes by welding them to a drilled mounting plate (which may be useful depending on what you want to move).
Ingredients are casters, allthread (I used 1" because it was handy), nuts, flat washers and tubing to fit the casters. I had seamed tubing so I ground the internal seam weld away with a die grinder so the casters will slide easily. Do not just smack them into place or they'll get stuck if they even go in.
Large casters of this style work best. You can have many tubes with as few caster sets as you prefer. Fast and crude is fine so long as your work is strong.
I drilled the mount tube shown with lock pin holes but prefer the stud and nut shown for speedy, easy installation and not having to drill a bunch of holes vs. welding one stud or bolt to each caster. You could be more elegant by drilling and tapping the caster for your bolt of choice but that's more work and I had the allthread handy.
The principle (fast, easy caster swaps and the simplest mount possible, a hunk of tubing) are the main points. I'll post related items in this thread as I finish their other details but the system works nicely. I just scored two heavy Saylor-Beall (excellent USA-made machines which seem to get no advertising so I bitched about that to their customer service) air compressors that suck to move so they'll get rolling chassis shortly.
Tubes can be welded to any suitable support or mount, and you can swap in a "foot" of your choice (including standard scaffolding levelling jacks) to level your equipment and/or dampen vibes. You can also add more tubes so the jacks etc remain with your equipment.
Here's one of my favorite solutions that also works with the milling machine and lathe dollies in my other posts. Large scaffolding casters cost less in most cases and work much better. No need to deal with bolt holes unless you want to add mount tubes by welding them to a drilled mounting plate (which may be useful depending on what you want to move).
Ingredients are casters, allthread (I used 1" because it was handy), nuts, flat washers and tubing to fit the casters. I had seamed tubing so I ground the internal seam weld away with a die grinder so the casters will slide easily. Do not just smack them into place or they'll get stuck if they even go in.
Large casters of this style work best. You can have many tubes with as few caster sets as you prefer. Fast and crude is fine so long as your work is strong.
I drilled the mount tube shown with lock pin holes but prefer the stud and nut shown for speedy, easy installation and not having to drill a bunch of holes vs. welding one stud or bolt to each caster. You could be more elegant by drilling and tapping the caster for your bolt of choice but that's more work and I had the allthread handy.
The principle (fast, easy caster swaps and the simplest mount possible, a hunk of tubing) are the main points. I'll post related items in this thread as I finish their other details but the system works nicely. I just scored two heavy Saylor-Beall (excellent USA-made machines which seem to get no advertising so I bitched about that to their customer service) air compressors that suck to move so they'll get rolling chassis shortly.
Tubes can be welded to any suitable support or mount, and you can swap in a "foot" of your choice (including standard scaffolding levelling jacks) to level your equipment and/or dampen vibes. You can also add more tubes so the jacks etc remain with your equipment.
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