"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
|
|
| Along with all of the other answers, I'd add that I'd "recess" the
| casters, i.e., mount them on sort of an L-bracket, so that you only have
| to raise the base of the press maybe 1/4" - 1/2", rather than 4 or 5
| inches.
|
| ________ BASE _________
| \_/ | OF | \_/
| / . \ | PRESS | / . \
| \ _ / ------------------------ \ _ /
| ------------------------------------------------- floor
|
| Rich, you clearly don't have to deal with a space-limited shop. The above
design
| is great for stability but it really burns floor area. I wish my press
were
| smaller, but it's the size it is, and I don't want it *any* bigger.
|
| GWE

I can sympathize with that completely. Why not put two fixed casters on
one side mounted so that when it tilts slightly it's supported by the two
wheels? Put a pad or lift point on the opposing side and you can then use a
floor jack or other means to lift that end to move it about.
I have also done a contrivance with casters mounted on a plate attached
to hinges, and an external lever, where you lift the whole thing up by
stepping on a lever, rocking the plate level and lifting it up onto casters
for easy movement. When where you want it to be, lift the levers (sometimes
easier said than done!) to let the device drop back down onto its base.
Depending on how much you move it and the floor condition, you may want to
lock the mechanism in the mobile position, since if I catch something going
the wrong direction on the one I did, the plate and casters would sometimes
pop back into the stowed position.
I had a hard time visualizing this the first time I did it, but take a
long plate and mount it on sturdy hinges, long ways. To the plate end,
attach a lever perpendicular to the plate such that it extends on the
_other_ side of the hinges. Mount swivel casters to each end of the plate.
My item had a flat bottom, and when the plate and lever is "up" the casters
support the plate which then sit flat on the bottom. The distances and
caster size have to be worked out with a bit of simple math so that the
casters will just rest on the floor in the stowed position but raise the
thing when rolled up. Step on the lever, which causes the plate to flatten
out on the bottom and the caster's usable height will lift the item up.
Does this make sense? I wound up using this so since the item (actually a
bingo machine console which spends most of the time in storage) had a
"skirt" to keep stuff out and look immobile, but be easy to move by folks
other than me. The levers stuck out arc shaped slots on the backside.