(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

After assembly and try-out, I went back and bought 4 additional bases.

While skeptical at first, I was impressed with the quality of this design.
The metal components are well designed and strong. Probably 14 ga steel.
You provide your own spreaders for which I ripped 1-1/4 " lumber from
framing studs. The instructions call for hardwood, but the metal brackets
take almost all of the load. The purpose of the spreaders is, well simply,
to spread the brackets out for the width and length of the tool.

The unit is rated for machinery up to 300 pounds. That's 75 pounds per leg.
I think it could hold a lot more. I bounced up and down on various corners
(adding 250 pounds to my band saw) and saw no damage or deformation of the
unit.

When assembled and installed your equipment will have been raised a little
more than 1/2 inch off the ground. Almost un-noticeable.

While I am usually very cautious with my expectations of HF tools, this one
certainly will serve me well.
As usual, I have no relationship whatsoever to said vendor.

Ivan Vegvary

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill in
the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill in
the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.




HTC for ten bucks mo

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7174_200227174

Delta:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...RZCA491PRGJK7H

"Lobby Dosser" wrote in message
...
"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill
in the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.




HTC for ten bucks mo

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7174_200227174

The base pictured above has a 31" by 31" square limitation in size. All the
sears tool bases (granted, many years old) measure 34" by 34". Caution,
measure before you buy.

Ivan Vegvary

"Lobby Dosser" wrote in message
...
"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill
in the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.




HTC for ten bucks mo

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7174_200227174

Delta:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...RZCA491PRGJK7H
The Delta above looks much easier to use. While the front 'spreader' is
stressed and will take half the weight of the machine, the foot pedal seems
extremely convenient. It (foot pedal) obviates my having to bend over, a
task that is becoming more and more uncomfortable as the years pass. (HF
model has two large hand knobs at each front corner, that need to be turned
in order to activate/deactivate the wheels.)

On Sat, 22 May 2010 02:27:58 -0400, "Lee Michaels"
wrote the following:


"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill in
the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.

I bought one of their earlier ones, which they discontinued years ago.
For $19.99, you got the one side with step-on lift and 2 corners,
adding your own dimensional lumber. A bit flimsy, but works.

--
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when
they do it from religious conviction. - Blaise Pascal

On 5/22/10 10:36 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
HTC for ten bucks mo

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7174_200227174

The base pictured above has a 31" by 31" square limitation in size. All
the sears tool bases (granted, many years old) measure 34" by 34".
Caution, measure before you buy.

Ivan Vegvary

You could easily add your own spreaders from hardwood scraps to make the
size whatever you needed.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Fri, 21 May 2010 23:04:31 -0700, Ivan Vegvary wrote:

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288 $
34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

After assembly and try-out, I went back and bought 4 additional bases.

Certainly a good price. But the mechanism would seem to me to be a pain
if one moved machines often, as I have to do in my tiny shop. I prefer a
similar one that Woodcraft sells (at least they used to) where the
mechanism is the common lever that you step on. IIRC, on sale they were
not a whole lot more than the HF base.



--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On 5/22/10 11:51 AM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Fri, 21 May 2010 23:04:31 -0700, Ivan Vegvary wrote:

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288 $
34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

After assembly and try-out, I went back and bought 4 additional bases.

Certainly a good price. But the mechanism would seem to me to be a pain
if one moved machines often, as I have to do in my tiny shop. I prefer a
similar one that Woodcraft sells (at least they used to) where the
mechanism is the common lever that you step on. IIRC, on sale they were
not a whole lot more than the HF base.


I totally agree about the mechanism..... what a PITA.
It would be a lot easier to just put two locking casters on it.
Two toe kicks and you're locked in place or ready to roll.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

-MIKE- wrote:

I totally agree about the mechanism..... what a PITA.
It would be a lot easier to just put two locking casters on it.
Two toe kicks and you're locked in place or ready to roll.

Tried that. The locking casters still rotate and cause the machine to slip.

My tool has 2" (fixed) wheels on one end and a 4x4 base on the other. To
move it, I lift up the end with the 4x4 and roll it to its new location,
then set it down. Boy is it sturdy.

