Casters ???? UPDATED maybe someone has an idea

Rob Keeble

Member
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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
I have need to purchase at least 12 sets of 4 casters and wondering where everyone gets there casters. Definitely not buying junk. The ones i get from LV are great but a bit deer in my mind. 4 sets there for the ones i get would set me back $166.78 after incl our taxes that makes them just under $14 per. Ones i am referring to are 3" wheel x 4 inch overall height.


And this brings up a topic which i would welcome some debate and input on.

I know you get what you pay for but my issue is, do we trust the ratings of these things anywhere? Other thing i am learning is factor in getting the wheel size correct for the load you moving. I believe what tends to happen is we do a belts and braces kind of estimation and end up with overkill. Overkill is just wasting money so how do you figure on what castor to use for what. 4 inches is also a lot of height to loose but it also helps get things off the ground.

I used to do 2 fixed and 2 with brakes but now i want all four swivel and preferably with brakes. Well the LV ones come either fixed no brake or swivel with brake so there's my reason why. Have tried the tai chi rubber ones and not going there again. Want poly like Lee Valley from now on and a bearing not just a bolt through a hole. Also need to buy some 6 or 8 inch units with a cast wheel and poly tire for my lumber cart. Although i loaded it with 6 casters they basically dont move so before i unpack and remove and replace i am gonna get the right thing this time. Cannot believe i have 600kg of wood when i transported double that amount on my trailer which only takes 500kg so there goes caster specification. Anyone have an idea of what 3/4 BB ply weighs per square foot?

Right now i am specifically looking for casters to use on my mechanical tool cabinets and if it were not for the bad experiences i have had with inflatable tires from china that are on those 8 or 10 inch casters harbor freight or our princess auto sells i would put them on as they will roll around the driveway nice. But i have found they deflate too quickly.

any views or help welcome and appreciated.
 
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I just ask Dale, my wheel guy. I usually pay $8-$10 for the wheel you specify. Three inch Poly tire, swivel, real bearings, locking roll and swivel, 4" OA height. Don't remember the weight rating, but they roll when they need to. BTW, I only have 2 locking wheels. I found when I had 4 of them, I only used two anyway. It was sufficient. A few years ago I went to a 4" wheel. I was rolling on an uneven packed surface and three inch wheels got hung up. So a few bucks more.

FWIW, here is my rationalization. With my back and neck issues, avoiding further injury is well worth a little extra money spent once. Let alone every time I go to move something. The ol' cry once philosophy.

So want me to ask him if he will ship to Canada? Or to Larry for when you go get your new tool. But bear in mind, I don't have time to visit him before the tractor trip. He is local to me here in California. I do suspect he gives me a discount though. Such is life! :thumb: ;)
 
if it were not for the bad experiences i have had with inflatable tires from china that are on those 8 or 10 inch casters harbor freight or our princess auto sells i would put them on as they will roll around the driveway nice. But i have found they deflate too quickly.

any views or help welcome and appreciated.

Perhaps not relevant to the immediate problem.. but I've replaced almost all of my inflatables for shop/yard tools (dolly, wheelbarrow, and the pressure washer is pending) with the flat-free ones like these:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...flat-free-wheels+flat-free-wheelbarrow-wheels

For shop tool/cart casters I really really like how the zambus style casters work:
http://www.greatlakescaster.com/gre...bilizer_leg_in_extended-LV-1710-NYP-S-M12.php
or the original which is better made but costs a whole lot more :)wave: hu :wave:)
http://www.greatlakescaster.com/products.php?cat=262
They don't have the wiggle/woggle problem that the other locking casters do. Whether that's a problem or not of course depends on the use case.

