# Workbench design problem: Caster Jacking?



## 33706

I know I've seen 'em, but now that I need a workable design for retractable casters, I can't seem to find one. I will be constructing my be-all to end-all combination tool chest/workbench, and I want to have casters under it to make it movable in the shop, but sitting on all four legs when I'm doing my woodworking on it. You know, kinda like landing gear on an aircraft? Dropping into position when landing or taking off, but retracted out of the way when not in use. Nope, casters with brakes just don't do it. I'm familiar with those step-down brakes that lever down to the floor, but unless I use four, they're tippy. I'm thinking of some sort of lever-actuated thing, or foot-pedal driven thing, but I'm staring at my graph paper and nothing ingenious comes to mind. I will be building this unit VERY rigid, I want no wiggly surface when I'm planing, etc, so it's gotta be sitting on its LEGS alone when I'm using it. . Can anyone please direct me to a workbench/cabinet project using some clever caster-retracting mechanism? This unit will resemble a piece of furniture, and the casters will not be visible or accessible.


----------



## Gregn

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2003703/2023/Retracting-Casters.aspx?refcode=05INFROO


----------



## Gregn

Or these.
http://www.castersupply.com/NAV/gd_60.htm


----------



## A10GAC

Wood Magazine has an outfeed table that uses retractable casters. Raise it onto the casters to move it around, lower it down and it rests on the table legs. Here's the link>> Wood Magazine They have a 2 minute video that shows how the wheels work, the only catch is that you have to register on the website, not a big deal…it's free and you can set your account to not send any advertisements.

I think the plan was also in the September 2007 version of the magazine.


----------



## Brit

I actually laughed out loud when I read your post. Like you, I have sat thinking about an ingenious way to lift my bench design onto rotating casters kinda like an under carriage that is out of sight when the bench is seated firmly on its legs. I have scribbled designs involving bicycle chains and cogs, racks and pinions, acme threads. You name it, I've tried to use it. I haven't seen anything on the internet that I could buy.

All I can say is, if you have a brainwave PLEASE let me know and I'll do the same


----------



## SASmith

Here is a link to more casters like gregn linked to http://www.greatlakescaster.com/great_lakes_caster___swivel_caster_with_stabilizer_leg___175_stabilizing_casters_with_a_220lbs_capacity_in_motion_and_a_550lbs_capacity_when_the_stabilizer_leg_in_extended-LV-1710-NYP-S-M12.php about $15 each
I used them to make a mobile base for my 17" BS . I dont know how well they would work if you are hand planing on your workbench though.


----------



## BurtC

I too was orginally wanting a bench on casters, then I stumbled across something better.
I had some scrp office grade carpeting handy so I just placed a small piece under each leg until I got the caster thing worked out. I never did, so I glued the carpet to the legs. If you have a smooth floor surface, pushing the bench aroound is quite easy, yet is stable enough from racking.


----------



## Brit

Just remembered, I did find this some time ago. It isn't right for me, but it might give you some inspiration. There's a video clip of it in action at the bottom of the page.


----------



## 33706

Ok… I think I found what I need; and the cost will be next to nothing: 



 however, I think I'll extend some thick-walled square tubing across the hinges and operate the levers while standing in front. * Brit*, that video link you posted was indeed the video I saw once, and I was quite impressed with it! I might connect both hinged platforms in a way that they both swing together in the same direction; that way I can do it all with one lever. Thank You, everybody for your great ideas! I'm trying to recall the details of an old Rockwell contractor saw that had a built-in lift; it operated with eccentric cams to raise the saw above the floor by about 3/4 inch.Please keep the ideas coming! * Roger Clark..* don't you dare suggest a wedge!! Thanks again, everyone!!


----------



## tierraverde

Here's another idea.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/24461


----------



## 33706

Thanks again, everyone!!I was even thinking of possibly using those lawnmower wheel axle mounts, those too are adjustable, but they don't swivel. and then there's the pallet jack principle, where the leg trolleys are forced down by rods operated by levers whenever the hydraulics are raised. Again, not castered. I've seen casters mounted on hinged boards, which flip down when you want to move your cabinet, but I'm not sure of the lateral stresses on the swivel joint when converting from stationary to moble operation. Are there any pneumatically operated lifts? Seems like a small pancake cylinder at each corner of a dolly might be sufficient for a cabinet not moved too often. Hmmm…4 eccentric circles, one at each corner, operated with a 'farmer's jack' mounted horizontally… My head hurts!


----------



## boboswin




----------



## Brit

When you posted the this link, it got me thinking. I had actually seen that video before, but hadn't saved the link. Watching it again, I built on the concept and have now sketched out a design that I think will lift a heavy workbench 1" off the ground onto 4 swivelling casters. It won't involve me doing a lot of cranking, just moving a single lever through a 30 degree arc.

Although I am pretty confident it will work, I need more convincing, so the next step for me will be to build a prototype. I'm not promising anything, but if I get time over Christmas, I'll give it a go. If it works, I'll shoot some video and post it.


----------



## 33706

Thanks again, Brit!
just now I was pondering whether the whole concept of retactible casters is wrong, and perhaps I should think of retractible FEET instead. Hmmm… 4 eccentric cams that lever down to the floor….it's do-able?


----------



## racerglen

Hydraulic jacks with wheels ?
jack upside down to press bearings etc..it's been in use for over 20 years now !

