Castor wheels for the mill

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liveaboard
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Castor wheels for the mill

Post by liveaboard »

I'm working on a set of retractable wheels for my mill; the purpose is to move it small distances in my tiny container shop when necessary to gain clearance for long work and that sort of thing.

So; 4 castors, or front castors and rear fixed wheels?
4 castors will make it possible to rotate the beast more or less in place, but makes it harder to move in a line.
And of course it would be more work.

The mill weighs 1.3 tons.
Container plywood floor, not too rough but not smooth.
Wheels will be 110mm (4.3") diameter and 50mm (2") wide, with a slightly malleable plastic outer layer.
earlgo
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by earlgo »

Liveaboard: I put my mill on casters so the movers won't have to mess with rollers, prybars etc when the time comes to get rid of it. I then put blocking under the 4x4 roller frame so the casters aren't bearing the constant weight. If I have to move it, an automotive floor jack will lift the frame enough to remove the blocking. So far I have not had to move it, but it is good to know that I can.
roller frame
roller frame
Producto Mill#11.JPG (25.55 KiB) Viewed 11347 times
Maybe this will spur a useful idea for your situation.
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by Bill Shields »

you can never have enough swivels...

agree with the 'wheels only for moving' - once set, back on solid ground

especially if on plywood floor...you want REALLY BIG WHEELS, probably some sort or urethane or you are going to crush the wood
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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liveaboard
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by liveaboard »

So you guys think castors on all 4...

These wheels are bigger and wider than any I found online that were rated to 1/2 ton.
I'm making them from scrap; outer hoop is high pressure water tube used for irrigation systems, I don't know the composition but it's semi-ridged and 1/4" thick. Seems about the right consistency to me, and I could get it.
Solid steel hubs and ball bearings.
Tapered roller bearings for the swivels.
Cantilever lift with pivots, connecting rods, and such.
It will take a while.
There will be photos.
Jon W
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by Jon W »

The plywood is the weak link. My gut/experience tells me that a professional rigger would lay down 1/4" steel plates in this situation to avoid one or more of the wheels crushing into the plywood and upsetting the mill. If my memory is correct, framing plywood is typically only good for something like 300 psi perpendicular to the face.

The American Plywood Association has a lot of research reports available for free to the public, and local (US) representatives. Might be worth reaching out to them to see if they'll lend you a hand ? https://www.apawood.org/contact-us

Edit: looks like you hail from Portugal? There's undoubtedly a Portuguese equivalent to the APA if the US avenue doesn't pan out.
Jon W
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whateg0
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by whateg0 »

I hate 4 swivels if moving by one person. I bought a used pallet jack and use that to move all of my machinery now. It steers super easy and even with the small wheels up front, it moves easily.

A second issue with swivel casters is they stick out farther so you need a stronger attachment and can't get as close to the wall.
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BadDog
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by BadDog »

Pallet jack is also my go to. Everything is mobile, and everything is solid/stable, all without having to buy/build a bunch of mobile bases. I even built a pair of cross beams (between forks) from 1/2 x 3" angle iron so that I only have to have a 1/2"+ gap to easily pick up and go.

The only thing I can't move around at a whim is my 4500 lb 17x60 lathe.
Russ
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liveaboard
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by liveaboard »

Thanks for the answers;
No space for a pallet jack, not even close.
mark's shop 2021.jpg
2 fixed wheels make it easier to steer.
But 4 swivels make it easy to rotate, and in a small space that's the most useful movement. I need to turn it 90 degrees to mount long work.
I suppose I could try and invent a swivel lock and have it both ways, but it's not in the current plan and I don't have an easy answer for it.

Regarding the area taken up by the wheels, it's a non-issue in this case as the machine overhangs the base to the rear and of course to the sides too.

Regarding the strength of the floor, it's a shipping container and was made for pallet jacks and so on. If it breaks, I'll fix it afterwards.
whateg0
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by whateg0 »

I have modified swivel casters with a simple swivel lock before. Just drill a hole through the mounting plate and a corresponding hole in the top of the fork. Then drop a pin through it. If you want to get fancy, weld a short barrel to it to keep the locking pin vertical to reduce slop in the assembly. The last ones I did this to, I made the pin and the barrel so that the pin could be rotated 180 and it would be held up away from the fork. Then rotate it and it would drop down locking it all
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liveaboard
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by liveaboard »

It's something to consider for sure.
These castors won't have much lower plate, and no top plate.
They'll be fitted into bearings in a bored 40x40mm square rod that is also the lifting lever.
Russ Hanscom
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by Russ Hanscom »

Ditto the idea of putting a locking pin in swivel castors so you can make them non swivel; did that on an engine hoist with good results. On my big drill press and mill on castors, I provided for jack screws near each castor, when screwed down, they prevent the equipment from shifting and can also be used for a bit of leveling.
Inspector
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Re: Castor wheels for the mill

Post by Inspector »

I have another suggestion to consider. One of the jobs our company had was to make large vacuum fixture plates for Boeing. They were aluminium 10' x 10' x 4" thick. After machining they were moved from one side of the shop to the other on a frame that had 4 or 6 compressed air fed pads about 10" or 12" in diameter that floated the frame and fixture. In essence a hovercraft. You could use a steel plate under the entire machine with a rubber skirt around the edges, fed by your compressor or high pressure pump. Some steel pads inside the corners of the rubber would keep them from being crushed when not used. The potential problems with the idea is the amount of air needed to lift the machine the few millimetres needed to float it and the floor has to be very clean when you want to use it. Swarf and debris will damage the skirt and cause it to hang up when you go to move it. Get it right and you can easily move and spin the machine anyway you like. Make sure the container floor is perfectly level so the machine doesn't float away to the lowest point. ;)

Pete
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