Workbench Retractable Casters

[CreekWood]

I really like the way ShopSmith designed their castors such that both front and back raise/lower together.

I'm planning to put casters on my workbench, and would like to be able to easily raise the back of the bench even when it's hard to get my hoof back there. Been looking at typical step-on casters, but of course they operate independently. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FDFJXK5/re ... 3182370226

Have any of you ever tried linking a pair of these with a board or stout flat stock steel? I've seen some DIY designs that hinge a pair of regular casters, but I'm thinking that may not work with a heavily loaded tool bench.

[larryhrockisland]

Take look at this video https://youtu.be/5rlC2rCW3xA?si=3LMlgmQZcH7TTv2_
He’s got most of his tools mobile. There is a website that sells/sold his plans but I don’t know if it’s still active. He has a neat setup for his 10ER too.

Check out this YouTube video by Carl Holmgren. Shopsmith 10ER .
He has a great setup for a 10ER drill press that can still be used in horizontal mode.

[edma194]

I have considered, but not actually attempted, using a board with shaped hard plastic pads to use as a brake on common caster wheels. The idea is you would step down on this brake, which would force the wheels into alignment and stop them from rotating, and then lock the brake in position. The problem is that the load is still sitting on casters and not on solid legs. That would be fine for some tools but I would assume a work bench has to hold up to rougher treatment and heavier impacts than most tools are subjected to. So I would seek solutions that raise the casters and leave solid legs on the floor. It's possible to do this with a set of Shopsmith casters. If you need them to be further apart longer rods can be substituted (or the rods lengthened with some steel pipe as a coupler).

[RFGuy]

I really like the way ShopSmith designed their castors such that both front and back raise/lower together.

I'm planning to put casters on my workbench, and would like to be able to easily raise the back of the bench even when it's hard to get my hoof back there. Been looking at typical step-on casters, but of course they operate independently. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FDFJXK5/re ... 3182370226

Have any of you ever tried linking a pair of these with a board or stout flat stock steel? I've seen some DIY designs that hinge a pair of regular casters, but I'm thinking that may not work with a heavily loaded tool bench.

Do you really need step on casters for your workbench? Reason that I ask is I took a gamble with my workbench and used locking plate casters underneath it. When locked (and because my workbench cabinet is heavy enough), it doesn't move at all. I also placed them just inside of the outside edge of the cabinet so that the casters are fully underneath the cabinet and out of the way. Only the short top locking lever sticks out beyond my cabinet. I chose this because I despise step on casters. Retractable step on casters are always in the way and often something to trip on or stub your toes on depending on the design of your workbench. I was worried that the locking casters would partially roll or be an issue while using the workbench, but it has worked well for me so just wanted to suggest this as an alternative. I really like this company linked below, but there are others that provide good quality casters as well. I went with the 3" locking in polyurethane with a top lock brake. They also have stem casters if you prefer that style. If you do decide to go this route and buy from them, make sure you look for the model with the "total-lock brake" description. With this kind of caster brake you don't actually need the option of fully retracting the casters. They have quite a few caster options and their website starts to all look the same after awhile so it is a little confusing. Good luck with whatever you decide.

https://www.castercity.com/stainless-ca ... l-locking/

Model that I purchased:
https://www.castercity.com/product/plat ... 1693229855

[edma194]

Reason that I ask is I took a gamble with my workbench and used locking plate casters underneath it. When locked (and because my workbench cabinet is heavy enough), it doesn't move at all.

Well, I do have a rolling work bench made out of an old 10MB disk drive cabinet from the 70s. The disk packs back then were the size of a car tire. Now they can be replaced with a little USB stick that can be carried by passenger pigeon. But the disk drive housing and power supply together weighed over 100 pounds and these half-size racks were very heavy. I attached a set of 400lb. locking casters to the bottom and as you describe it doesn't move under use. And I use it heavily, my bench vise is mounted on it, and I have put an anvil on it and pounded out flared ends on pieces of steel. So maybe locking casters are good enough. Even without a fancy mechanism the locks can be engaged and disengaged with a board or piece of pipe. It certainly is economical, the casters are very heavy duty, and I'd probably prefer that to a custom made caster raising mechanism in the end.

