Caster problem with a bad outcome

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
See picture below - I have these type of casters from woodcraft on my Jet lathe and one of them broke today when I was moving the lathe. So I thought ahhhhhhh dang ill have to order another one. Then I thought to save a few dollars I could just have the threaded shaft welded back on the base. I do not have a welder capable of doing it so I took the caster down to the auto repair place today and asked if someone could weld it for me - explaining that I needed it to be flush with the bottom of the caster and straight (I had previously ground both pc with a flat spot). The guy there said no problem it will only take a second........Moments later he came out of the back and handed it to me smiling and said there was no charge................
One one hand, it was nice of him to say no charge..............
On the other hand - im thinking "REALLY"?? "Seriously" ?...."You have to be flipping kidding me" ?? ........

I just ordered a new one from woodcraft..........................ohhhhhhh well
 

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Based on the picture, I would wait for the new one. That weld, or I should say that attempt at a weld, isn't real good. He laid the weld on top of the threaded shaft, very little penetration and as I say to my students, "looks like a chicken pooped that onto that". Welding is the mixing of a filler material that matches the material being welding together. This is an example of not enough heat and at the wrong time that wheel is going to fail again.
 
I agree and im just put it up on a block to keep it level till the new one arrives...........................
The one thing is I would have gladly paid if done correctly like Jonathan stated
 
when i put my lathe up on casters, i didn't mess with the small diameter, plastic wheeled casters. i knew that when i built my lathe platform, that it was gonna be hefty, and went with the nicest 4" diameter, high weight bearing casters (these ones are rated at over 230 lbs each, for a total capacity of 890 lbs, which my platform comes nowhere near). the only change i made from this picture, is that i moved the grinder to the back of the platform, and built set of 4 storage drawers on the end, and two drawers under the lathe. moves like a dream.
 

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I built a lathe bench a couple of years ago. I wanted to be able to move it, so I put a pair of 6" lawn mower wheels on one side of the pedestal. This is the only pic I have of the completed table. You can see on the left side the slope at the bottom of the pedestal. The wheel is hidden but just touches the ground and can be moved by my big strong son by tilting it slightly backwards and rolling along on the wheels. When I try to move it, it ends up lying on the ground on its side. :huh:

Lathetable01.jpg
 
yeah im sure your right about the vertical v. lateral load - but it has held up for along time and I only need one to fix it. The thing I like the most about using these wheels is the ease of moving it in and out of the garage with one hand - its a nice thing...............thanks
 
I think it would be tough to weld that no matter what. Even if you could get a good weld you'd run the risk of overheating the bearings. Best to just get a new one and keep the speed down going over bumps

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