# Mobile base for a jointer - again



## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Hey.

I've just purchased a really old cast iron jointer. It's 90" long in all, and 16" wide, so it's a tank, and i weighs as much - a little over 1000lbs.

I want a mobile base for it, but the base of the jointer is kind of an odd shape (not rectangular), so i have to build on myself.
I've got some 4" swivel castors thats rated to 350lbs a piece, so i guess 4 of those will do (2 of them locking).

But what would an elegant solution for a base plate be, so that the jointer doesn't end up being lifted 10" of the floor? Any ideas or links would be much appreciated.


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

I really can't picture this in the portable category. It will be really hard on any wheels or lift that you might be able to put under it. Maybe a base that fits the pallet jack?


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

I was thinking along the same lines for something that big. Just leave it on a pallet or make a base that a pallet jack can fit under. Jointers are very top heavy when they're mobile, so you want something big enough to be stable.


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## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Hmm - i made a mistake i imy metric to imperial measurements in saying the castors where rated at 350lbs. They are actually rated at 250 kg, which is more like 550bs pr castor.

It really has to be mobile, so if everything else fails, i'll build a torsion box out of 2×2, and skin it with 3/4 inch plywood, and put 6 castors under it. My workshop floor is pretty straigh, and finished with a 2 part epoxy paint, so i will roll - but it won't look pretty.

With a machine that heavy, it's not critical that the wheels can be subtracted - i might just make some looking legs, that can be pushed onto the floor surface with some kind of jack.


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

How about something like this:










From this thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59617

That would keep it low. I would say made of steel personally with a steel floor in it.


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## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Looks cool - I'm just not sure about the "free floating" angle iron. But i do own a 180 amp mig welding machine, so you're probably right - steel is the way to go.


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## davidmw (Feb 9, 2011)

You could try something along the lines of this: http://woodgears.ca/mobile_base/table_saw.html

Needless to say you'd have to make it a little heavier duty, but conceptually everything should be the same.


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## petergdenmark (Oct 12, 2011)

Woodgears.ca is a great site - i and i've thought about his design, but with that much weight, relying on a mechanism that lifts the whole thing, worries me.
For now i actually scrape by with a base build out of 2×6's and 12 50 kg castors - it works, but isn't pretty.

I've spent 3 days calibrating the jointer - i'll post a something about the struggles when i get it perfect (a lot of shimming - thank god the soda can material was exactly 0,1mm).
Only thing that can't really fix is the fact that the fence twists, so it's off by a little over 1/64, which iis a problem when edge gluing - so for now it has to be squared up on the table saw.

I'll see if i can find a shop that will mill it for me, or else i'll have to add a sacrificial fence out of melamine, and shim it - bummer. But hey - i only paid $200 for it.

Anyway - i'l post a picture when i get the new base build started - you've given me some great input.


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

Well, that's only .05 cents a pound! I'd be happy if I could a buy that good in the grocery store, let alone machinery. Let us know what you end up doing.


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