Best caster material ?

[tom-ky]

What caster material is least likely to flat spot other than steel?

Would these be ok?
https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660424_200660424

Read somewhere that material was less likely to flat spot.

 

[tarmy]

Depends on budget and load...

I now, after learning the hard way, to not buy cheap castors....use ER Wagner or RWM 47...

Look them up on Amazon. About 40-50 ea. They do get down to about 20 bucks if you wait for them to go on sale.

 

[Steveoreno]

We have built all our steel tables at my shop 4x12 and buy 5 inch Castors from ace castor in tx. I have to look but they are delrin. They have fixed and swivel with and without brakes

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I can't recommend a caster, but there's a combination lube and medicine you can use on them...

Tommy

 

[metalmagpie]

Do you have to roll your item onto a basketball court? Does it have to roll silently? Handle uneven surfaces?

Learn the difference between swivel locks and brakes, and the differences between the kinds of brakes.

Having 4 swivel casters with swivel locks is really handy.

The older I get, the bigger the casters I buy.

metalmagpie

 

[larry_g]

Personally I like the urethane tired steel wheel. I also have no problems with a iron wheel either.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Ch3No2]

Google Northern tool...Good prices on Polyurethane casters

 

[tom-ky]

Anyone ever use caster city?

 

[bad_idea]

What's wrong with steel wheels? I have some 8" steel wheels on my weld table. Love them. Roll well in garage and out into the driveway. Table is 600 lbs and rolls smoooooth.

 

[tom-ky]

What's wrong with steel wheels? I have some 8" steel wheels on my weld table. Love them. Roll well in garage and out into the driveway. Table is 600 lbs and rolls smoooooth.

Thought they were hard on floors.

 

[bad_idea]

What floors are they hard on? Define hard. Not trying to be smart, genuinely interested in your response. I put function over form. I am not concerned about a pretty finish on my floor. The floor in my shop/garage is concrete with a sealer on it. I do a lot of welding work and that plays hell on epoxy - never mind what a steel wheel will do to the floor.

 

[isb cornbinder]

What caster material is least likely to flat spot other than steel?

Would these be ok?
https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660424_200660424

Read somewhere that material was less likely to flat spot.

The casters you link to are my first choice in Polyolefin material for all surfaces. I have a dozen or more machines on these casters. Matching the weight is important. In Western Canada, I get my All Good casters at Caster World in Port Coquitlam, BC.

 

[tom-ky]

What floors are they hard on? Define hard. Not trying to be smart, genuinely interested in your response. I put function over form. I am not concerned about a pretty finish on my floor. The floor in my shop/garage is concrete with a sealer on it. I do a lot of welding work and that plays hell on epoxy - never mind what a steel wheel will do to the floor.

One of the caster sites I was searching mentioned that steel wheels are hard on coated and sealed floors.

Also most of the steel wheeled ones have larger plates than the legs on my table has.

 

[jake00]

It depends on what material you’re rolling on. Example, small steel wheels will dent hardwood

 

[tom-ky]

It depends on what material you’re rolling on. Example, small steel wheels will dent hardwood

It will be on concrete.

 

[Lucky13driver]

I learned not to go the cheap route. Unless your only going to move your item every once in a while.

 

[guppymech]

What caster material is least likely to flat spot other than steel?

Would these be ok?
https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660424_200660424

Read somewhere that material was less likely to flat spot.

Those Northern wheels look similar to what comes on less expensive toolboxes. The work good if you don't do much rolling around and they won't flat spot. I like phenolic wheels for my heavy toolbox that I have to roll long distances in the aircraft hangars, they last a long time and roll easy except they can chip on the edge if you roll over a screw or similar object. I've got a set of steel wheels I'm going to use when the phenolic ones wear out. Check out Albion casters web site, lots of good info there.
https://albioncasters.com/casters/?_wheel_family=phenolic

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

The amount of movement a caster mounted item gets is a consideration. Something that may sit for 3 or 4 years, before it is moved, will end up with significant flat spots, making movement difficult.

Is noise a consideration.... Iron wheels don't get flat spots, but make a lot of noise, a potential problem if very near a living area. My things all have iron wheels, and I'm happy, but don't move things late at night.




.

 

[DocRock01]

A critical feature is the type of bearings, for the swivel as well as the wheel. Many/most of the low cost ones have cheap ball bearing for the swivel and often little more than a hole in the plastic wheel for a sleeved bolt.

Like most things in life price is often an indication of quality, including advise.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk

 

[GRB]

Polyolefin won't flat spot at all but won't be as nice rolling over small debris or be as quiet. Typically want to go up one size compared to polyurethane unless the floor is clean. Really good polyurethane is much better than cheap poly. That means expensive from a commercial caster supplier, NOT any of the suppliers of mainstream ****.
Caster City was mentioned and has excellent recommendations on their site and will help work with you to get something suitable to your needs. If you are buying one to 20 sets, I can't think of anyone better particularly when you get into the specific requirements like no flat spotting or high temperature use or something else where you need something way better than the cheap stuff.

 

[RKA]

Anyone ever use caster city?

Yup, I ordered 2 batches of 3" polyurethane dual locking casters with the metal brake (made in Taiwan) from them. Only been using them for a few years on infrequently moved machine dollies and platforms. I typically don't let the machine weight exceed half the combined weight rating of the casters, which might be too conservative, but I would rather have more caster than I need than the other way around. They move and roll easily and i haven't seen issues with flat spotting yet (smooth concrete). The bearings are nice compared to the cheap alternatives available in local B&M's (which have the same weight rating). And there is a plastic shield above the upper race to shield debris from getting inside (cheap casters won't have this).

I actually bought a few 3" polyurethane wheels from the local harbor freight when I was building wheel dollies for my winter/summer wheel sets last summer. I hate buying junk from there, but I figured a 200lb load was small for a set of 4 casters, so why spend $15/caster if I can get away with $4/caster with the "same" weight rating. Well, as soon as I put some weight on that dolly and tried the casters, I learned the bearings in them were garbage. They turned reasonably smoothly before you put some weight on them, but even a light load wasn't as easy to move on these wheels as the good casters I had previously bought. They went back the next day and I ordered the good casters.