Casters & Cast Iron

[WoodWrangler]

In my shop, tools MUST be on wheels. I just don't have the space. So, I ordered the same wheels I'm using on my larger bandsaw from Great Lakes Caster. I ordered knowing I might have hole size issue and other issue ... but figured I'd work around them.

And ... I have two issues.

1. The holes in the cast iron legs of the Powermatic lathe are too small for the 12mm threaded bolt needed for the casters. The legs have a threaded, smaller, hole for feet it came with. I am going to want to change that, but was concerned about drilling into the cast icon -- could it break? I've heard it's fragile. What's the best method to safely increase the hole size? The best bet would have it tapped to I could screw these into it, but I have no clue on doing that.

2. The Grizzly bandsaw has adequate holes, but they are 2 3/8" off the ground. I can buy longer bolts, but will that hold it ... considering 2 3/8" of bolt will not be used and will be unsupported (the wheels need to show out the bottom). Any suggestions?

Here's what I have...

 

[toolferone]

Jeremy, cast iron drills very easy. It comes out almost as a powder. Don't go to large of a bit all at once. Do it in steps and you won't have any problems.
As for # 2, if I understand then it sounds like there is to much unsupported bolt showing. I would think you would want the caster as close to the bottom (ie touching) as you could.

 

[ErnieM]

In my former life as a piano rebuilder I've drilled many holes into cast iron piano plates. Cast iron is not difficult to drill into. I used HSS aircraft bits because I needed the extra length but any good quality bit should do fine.
It's not like drilling into wood, however. It takes time. Drilling a .282" hole into a piano plate (about 3/8" thick) took 5 minutes or more. I wouldn't worry about cracking the cast iron while drilling but avoid dropping the cast iron onto the floor. That'll break it real quick. Good drilling.

Ernie

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Cast iron while generally brittle can also be malleable, but is easily machinable. It drills and taps easily. Just take care like you would do drilling and tapping any metal.

 

[PeteQuad]

Jeremy, this is the exact problem I have with my Grizzly bandsaw and my Great lakes casters. I never solved it because I've never had to move my bandsaw . I had thought about maybe a longer bolt and some wood padding?

 

[Mike Davis]

I would make some wood blocks to fill in the empty space.

When I set up my bandsaw I wanted to put casters under it, but I still don't have the casters. I did go ahead and make wood inserts to fill in the sheet metal. I thought it might get bent or dented without some wood in there.

On that lathe I would make a solid piece to join the legs at each end so it won't spread. If you roll it across a bump in the floor it could catch and snap off. The extra brace may prevent that.

 

[toolferone]

After seeing your new b/s, I agree with the others here about makig a wood spacer/filler to bring the casters down. That should work well for you.

 

[Turtlewood]

I see you ordered 12 casters.

I just did the exact same thing. Ordered 12 to get the discount then stacked the woodnet discount on top of that to get it even lower.

I put 4 on my new shop fox moulder this weekend. I too had to drill out the holes, but this was in the steel base.

Like others said, step up bit sizes and use a few drops of oil too. I used motor oil.

-Kevin

 

[PeteM]

For the BS you could make a "mobile platform" like I have on my jointer.
I've tried a few different types and like this on the best.
I have plans if you want to check it out.

pete

 

[WoodWrangler]

Thanks for all of the feedback ... it looks like for the lathe I'll be turning it on its side (who wants to help?) and drilling the hole a little larger to accomodate the 12mm bolt. The bracing is an interesting idea ... I'll have to see if I can incorporate that.

As for the bandsaw, I'll make the wooden blocks as recommended and use the longer bolts I purchased to secure the wheels.

WHY CAN'T THE COMPANIES JUST PICK AND STANDARD AND STICK TO IT!

 

[Bas]

WHY CAN'T THE COMPANIES JUST PICK AND STANDARD AND STICK TO IT!

They do. The problem is, they all pick a different standard!

 

[FredP]

Thanks for all of the feedback ... it looks like for the lathe I'll be turning it on its side (who wants to help?) and drilling the hole a little larger to accomodate the 12mm bolt. The bracing is an interesting idea ... I'll have to see if I can incorporate that.

As for the bandsaw, I'll make the wooden blocks as recommended and use the longer bolts I purchased to secure the wheels.

WHY CAN'T THE COMPANIES JUST PICK AND STANDARD AND STICK TO IT!

before you do this you might want to figure out how much this will raise the spindle hight of the lathe. make some blocks and place them under the legs. hight on a lathe is critical. too low you get a back ache and too high you loose control. if the hight works for you then drill and tap for casters. if not you may want to find a way to offset the casters so you are only raising the lathe a little or not at all. I was going to do this with my 3520 also but decided not to because I felt it would be too high for me. spindle height should be just above the elbow [I think!] for the BS I would also recomend fillers.

fred

 

[WoodWrangler]

Good point, Fred. I'll have to check that. The lathe is already rather tall and this will add a couple inches, I'm sure.


Another question ... anyone have a tap & die set for 12mm in the Charlotte area who knows how to use it and wouldn't mind helping me out if I go that route?

 

[FredP]

Good point, Fred. I'll have to check that. The lathe is already rather tall and this will add a couple inches, I'm sure.


Another question ... anyone have a tap & die set for 12mm in the Charlotte area who knows how to use it and wouldn't mind helping me out if I go that route?

if you decide to go this rout you can always build a platform to stand on. I realy want to do this with mine but I only have 2 wheels that are the same and I'm too "thrifty" [spelled cheap] to get 2 more!:rotflm: maybe someday. One thing that I did was take a 1" thick pool float and put it on the floor in front of the lathe. concrete gets hard on the feet and the lathe is one of those tools you may spend hours at!:icon_thum

 

[Mike Davis]

Check how high from the floor the bottom of the ledge where the wheels go, then check how tall the wheel plate. Now, will the wheel be taller than the ledge? If yes then bolt wheel and all is well.

If no, then calculate how much wood thickness needed to make wheel just touch floor and lift lathe off of the floor so you can roll the lathe around.

Problem solved, let's get back to woodworking! :eusa_danc

 

[Trent Mason]

Jeremy,

I am about to do the same thing to my bs and ts. I was planning on building a platform out of plywood and possibly 2x4"s, then putting the casters on the bottom of that. Then the problem became, "how do I connect the saws to the platforms?" Neither of them have screw holes in the bottom. I thought of just using strap clamps. Interesting predicament.

-Trent

 

[dick541]

You do not want to use any oil when drilling or taping cast iron, it is not recessery, it will stick to your tools and gum up the holes. Just don't drill to fast. After 40 years I know better.
dick

 

[jeff...]

I gave my opinion but it got moderated. So again I'll give it but try and not word it the same, even though I don't remember exactly what I wrote :icon_scra. This is a common problem - hole to small / bolt to short. I think your asking the right people how to solve it, I'm sure a lot of folks have. It's good to get advise from those in the know.

 

[WoodWrangler]

With a little help from Phillip (ptt49er), we were able to get the bandsaw up on the casters without any issue. After seeing the same set installed during the shop crawl, I knew it would work well ... so I used a block of Ash to support the empty gap between the floor and steel of the base and a longer 12mm bolt to attach the wheel. It snugged up well and now the bandsaw rolls effortlessly.

Next is the lathe ... it looks like after installing a caster the lathe will be 3/4" - 1" higher than it is now. I don't think I'll notice this difference much, so I plan to just drill out the threaded cast iron on the foot and use a bolt to snug up the new caster (bad idea?). However, I think that has to wait another week or so ...