Are your tools on a mobile base?

[Ron_J]

I've been messing around with a layout for me new garage and I'm wondering if I should put everything on a mobile base. I'm thinking the larger stuff like the table saw, router, bandsaw, jointer and such.

I'm going to have enough room for everything to be in a fixed position, but I don't use this stuff every day. I'm thinking that I'd like to be able to slide everything up against a wall when not in use. Right now I have everything crammed into a corner in my 2 car garage. When I need anything, it's a 20 minute job just to rearrange to get to what I need. I really want to avoid this, but think being able to just slide something to the center of the room won't be too bad.

Anyone else decide to do this?

 

[sberry]

Sure, get it out of the way when you don't need it.

 

[CraigStu]

Absolutely put them all on wheels. 30 yrs ago I started w/ my radial arm saw on an old cabinet I found. Really nice to roll it over the open garage door and have most of the saw dust go outside. You can do a 3/4 plywood base to screw wheels to or a tool box. I have my table band/disc sander on a cheap box w/ 4 drawers. This gives me a place to store belts and discs and the bottom drawer has ended up being a spot for lengths of hose and hose clamps.
I got this on sale for $99
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-...r-Steel-Rolling-Tool-Cabinet-Black/1000746798
Both of my band saws are on wheels also. Really nice to be able to change the angle a little when I need clearance for a long piece of trim or something.

 

[astroracer]

Yes, get everything mobile. Look at the Harbor Freight furniture dollies for quick and easily reconfigurable mobile "bases".
I have my stomp shear on casters! And my hydraulic press and 5 different workstations, welding and grinding benches and even my sand blasting cabinet. When a piece of equipment is not being used it gets rolled into the corner, out of the way.
Mark

 

[TTTTTT]

My wood shop of my garage is 24x20 with a man door and a garage door. Everything is mobile except for my drill press and table saw and even that I could move but its situated good. I have enough room for infeed and outfeed of at least 8'. Anything longer roll up the garage door.

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[zmotorsports]

Some of my equipment is mobile but not all. Items like my lathe, mill, vertical bandsaw, drill press, pedestal grinders and things that I use a lot are stationary and I laid our my electrical to keep it that way. However, things that I don't use as often such as tubing bender, strut compressor and similar tools are on wheels and I store them in my RV bay/storage bay so they aren't even in the actual shop. They are next door if/when needed and then I roll them into the shop.

If you are tight on space and need to condense equipment that isn't used frequently then making them mobile is a great option.

 

[NUTTSGT]

In the woodshop side, . most are moveable.

Radial arm saw is fixed
Table saw has screw down casters
Miter saw and bench top drill press on the same mobile base.
Planer on its own rolling base
Bandsaw and belt sander on mobile bases I made, robbed casters off HF dolleys
New miter saw has its own folding base
Router table, not yet but it's light enough to move till I get a base built.

My work table also has two casters on one end it it can be easily moved.

 

[Angelfire]

I've put most of my stuff on wheels. Two reasons. One, in some cases, I want to be able to free up space for something and moving things out of the way helps with that. Two, I figure over time, I will develop a better workflow and want to be able to move things around in the meantime to facilitate this. I used the newer Grizzly mobile bases. Here's but one example:

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-The-Bear-Crawl-Papa-Bear-Mobile-Base/T28923

Mobile bases can get expensive quickly so I tried these as they were cheaper. So far they are working out very well in my Woodshop. On the auto side of things, I have a bunch of stuff sitting on HF dollies for now. I do plan to add casters to them at some point but that's not a priority for me at the moment.
Cheers.

 

[mikec35]

As I have gotten older I do a better job of planning how I am going to move things by myself since my son moved out. Most everything I buy has wheels or slides. My flooring in my garage also helps facilitate moving heavy objects. I was moving a heavy work bench yesterday and my Dad came over to help. He's like me, first thing he did was put cardboard under one end of the work bench to to help it slide across the floor. My tool boxes all have wheels but are all tightly placed against the perimeter walls. I have a couple of loose rolling carts that have most of my frequently used tools so I can roll them where needed.