None of this is saving you money :rolleyes:

Another design is to have either one set of center wheels (non swivel) or non swivel wheels on only one side (two wheel wheelbarrow style) for things you can rock up/down. For the center wheel ones you either need to have a drop down foot or similar on one end - but it allows pivoting in place and greater loads than are easily handled with the wheels on one end. The never flat wheelbarrow wheels would work well for either of these setups I think (but you need an axle rod so.. add a coupel of $'s there - a cold rolled rod of the right diameter should work fine)
 
What is the floor surface like and what are you moving? the answers to these questions will start you down the right path. In my suburban garage floor shop I use these (1351 and 1354) and these (141051 and 141052) depending what was on sale at the time. There are some differences but, in use, the experience is identical.

I used to use 4 swivels but, controlling heavy objects in a crowded space with 4 swivels results in back strain and damaged bystanders more than I cared for. 2 swivel and 2 fixed is not as maneuverable but, is more controlled in maneuvering ;-)

The side affixed, cam-style locks are pretty weak so I have gotten rid of all those or relegated them to non-locking roles. The dual lock (roll and rotation) serve me best. I discovered hat simply locking the roll still allowed unexpected pivot when applying lateral force (like when using a tool). So, I restate that what you are rolling on and what you are rolling around will dictate the best caster for your needs. HTH.
 
and these (141051 and 141052) .. There are some differences but, in use, the experience is identical.

Hmm, I've had mixed luck with those double locking casters. The double lock still seems to allow some wiggle on the ones I've tried - maybe these are enough better that its not a problem? How much that annoys me depends of course on the use case - for a bench or tool stand I found it mostly unusable, but for a storage cabinet it didn't really matter.
 
I use these exclusively! http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2001989/3723/3-Caster-Double-Locking-Swiveling-with-4-Hole-Mounting-Plate-4-14-Tall.aspx

I buy only swivel locking. My table saw, SCMS and the out feed/downdraft each have four swivel locking casters of this brand from wood craft. In tight spaces I need my mobile bases to move in any direction needed with out the need to move them back and forth to get them to where I need them to go. And with all of them having the capability to lock if doesn't matter which two I lock.
 
Thanks all you guys are making Lv look cheap but I think i may have found a source for the same thing woodcraft is offering but half the price. Until i get the quote on my potential order of now 16 I will hold off sharing the source but it could be good for us. Anyone interested in some sort of group buy? Have not looked into volume discounts but i expect there could be some.

@Glenn I hear ya loud and clear but as Alan says having 4 swivel allows for greater maneuverability in really tight spaces which i have already witnessed in this current garage, which by the way has cracks in the floor wide enough for those wheels on your first example to basically get nicely set in. I can now understand why there is such a range. I also agree the locking mechanisms on the side are a joke they cause more jamming in my view that function on a swivel unit with those types of locking mechanism you never know if its locked or not, imagine having 4. I put that style on in house keyboard stand i made recently. Don't even bother trying to use the lock mechanism.

@Ryan i would love to use those non inflatable tires but the price of the wheels relative the rest of the cabinet would then be so out of kilter to me i would not enjoy the overall project. They just too expensive for my amount of use.
 
@Ryan i would love to use those non inflatable tires but the price of the wheels relative the rest of the cabinet would then be so out of kilter to me i would not enjoy the overall project. They just too expensive for my amount of use.

Yeah even at only 2 of the northern ones you're pushing $60. I did mention I wasn't saving you any money :D

This one's quite a bit cheaper for similar:
http://www.harborfreight.com/materi...ree-tires/8-inch-solid-rubber-tire-42427.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-x-2-1-2-half-inch-solid-rubber-tire-35459.html
 
If you can use a 2 1/2 inch rather than 3 inch caster, I buy four wheel moving dollies (use them in the shop for work in process). The smaller ones are occasionally on sale for around $10, the bigger ones are generally under $20. The load capacity is 1,000 pounds. That gives me four casters for $10, and I have never had one die.

The ultimate in redneck engineering - I did a fancy mount for fancy casters under my big (5 hp 38" drum) sander, and one of the casters broke off the heavy corner. I slid a moving dolly under the sander, and it worked so well, that I now have two moving dollies dedicated to sander duty, one under each end.

The overall height of the dolly is 5 inches, if that helps.
 
