Fixing castors/wheels to heavy equipment

[mm289]

So, I am on a mission to get everything in the workshop on wheels so I can move it easier and maximise us of the space - might even get some of the cars on wheels as well

Anyway, next item is an old metal folder I picked up earlier this year, 1939 Edwards, weighs maybe 200-300 kg and seems to be made mostly out of railway track

Got some heavy weight castors to go on it but the base of the stand is about 15mm think and I am looking for ideas on how to attach the castors. On the other stuff I have just mig'd them on but I am guessing I won't get anyway near enough penetration on this thickness of steel?

Thought about bolting but don't fancy drilling 16 holes in 15mm either

Any bright ideas? Problem looks like this.....

Cheers,

MM

 

[Fazerruss]

Get some single bolt fixing castors.....
Shopping trolley.

 

[Paul.]

If you really must put in on wheels then I would make a trolley from angle to sit it on, similar to this but more substantial, probably 100 x 50 x 10 rsa would do it, this one was for a chest freezer in a commercial kitchen but you'll get the idea, although folders don't really work too well on wheels, to produce accurate consistent bends they need to be standing firm on a level floor. you will need braked castors, or even better some jack down feet to stop it moving around in use

 

[500e]

Would not think those wheels are going to be any good 300 Kg\660Lbs plastic wheels any bearings ? if it stands they will get a flat.
On heavy stuff we use bearings as wheels, & as Paul says jack down feet or a system same as F1 use to lift cars.
Looks like a casting to me

 

[awemawson]

I fixed bars on my 4 foot Edwards box and pan folder so that my pallet pump truck tucks under it to move it on those rare occasions that I need to. Did the same with my 6 foot x 3 foot cast iron marking out table. Band saw, huge grinder, all the welders and the welding bench all have castors, but I drew the line at my 3 foot radial arm drill as it weighs 2 tons and is top heavy

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Make an adapter.
Piece of 10mm plate the same size as the castor mount.
Drill holes for the mount and also in the centre.
Cut heads off 5 bolts, or use threaded rod, and weld 4 on one side for mount and the other for attaching to the leg.
Personally I'd simply buy new castors with single hole fitment - and brake.

 

[DAPPH]

I have made everything with castors & fixed wheeled frames similar to Paul's picture. One thing I'd change is that from now on all wheels will be heavy duty locking castors so that I can manouver an equipment in from any angle for at present most of the " Roller slates have a fixed wheel set at one end and it makes getting into an awkward space difficult.
to solve the problem of having to make bespoke roller skates for each piece of gear I made them all to a standard size .. laid 20 mm thick treated boards inside and stand things like two four drawer filing cabinets on them with ease , with space to spare for the welder, the press etc. etc.

My lathe is an old antique thing , being 75 yrs old & weighing in at around 400 pounds , to solve the problem of getting this on the frame I used two 10 mm thick x 100 mm a 758 mm long mild steel channels with the open channel facing up & laid inside the frame , then hoisted the lathe up on to them .
Instead of bolting everything rigid in the frame as you may think is needed , I carried on using what the two submarine engineers who had owned the lathe before me used.. I simply placed the feet of the lathe on some 20 mm x 90 x 90 mm medium hard rubber pads .. this relieves any twist /bend tendencies and lets the lathe mass absorb any operational generated vibrations. I'd guess that thee hard pads are about the same hardness as the tread of a lorry tyre, so if you want to try that route you know where you can get somethng .. perhaps two thicknesses of 10 - 15 mm thick conveyor belting would also suffice..you'll never know until you try.

 

[T0rnado69]

Get some single bolt fixing castors.....
Shopping trolley.

good idea. then you can sell those ones to me.
so i can put them on my heavy genny LOL

 

[DAPPH]

Getting ready for the likelihood of loads power cuts this winter I've put my 2.2 kw hr clean 240 volt output suitcase genny on one of my smaller skates and added a slip over dog kennel made from 19 mm construction ply with access or door flaps on each side and a removable top . I can now roll it outside the garage over to it's allocated place , connect up the heavy duty fly lead that powers 8 emergency stand by sockets in the bungalow & now run the genny outside in all weathers as the end access doors have a hinged rain protection flap above them .
I've also invested in a 10 & a 20 litre jerry can with filler neck tube as well as a half litre of fuel saver mix for the two star petrol that's in them .

 

[Wallace]

All my stuff is on wheels, I would go for a frame as Paul says without modifying the machine in case you want to sell it on. Oddly enough I have been making a small frame for a bandsaw today, worth considering the centre of gravity and moving the castors outside the machine base if possible.

 

[ukracer]

Would not think those wheels are going to be any good 300 Kg\660Lbs plastic wheels any bearings ? if it stands they will get a flat.
On heavy stuff we use bearings as wheels, & as Paul says jack down feet or a system same as F1 use to lift cars.
Looks like a casting to me

Is there anything like that on youtube F1 style jack.

I once viewed a scissor jack system on a table saw but have been unable to locate it since then.

How do you mount the bearing to use as wheels?

 

[ukracer]

Personally I'd simply buy new castors with single hole fitment - and brake.

Where would you get those from?

 

[DAPPH]

Where would you get those from?

Tesco's .... they cost £1 for a set four & you get a complementary BBQ basket to boot . .... When ever you take them over the red lines they lock up solid , so park up inside the red lines. .

Look up " heavy duty locking castors ) on eBay or your search engine .. I got some 9 " hard rubber tyred wheels for the 1 tonne lidded industrial rubbish skips / bins that were all locking castor wheels ( check the ads carefully for some are mixed sets of two locking and two fixed ) .... direct from a website eight or nine years ago . At £8 each were at the time far cheaper than eBay . I made foot plates for them using 8 mm steel plates and 6 mm walled steel tube so they would slip inside the hollow legs of my heavy duty scaffold tower

Look for the ones that have removable wheels so you can insert the bolt in trough the space where the wheel was and then refit the wheel .. take a close look at the blue trolley wheel picture & you should be able to see what I'm talking about .

 

[Fazerruss]

Where would you get those from?

The last lot I got from WDS Ltd in Pudsey. Leeds for my Rapidor saw. They are swivel braked and were less than a fiver each also superb quality.

 

[Fazerruss]

 

[Pete.]

2-300kg will go on plastic castors just fine. I had my lathe on four for ages and it's well over a ton. Shopping trolley wheels will take a lot of weight too i have a large iron surface plate on four and it's got a tool cupboard below it too.

 

[Fazerruss]

Some of the machines I work on are fitted with plastic castors from factory are only 1.5 inch diameter and weight 230kg

 

[mm289]

Thanks for all the ideas guys

Leaning towards a frame or couple of slatts underneath to put the pallet truck under - its amazing what you can do with castors

Getting ready for the likelihood of loads power cuts this winter I've put my 2.2 kw hr clean 240 volt output suitcase genny on one of my smaller skates and added a slip over dog kennel made from 19 mm construction.....

Presumably the dog kennel is an anti theft device as any light fingered type will just think you have a dog that snores loudly

Cheers,

MM

 

[Fazerruss]

Also drinks petrol and farts carbon monoxide

 

[DAPPH]

It does have a lovely thick long orange lead though.