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...

"Lobby Dosser" wrote in message
...
"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill
in the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.




HTC for ten bucks mo

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7174_200227174

Delta:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...RZCA491PRGJK7H
The Delta above looks much easier to use. While the front 'spreader' is
stressed and will take half the weight of the machine, the foot pedal
seems extremely convenient. It (foot pedal) obviates my having to bend
over, a task that is becoming more and more uncomfortable as the years
pass. (HF model has two large hand knobs at each front corner, that need
to be turned in order to activate/deactivate the wheels.)

I saw those and the thought of bending or crouching crossed my mind

On Sat, 22 May 2010 17:24:52 -0500, HeyBub wrote:

-MIKE- wrote:

I totally agree about the mechanism..... what a PITA. It would be a lot
easier to just put two locking casters on it. Two toe kicks and you're
locked in place or ready to roll.

Tried that. The locking casters still rotate and cause the machine to
slip.


The one I mentioned locks the rotating mechanism as well as the wheels.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On 5/22/10 5:24 PM, HeyBub wrote:
-MIKE- wrote:

I totally agree about the mechanism..... what a PITA.
It would be a lot easier to just put two locking casters on it.
Two toe kicks and you're locked in place or ready to roll.

Tried that. The locking casters still rotate and cause the machine to slip.

My tool has 2" (fixed) wheels on one end and a 4x4 base on the other. To
move it, I lift up the end with the 4x4 and roll it to its new location,
then set it down. Boy is it sturdy.


Yeah, I bet that works great.

FWIW, I've seen casters that lock the wheel *and* rotation.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Sat, 22 May 2010 01:02:46 -0700, "Lobby Dosser" wrote:

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
. ..

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

I have not seen that design before. They sell you the corners. You fill in
the crosspeices with wood. One size fits all. This is a good idea.

Delta:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...RZCA491PRGJK7H

I've had a version of the Delta (either Delta, HTC or Jet) that came with a used
Jet 6" jointer. The original owner had it for a couple years, and I've had it a
couple more. It has worked very well in my shop.

I've also have this one, which is closer to the HF one under discussion.

http://www.amazon.com/PortaMate-PM10...4584140&sr=1-4

This has been under a 24" Rockwell jigsaw for about 4 years. The footprint is
something like 15 inches wide by a bit over 40 inches long, and the whole saw
probably weighs a couple hundred pounds with stand. I don't move this around a
lot, but it has worked just fine every time I;ve use it.

On Sat, 22 May 2010 23:56:13 +0000, Larry Blanchard wrote:

The one I mentioned locks the rotating mechanism as well as the wheels.

Oops - wrong terminology. It doesn't "lock" anything. The levers just
lift the wheels off the floor.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
(Cross posted to rec.crafts.metalworking and rec.woodworking)

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

After assembly and try-out, I went back and bought 4 additional bases.

While skeptical at first, I was impressed with the quality of this design.
The metal components are well designed and strong. Probably 14 ga steel.
You provide your own spreaders for which I ripped 1-1/4 " lumber from
framing studs. The instructions call for hardwood, but the metal brackets
take almost all of the load. The purpose of the spreaders is, well
simply, to spread the brackets out for the width and length of the tool.

The unit is rated for machinery up to 300 pounds. That's 75 pounds per
leg. I think it could hold a lot more. I bounced up and down on various
corners (adding 250 pounds to my band saw) and saw no damage or
deformation of the unit.

When assembled and installed your equipment will have been raised a little
more than 1/2 inch off the ground. Almost un-noticeable.

While I am usually very cautious with my expectations of HF tools, this
one certainly will serve me well.
As usual, I have no relationship whatsoever to said vendor.

Ivan Vegvary


You loose weight capacity in the wood. The longer the wood the more flex.
I use a similar Rockler base on 3 of my mobile tools. The DP being the
heaviest tends to test the limit of the weight capacity.
Some thing to consider if you want to test weight limitations.

On 2010-05-22 02:04:31 -0400, "Ivan Vegvary" said:

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

After assembly and try-out, I went back and bought 4 additional bases.