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I've taken wheels off moving dollys just like Charlie. I know many don't like Harbor Frieght, but they have 1 ton mover dollys on sale all the time. Not related to this thread, but their movers blankets are cheap and work well too...
 
If you can use a 2 1/2 inch rather than 3 inch caster, I buy four wheel moving dollies (use them in the shop for work in process). The smaller ones are occasionally on sale for around $10, the bigger ones are generally under $20. The load capacity is 1,000 pounds. That gives me four casters for $10, and I have never had one die.

The ultimate in redneck engineering - I did a fancy mount for fancy casters under my big (5 hp 38" drum) sander, and one of the casters broke off the heavy corner. I slid a moving dolly under the sander, and it worked so well, that I now have two moving dollies dedicated to sander duty, one under each end.

The overall height of the dolly is 5 inches, if that helps.

I have several things in my shop rolling on wheels from Harbor Freight moving dollies. Four wheels for $10 is a hard deal to beat. :thumb: I've had no problems with them at all. And my jointer is simply sitting (not attached) on a 30" long HF mover's dolly. When I'm jointing short pieces, it stays on place just fine, and on the rare occasions when I'm jointing any long lumber, I just chock the wheels.
 
I didn't reply with the HF option earlier in the thread since Rob mentioned he didn't want junk. But I'll share my experience with now that others have mentioned them. I have a small tractor with about 4 attachments that weigh 400, 400, 500, and 800#. Whenever I take them off, they kinda sit there unless I remount them on the tractor. I built dollies for all of them using HF caster. The ones I used didn't have locks, but they are all swivel and most of them are the 250# service, for the heaviest item I used the 330# rated ones. They are all the ones with polyurethane tires, and this stuff sits in my pole barn with a concrete floor. They worked great, the dollies are little more than 2X construction lumber (lots of it) sitting on the casters, and the heaviest item is still a little tough to push around, but it's quite mobile. I now see HF casters as one of their hidden gems. BTW, I also have a 140# attachment that just sits on one of those furniture dollies. My clamp rack was also built using caters of one of them and it's over 7 years old with no problems, I estimate it's weight at about 350#.
 
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UPDATED information

Ok So i did not have luck with this supplier and here is the information perhaps someone in the US could have better luck.

Company name is Material Flow http://www.akflow.com/index.cfm

The caster which i came across that looks to be the equivalent of what is being purchased from Woodcraft is http://www.akflow.com/index.cfm?mf=...pName=STP5230-01-PLY&highlight=STP5230-01-PLY

The locking and non locking versions are as follows , details on the site dont make this clear i found this out by calling.

Model # Qty Price Total

STP5230-01-PLY-RED 8 6.26 50.08

STP5230-01-PLY-TLB-RED 8 8.95 71.60

FREIGHT 134.93

TOTAL $264.61

Problem is as you can see the price is great almost half the price of woodcraft but shipping is killing it. This by the way is shipping within the USA to Niagara in NY state. Woodcraft for an order of 16 would charge $20 for shipping to anywhere in the continuous USA.

These guys have a shipping cost issue i guess what they doing is low balling the price to but adding in to the shipping. You can see why i was interested in following up if we could get a caster like this for this price but shipping at a decent rate it would be a great score.

For me its back to Lee Valley. Which is fine by me just was hoping to see this sort of price for this sort of caster. But hey i am dreamer :rofl::D;) If anyone can do anything about the freight perhaps we could talk about a family buying deal using flat rate shipping boxes.
 
When I shop online I open a few windows and check the overall cost of acquisition. That is; something that costs 20% more may actually be a better buy due to tax or shipping methods. Like you, I really get let down when I am on to something that I think is a good deal and am ready to hit the button when I discover that there is a secret handling charge of $50 for each caster or something like that. At least if you go with Lee Valley you can have pride in your support of your local economy.
 
In a similar scenario, I recently bought a couple of LED stage lights on eBay. These lights generally sell for about $50 each. I "won" the auction at $0.99 for a pair of them. :thumb: Shipping was about $70. :rofl: In the end, I still got a decent deal on the pair.
 
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