 

[CJseven]

Yes I have as many of my tools as I can get on movable lockable stands or platforms. It not only allows me to move it away from a wall or closer to the work area but allows for easier cleaning under and around them.

 

[Motorman55]

Finally getting arouind to bolting wheels on the Shop Press this week. Purchase the wheels at HF last week. Just need to get the 1/2-20NF nuts needed for the swivel caster wheels.

Will follow that up by making the TP Tools **** Blast cabinet mobile also, but that requires making a base with wheels to place the cabinet on. Still deciding on whether to go with a metal pan or 3/4 plywood for the base.

 

[niget2002]

I was in your same situation at the last house. Same 20 minute setup time every time I wanted to do something.

The new house has a shop, but all my big tools are still on their wheels. Right now, I'm doing that so I can rearrange as I get rid of some things.

I recently added a dust collector to the setup and have been running hoses to each of the tools. It's making it harder to move the tools around.

At some point, I'll figure out where I want most of the bigger tools and I might start removing wheels from some of them.

 

[matt_i]

I have gone with fixed "pallet bases" for everything other than the heaviest machine tools. To the point of having Vidmar cabinets on bases.

Then I use a pallet jack to roll them around as needed. They sit solidly on concrete with lesser chance of tipover during use than having casters permanently mounted. Some argument could be made for the cost of sets of casters vs a used pallet jack. However more materials are required to build the bases but its low tech 2x4s and plywood or OSB.

Electrical was purposefully made to be flexible (as in all-over the place) including 3phase and 20A x 120vac twistlocks in a ceiling grid to support whatever new configuration I can cook up.

 

[sz0k30]

Got a: 8' work bench, tool chest, table saw, drill press, welder, plasma cutter, shop press, parts washer all on casters. Bout the only thing that doesn't move is my compressor.

 

[Robinson1]

I'm working out of a tiny 14x18 shop that's cramped to the max. Everything except work benches and my lathe is on wheels. Sure makes it alot easier to push everything up against the wall when I need to assemble something big like a cabinet.

I'm in the planning phase of building a bigger shop. It's probably going to be a minimum of a 24 x 32. Whenever that happens I want to upgrade alot of my tools and have dedicated areas for certain operations. I'll probably likely still keep the majority of things on wheels. I enjoy being able to take tools outside if need be. Makes cleanup alot easier if you need to do something like plane a half truckload of wood

 

[tarmy]

Everything...except the main workbench.













There’s more...too lazy to post....

 

[MAYOR28]

I plan on making almost everything mobile in my shop, not necessarily wheels on everything.

I bought a pallet jack (a steal at $35) to help move everything from the attached garage when the shop was finished. It has been excellent so far, and I plan to build my workbenches and 'tool bases' with room to get the pallet jack under them. That way I can move everything to clean, or just reorganize.

 

[PhantomEB]

Everything except the main work bench and 2 stage 80 gallon compressor is planned to be on casters. Even the parts washer. I constantly moving stuff around so why not make it easy.

 

[KJINTF]

I agree
Moving things out of the way is a requirement
The shop is NEVER big enough for all the stuff

 

[Kaizen]

All of my new stuff will be mobile. ESP stuff in the middle so I can move easy and have more space temporarily. As said above I use a pallet jack or individual low profile base rollers


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[lilredex]

All my stuff is on wheels including the workbench. And a chop saw plus jointer, not shown.

Have yet to get my power hacksaw mobile....maybe this summer.

Make a hook/handle to make moving easier and stable.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Machinery-Moving-Hook/

 

[PelicanPines]

True TETRIS requires wheels. I'm all about the TETRIS

 

[g13092]

Everything...except the main workbench.

Those are some **** carts!

 

[Dustball]

I have my drill press and hydraulic press bolted to compact pallets decked with thick plywood. I move them around when needed using my pallet jack.