While skeptical at first, I was impressed with the quality of this
design. The metal components are well designed and strong. Probably 14
ga steel. You provide your own spreaders for which I ripped 1-1/4 "
lumber from framing studs. The instructions call for hardwood, but the
metal brackets take almost all of the load. The purpose of the
spreaders is, well simply, to spread the brackets out for the width and
length of the tool.

Since there was a 20% off coupon in this morning's paper, I picked up
one of these. Hod a bit of clear maple to make the stretchers and I
must say it's easier to move the bandsaw now! (Yes, it's well under the
suggested weight limit.)

What the OP did not mention is how wretched the instructions are. HF
might just as well have said "Here's a handful of hardware which may or
may not match up to the tiny illustrations. Have at it!"

Anyway, as my favorite mentor used to say, "Done is beautiful!"

"Steve" wrote in message
g.com...
On 2010-05-22 02:04:31 -0400, "Ivan Vegvary" said:

Bought a mobile base for some of my power tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=95288
$ 34.99 at my local store. (Compare to circa $90 elsewhere)

After assembly and try-out, I went back and bought 4 additional bases.

While skeptical at first, I was impressed with the quality of this
design. The metal components are well designed and strong. Probably 14
ga steel. You provide your own spreaders for which I ripped 1-1/4 "
lumber from framing studs. The instructions call for hardwood, but the
metal brackets take almost all of the load. The purpose of the spreaders
is, well simply, to spread the brackets out for the width and length of
the tool.

Since there was a 20% off coupon in this morning's paper, I picked up one
of these. Hod a bit of clear maple to make the stretchers and I must say
it's easier to move the bandsaw now! (Yes, it's well under the suggested
weight limit.)

What the OP did not mention is how wretched the instructions are. HF might
just as well have said "Here's a handful of hardware which may or may not
match up to the tiny illustrations. Have at it!"

Anyway, as my favorite mentor used to say, "Done is beautiful!"


Steve,
Yes, the instructions are awful!! First one took me a long time. Yesterday
I finished my 4th and 5th one. Last one was done within 15 minutes. Of
course, by this time, every tool you own has already been in play! (LOL).
By the end, after cutting my four stretchers, I had my portable drill ready
to start the drill holes. Then quickly to the drill press in order to drill
them at a perfect right angle. Then back to the assembly table for a
bolt-up. Don't really want to tell you how long the first one took. Don't
want to tell you about the extra holes that I drilled that were not needed.
Don't want to mention about the bolts I had to swap out because of the bad
instructions. etc.

BTW, I think the hardware (all of the metal pieces) were very precise, heavy
and well made. The nylon lock nuts were a nice touch and the bolts seemed
good quality.

Things are getting better. Compare to HF and Chinese stuff 20 years ago.
Remember what we went through with Japanese stuff in the mid 1950's.
Quality takes time and of course a discriminating buyer.

Ivan Vegvary

You are correct.

I have a number of Delta bases both custom and
universal. They are superior to any of the others
because of the foot lift.

Ivan Vegvary wrote:

The Delta above looks much easier to use. While the front 'spreader' is
stressed and will take half the weight of the machine, the foot pedal
seems extremely convenient. It (foot pedal) obviates my having to bend
over, a task that is becoming more and more uncomfortable as the years
pass. (HF model has two large hand knobs at each front corner, that
need to be turned in order to activate/deactivate the wheels.)

On Tue, 25 May 2010 16:28:03 -0400, Pat Barber wrote:

You are correct.

I have a number of Delta bases both custom and
universal. They are superior to any of the others
because of the foot lift.

Yep.. I really like the one on my Ridgid TS..

Ivan Vegvary wrote:

The Delta above looks much easier to use. While the front 'spreader' is
stressed and will take half the weight of the machine, the foot pedal
seems extremely convenient. It (foot pedal) obviates my having to bend
over, a task that is becoming more and more uncomfortable as the years
pass. (HF model has two large hand knobs at each front corner, that
need to be turned in order to activate/deactivate the wheels.)


mac

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