So CreekWood, the question is how much would ShopSmith style raising casters help you out? Do you really need your workbench to be portable in the manner of a ShopSmith? If it's a small bench then standard locking casters is probably sufficient, and it it's a large workbench would you actually move it all that often? Somewhere on my list is a nice woodworking bench and I'll have to answer those questions myself one day.

[RFGuy]

So maybe locking casters are good enough.

Ed,

Yeah, I am no expert on these and don't have a ton of experience with different types of casters. In my mind, I think the fact that my workbench is heavy enough to put enough down pressure, and the superior locking mechanism on this particular brand of caster makes the difference IMHO. For example, I have seen some with the side lever for lock/brake and some of those can still slide/roll when locked. This is a top lock brake style of caster for the locking mechanism and in my experience it is superior to any of those side lever lock/brake casters. For reference, my current workbenches are some old kitchen cabinets that previous home owner left in the garage. I partially rebuilt these and added an 80/20 aluminum extrusion top that I built with 3/4" baltic birch MFT top above the extrusions. The 80/20 top is also hinged so that I can clean underneath it and attach screw knobs for clamps, if needed, from the bottom. On one of these workbenches I have a pivot mounted for attaching a tracksaw rail for cuts.

[CreekWood]

Great ideas, guys--thanks for the feedback.
I was wrong about the weight capacity of the hinge-style castors; Carl Holmgren's toolbox is heavier than any of my benches.

RF Guy, glad you used the term "plate caster"--I didn't know what to call the opposite of a "stem caster." I actually have a set on hand that lock both the wheel and the bearing rotation--although that's not perfect.... there's 5-10 degrees of slop in that lock. I hadn't considered that weight might mitigate that movement. I have a 7' bench on simple casters and today I realized that when shoved up against the wall it doesn't budge even when hand planing parallel to the wall.
The rough OSB shop subflooring isn't flat, so the cabinets I want to build for the drum sander and planer would be benefit from leveling adjustment. I'd like to line them up between the SS and table saw for indeed/out feed support when running longer boards. I ordered some leveling feet that sit outboard and adjust with an Alan wrench. Maybe I could combine these with the total-lock castors-- only level when needed.

[RFGuy]

Creekwood,

Yeah, if leveling is your main requirement then you might need to consider other options, or engineer a means to level the plate casters. For mine, I have a garage floor so there is a drainage slope to the concrete floor. I fixed it by using appropriate sized washers as shims on one side underneath the plate casters, but then my workbench doesn't have to be perfectly level anyway. It worked for my particular case. This brand of plate casters I have has a top lever brake that puts significant force on the wheel and I haven't been able to see any slippage/rotation of the wheel. Not saying it couldn't move with enough force, but I haven't been able to see it yet so I do think they are high quality with a very effective brake compared to cheaper casters I have seen from other brands in my own experience. Only reason I keep recommending that caster company here on the forum.

[CreekWood]

Following up on this discussion; I've finally got a cabinet base 95% complete for the drum sander. I wanted the ability to level the sander up with the SS or my table saw as infeed/out feed tables, but most of the time, I just want to roll the thing wherever needed. Oh, and I needed a lot of storage space for SS stuff.

[CreekWood]

I found casters which have an integrated leveling foot. They wouldn't be the ideal solution for leveling up a bench against a wall where the back feet are inaccessible, but they should do for leveling up to other surfaces in the center of my little shop. If I'd realized how heavy this beast is, I might have gone for the heavier-duty version. Link to Amazon: https://a.co/d/9LkrUWS

The amazing thing is that both drawers can be fully opened without flipping the cabinet over. Every time I look at that SS jointer, I think "aircraft carrier."

Next up: clean up the belt sander and joiner (yeah, I've been reading the joiner thread...my backup is a Bailey #6.