 

[kbs2244]

keep it all mobile for the reasons given.

Add 1 or 2 work tables with at least 2 x 4 feet tops.
And keep all the work surfaces the same height.

My stuff all has assigned parking spots with a power outlet and a long cord.
I know where it goes and do not have to go looking for power.

 

[PugetDude]

I'm in the process of putting all my stuff on wheels; finally have the space to spread out and want to be able to configure it as I need for woodworking, automotive, welding, etc as projects dictate.

 

[rmack898]

Good quality wheels and casters are expensive. I'm firmly embedded in the pallet jack camp. Once you have one you find ways to expand its usefulness.

 

[MushCreek]

About the only things in my shop that aren't on wheels are the mill, the lathe, the hydraulic press, and the compressor. My 12" miter saw is on a Ridgid stand, which I love for the way it folds up, and the large wheels work well on rough ground. The Ridgid table saw, likewise has a decent rolling stand design, as you can lower it to be stationary when in use. I like being able to move the woodworking dust outside on nice days.

 

[rsanter]

Almost everything I have is on mobile bases. Even my Bridgeport mill.
About the only machine I have that is not on a mobile base is my big lathe

 

[Marctrees]

All my wood machines are mobile w all swivel casters.

In a restricted shop environ, fixed casters ****.

Best place to find good casters at good prices - Specifically - Ebay...

Look for NOS or gently used takoffs...

I ONLY buy USA made.

Marc

 

[Marctrees]

All my bases for like the lighter sub 300 lb machines are bedframe stock, abrasive chop saw easy cut, and all welded.

No drilling holes for anything, tough tough to drill.

I weld on plate casters, never gonna need to replace in this situation.

My heavier / bigger footprint machine bases also chop/ welded but heavier larger angle as appropriate for weight/ size.

Marc

 

[nzjkb5]

You guys (or gals) that are using the Harbor Freight dollies (or the casters from the dollies) - do they flat spot over time? That has been my concern over using them for something heavy that may only get moved occasionally.

 

[astroracer]

You guys (or gals) that are using the Harbor Freight dollies (or the casters from the dollies) - do they flat spot over time? That has been my concern over using them for something heavy that may only get moved occasionally.

I've stored full dress BBC's and Pontiac engines on the big AND small HF dollies. No issues with flat spotting. Those casters are all over in my shop whether as a dollie or scavenged off one and repurposed. No issues at all...
Mark

 

[thin_concrete]

Everything I build for my shop is 100% mobile - table saw, compound miter saw, planer, drill press. Everything. With two cars, sports equipment, firewood, and who knows what else, I have to have everything mobile. The stuff that gets used the least is in the corner of the wall, but the other things are easily accessible.

One thing I did was use a forstner bit and put magnets on various stands to ensure that when I’m trying to cut down long pieces, I’m more confident that the stand or table isn’t going to move on me. It’s probably overkill, but I thought I’d toss it out there.

 

[kbs2244]

Casters are one of the things HF does well
I consider their dollies the best buy in the store.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have most of my machinery on mobile bases or casters. The machines are like drawers. I pull them out when I need one of them. I do not like casters on my lathes.
One of the mobile base designs, I made, uses a two wheel handle and an inverted fifth wheel design to lift and move one end while the other end is on wheels. This works really well, for me.
I have a very heavy WF and John Barnes 22 inch Camel-Back drill press. It weighs over 1100 pounds. I can move it with one hand, with the lift handle. The shop floor must be clear. Even the smallest debris can stop movement.
I added a walking beam design to the far end of my motorcycle lift table/work bench. This allows this hydraulic bench to be moved sideways and rotated in close to it's own length.
The worst money I ever wasted was for a set of Bendpac Ranger wheel lifts for moving my car in the shop. The axles in the 16 casters wobble and lock-up. Bendpac tied to help, but the replacement stuff they sent got progressively worse.
I finally asked them to stop sending solutions. One of the foot operated pedals was not attached to the unit and the check ball was missing.