Retractable castors

[Theblackbox]

Hi all

I’m wanting to put my eisle cold saw on castors to easy move around the workshop but also want it off the wheels when using need to be able to go between fairly easily.

machine weighs around 400kg. I’ve seen the self levelling castors such as these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402314557758

But it seems a bit too much of a faff screwing the bumpers up and down.

Machine will have air to it anyway so I was thinking of mounting 4x pneumatic cylinders such as these Which have a 40mm bore and various strokes

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293357677972

on each corner with a castor attached I can link them up together and just operate with a lever valve

would this work? Ideally just want something as simple And quick as possible Doesn’t have to lift very high off the ground maybe around 15mm or so.

I have seen the various cam action type wheeled bases but I don’t think they will work due to the weight.

I have also seen a single pneumatic cylinder with a rubber end pressing onto the floor not sure if this will be enough? I will use full lock castors or at least braked castors on all corners.

Here’s what the saw looks like before I started the restoration base is heavy steel around 3mm or so can happily mount to that will go on each side as far out as possible to make it wider.

 

[Dcal]

I think the casters will be too small and the saw will be a pig to move unless you have a polished floor and agree they would be a faff to operate.

I do really like your idea of the pneumatic cylinders.
However I think you will need decent sized ones given the weight of the saw and the fact that the weight will probably not be evenly distributed.
The ones you linked to are rated at 10bar so a 50mm one should lift 200+ kgs a corner which seems ok.
I don’t think the cylinders will like horizontal loads so I just screwing casters to them might work, but not for long.
You could rig up a cam or lever system to take any lateral load out of them and you could get a bit of mechanical advantage if you used the stroke to increase the lifting capacity.
Or you could operate the cylinders to lower the casters to raise the saw, install blocks and then retract the cylinders so the blocks take the vertical and horizontal load while moving then repeat when moved to the place you want it.

Air is cheap if you have a compressor but I can't help but think there is a better way of doing it.
Rutland used to do inbuilt frames for moving machines but they now just seem to do "mobility castors" which I don't think are up to the job (I assume 250kgs over the 4) and I prefer your idea anyway.
If you have a toe jack or a portapower you could use the wedge ram to raise the saw install casters or skates but it's not as nice as just plugging in an airline.

This is something I could happily waste a weekend with but I have a pallet truck and move stuff with that.

https://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+works...machinery-castor-set-with-lift-rutlands+r9020

 

[Fazerruss]

Just use braked castors. They dont move at all once locked. I use them on several of my machines.


I use decent quality ones from WDS

 

[Agroshield]

What is the state of your floor?

On a smooth, clean floor, small castors work well.

As the roughness and cleanliness decrease, the castor size needs to increase almost exponentially.

When you say, "I have seen the various cam action type wheeled bases but I don’t think they will work due to the weight", it makes me wonder if you understand the basics of mechanical advantage. By using a small force and moving it a relatively long way, you can exert a huge force over a short distance. For example, look at overcentre clamps.

 

[Brad93]

Blickle do a nice version/copy of the foot master castors. Made in Germany.

 

[500e]

Friends BIG band saw 7Ft+ of cast iron we made 2 wheels out of biggish bearings & a quick lift jack for front like they use to lift F1 cars, wheels \ bearings at rear have about 1\4 inch floor clearance role the dolly into a fabricated lifting point on front of casting push down to over centre dolly, longish handle to suit, the fitting is a pin so you can steer & away.When not in use the dolly hangs on a wall
As long as floor is reasonable concrete no problem

 

[qwakers]

look on axminster tools website. they do a kit for that