Those bottle jacks actualy work upside down, a local transmision shop has a metal press that uses a regular


----------



## 33706

Good idea, Glen!
I keep a couple of bottle jacks in a plastic pail for leveling our camper when setting up at a campsite. If those jacks are not stored upright, they leak. And my jacks are all high quality Taiwan units ;-). If there was a way to actuate all 4 corners from one central jack, I'd be quite happy! But I'd kinda lean more toward air than hydraulic, though either would have the design benefit of equal pressure at all 4 corners. Kinda brings me back to the pallet-jack kind of thing, but I really want my finished project to look like a nice frame-and-panel piece of furniture when it's done, not some Rube-Goldberg contraption. Did I really say that?


----------



## 33706

Awright…. I should think if we get our collective brains together, we could design a workbench landing gear using the principles used here:


----------



## racerglen

Yes Rube..
You did say that !
;-)

And the video is wonderful !


----------



## Brit

Took delivery of my casters yesterday and I've almost sourced all of the other components to build my prototype. I am on holiday from next Thursday until the second week of January, so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it. Since you started this thread, my mind has been constantly filled with mechanisms and linkages. It will be a relief to actually build the thing so I can clear my head and start contemplating lifes other mysteries, like why do men have nipples and why is there only one monopolies commission?


----------



## 33706

thanks, Brit! It's pretty gratifying, to challenge everyone to contribute excellent ideas that they either have found, or incorporated into their projects, or spurred on to design a problem-solving solution to a mechanical deficiency that we didn't even know existed… 'til I put the onus on all LJ's!! But you are indeed one step ahead of me, and I'm really grateful for all the good ideas that came forward. Hopefully, by stirring up the dust, there will be a few who come forward with pics of their own ingenuity in motion. That's what LJs are all about! anxious to see your design, Brit! Good luck, all!


----------



## ROY53

How about building it around a hydraulic lift table?


----------



## mrg

Hey Poopiekat,

Here is a link to a bench that elevates to move it. It is pretty slick using a scissor jack.


----------



## 33706

*mrg*: Thanks for that link, I hadn't seen this design before! The variable height concept is well worth considering! *Roy53*, I'm familiar with hydraulic lift tables, which is a great concept. My rolling cabinet/workbench includes utilizing all of the understock space for drawers and swing-out tool organizers, and I wish to avoid occupying too much of that space for mechanical linkage, lifting apparatus and other non-storage stuff. *Bob#2*, Excellent video! This is the design that I was trying to recall! I'm glad these ideas were posted, they are valuable for future reference if I get more space to work in! I've only got a portion of the basement, and this is what necessitates my need for a well-packed workbench/cabinet that is mobile. Thanks again, everyone!


----------



## Loren

Old typewriter tables sometimes have a clever mechanism that raises
the whole table. I've seen something similar on the Ridgid contractors
saws built into the leg set.


----------



## offyguy

I saw a magazine once that detailed about 20 or 30 different workshops. There was a guy from Seattle or someplace that owned a trucking/freight company. He had a worktable (could've been a router table now that I think of it) that used air bags out of semi trucks (I would guess the smaller bags from the air ride cab or the air ride seat). The table/cabinet set solidly on 4 legs normally and to move it he plugged in an air hose and inflated the bags pushing the frame with the wheels down, raising the cabinet up. Come to think of it, he might have had an air compressor built into the cabinet to supply the air (you can imagine money was no problem for this guy). But then you'd unplug the air hose and the bags deflated, lowering the cabinet/table back onto the floor. Good idea, assuming you have an air compressor in the shop.

P.S. I'm not talking about a hover craft here, or those things you can get for moving furniture, but those could work too!

John


----------



## jciccare

My hybrid table saw's mobile base is a steel rectangle welded up by a local shop from heavy bed frame angle, with a plywood floor. Each end has a foot-operated retracting-caster mechanism inspired by Carl Holmgren's designs.

Each lifter consists of a pair of similar-length 2×6 scraps with casters mounted below, hinged together from below where they meet. One 2×6 is also hinged at the frame; the other is held captive under a 2x cross-piece, forming a wood-on-wood "hinge" with some needed slippage (because the hinged pair is longer front-to-back when aligned straight, i.e. casters-lowered).

A long angle-iron foot lever, fastened at the rear of the back board with one bolt to give it some freedom to swivel sideways, extends to the front of the cart. To deploy the casters and lift the base so I can roll the cart, I use my shoe to push the lever down and then aside into a simple catch. To raise the casters, I nudge the lever down a bit and aside, out of the catch. I have to do this at each end of the cart. There's plenty of mechanical advantage (and each end lifts only about half the total weight), so this is easy.










I had tried to link the two lifter assemblies so I could raise and lower in one motion, but I don't have my own welder (or welding skill-yet) and my attempt at a wood linkage didn't withstand the torque (I got to see a 2×4 twisted apart .

However, recently on The Family Handyman I saw an elegant design by reader Christopher Rings for his large heavy mobile flip-top multi-tool workstation. All casters can be raised and lowered from either end of the workstation in one motion, using end-levers that actuate 3 caster-lift assemblies (6 casters total). Each assembly consists of an oak cam inside a segment of 4" steel pipe, which bears on a steel plate fastened to the top of a board that has casters below and is side-hinged to the base frame. The cams rotate together on a full-length pipe cam-shaft connected to the end-levers.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/workshop/workbench/reader-project-mobile-flip-top-workbench/view-all/.

Here are 2 screen-caps from his well-illustrated article.


----------

