Castor positioning

[manlo]

I have a friend that asked the following question, I don't know myself and was wondering if one of you could give me the answer...

"How far below the piece of furniture should the wheel of a caster be positioned" ?

Thanks... Manny

[kerick913]

I know you have asked a serious question, but I just couldn't resist this smart aleck reply. Position the castor far enough down to touch the floor. :-)

Actually I would position the castor such that most of it is concealed by the furniture - without being in a position that hitsw the sides and restricts movement. Minimizing the distance above the floor will keep the center of gravity lower and reduce the chances of tipping as it is moved.

[manlo]

Hi Kerick913, thanks for the suggestion. I havent gotten into woodwork that far yet where I needed to put casters on anything, so I couldn't give him an answer. What prompted his question was when I sent him the link to this forum. A copy of his e-mail is as follows ....

"I haven't toyed with forums.
Can you find out how far below the piece of furniture should the wheel of a caster be positioned. I am buying 2" casters and need to know how far from the bottom should I mount them. I thought 1.5 inches."

He was looking for a measurement that would be a rule of thumb. This request might sound odd but, you need to know this about Lenny...

Lenny is blind, he wasn't born blind and he did woodworking in high school. He is 50 yrs old now. He does everything with feel and measurements.He has talking measuring tools. His most used equipment is his tablesaw and router. I've seen his work and it is hard to believe anyone that is sightless can do such precise work. His latest project was an ornate bookcase and a vanity for his master bathroom. He tells me about the time he freaked his son in law out when he came over one night to visit and asked Lenny's wife if he was home, she told him he was down the basement doing wookwork in the total darkness... Thanks again, have a good day ... Manny

P.S. Lenny uses a Text reader on his PC that isn't too friendly getting around forums and the like...

[wurlitzerwilly]

I have a friend that asked the following question, I don't know myself and was wondering if one of you could give me the answer...

"How far below the piece of furniture should the wheel of a caster be positioned" ?

Thanks... Manny

I can't quite understand the question Manny. I wonder if he is "winding you up"? That may sound harsh toward a blind person, but believe me, apart from some special skills to compensate for loss of sight, they are the same as the rest of us, and they also like a joke!
George is totally blind from the effects of a hand-grenade, but likes nothing better than telling you how well you are looking today, and can "see" your reaction from what he hears!:rolleyes:
Roy, who has been blind since he was 3 years old, "drives" the car for his wife,by giving very accurate directions and actually tells her when to turn. "He's" quite good at reversing too. ROTFL

I guess the most sensible answer I can give is that it depends on the style of castor. Those that are found on the bottom of commercial furniture such as beds, have a hole bored in the bottom of the leg, a tapered "grip" post is hammered in and the castor spindle hit home in the post. They can ONLY go in the bottom of the unit.
Other types will take four screws and are also fitted to the legs of the piece and are screwed at the very bottom.
Any types that are fitted elsewhere and allow vertical adjustment should be mounted so that the wheel carrier is free to rotate 360 deg. in the horizontal plane and of course the wheel must not foul the piece they are carrying.
Hope this helps.

[bashfulbob]

HI
It would depend on the function of the piece of furniture, size, and the type of caster used.

For instance
You have a peice of furniture that will be moved. So here you may not want a castor that can be locked and a skirt (for lack of a better term) can be installed hiding the castor and be a quarter of an inch off the floor. This of course would vary depending on if the furniture would be on carpet, or a solid wood floor or some other type of floor. You could also install the caster away from the outside edges, thus hiding it from view by its offset.


In another situation, you may want a lockable castor. Therefore it must be all most entirely exposed so you can activate the locking mechanism with your foot.

Hope this helps and gives you some ideas.

[bashfulbob]

Hi
I goofed in my writing on the first paragraph. I shoud have typed, NOT locked instead of Locked.

Sorry for the error

[wurlitzerwilly]

Hi
I goofed in my writing on the first paragraph. I shoud have typed, NOT locked instead of Locked.

Bob.
Why not go back to the original and edit it?!
That's one thing you can't do on the mailing lists.