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Thread: Mobile bases?

  1. #1
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    Default Mobile bases?

    Is it possible to put a Sieg SX3 mill and stand on a mobile base like one of these in the following links?

    http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W930


    http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W931

    Trying to find room in the incredible shrinking shed.

    Ratty 05/2004 -05/07/2010 COOPER 01/08/1998-31/01/2012

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    Quote Originally Posted by wm460 View Post
    Is it possible to put a Sieg SX3 mill and stand on a mobile base like one of these in the following links?

    http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W930


    http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W931

    Trying to find room in the incredible shrinking shed.
    I have the genuine stand for the older X3 mill. I assume that stand for the SX3 is the same.

    Mine is made of 1.7mm thick steel sheet. The bottom is a flat plate, flush welded all around. There would be no problem putting it on a mobile base. But would it be safe?

    You could also make a plywood base and add your own choice of wheels. It would be very easy to fix the stand onto a plywood base. What you need to keep in mind is that the stand is quite light, the weight is in the mill on the stand. That makes for a top heavy assembly. You want these wheels as far apart as possible to counteract tipping tendency. Easy to achieve with a plywood base.

  3. #3
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Weight wise it's possible but vibe/stability wise I would worry about these bases. A better option for a mill would be a base that full loads down onto the floor i.e. not resting on any wheels at all.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sacc51 View Post
    It is possible to have both: four feet resting securely on the floor with two wheels jutting out the back just clear of the floor. When you want to move it just tilt it back and wheel it like a wheelbarrow. The wheel only need to be a few cm from the rear feet. I have my bandsaw mounted on a similar stand - minus the two rear feet. Like so:
    It is probably still doable. But the distance from the handle to the wheels needs to be kept as short as possible. The SX3 mill is 195kg (plus a vise etc). I have moved my X3 (only 178kg) about 20 meters using one of these tiltable removalist trolleys, and found the weight to be at the outer limit of what I can or should handle at age 60. Your limits may be different. My personal limit is lifting my 100kg anvil straight up from one base onto another stump - but I would not want to walk around with it more than half a meter. And even then, I feel its like taking a calculated risk with my spine, one that one day may turn out not to have been worth it....

    As an alternative to wheels, may I suggest a block and tackle attached to a dog on a ceiling mounted beam? Such contraption in a workshop has many other uses too. Or maybe something like a simple engine crane if the roof cannot be used.

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    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by sacc51 View Post
    It is possible to have both: four feet resting securely on the floor with two wheels jutting out the back just clear of the floor. When you want to move it just tilt it back and wheel it like a wheelbarrow. The wheel only need to be a few cm from the rear feet. I have my bandsaw mounted on a similar stand - minus the two rear feet. Like so:
    We use the wheelbarrow method on some machines at the mens shed and it works we'll for longer and lighter machinery but not so well for tall heavy machinery. Tall machinery has to be tipped over too far and if the machine is too heavy it can fall onto the mover. I was going to use this on my BS but at 174 kg it was too much of an effort and I wouldn't want to be doing this with 190kg.

    An alternative to tipping is to put (removable) handles on the side of the machines opposite the wheels - that way the machine only has to be lifted by the handles a few cm to clear the floor and the handles can be made long enough to accommodate quite heavy machines. This requires a flat floor because the legs near the wheels will not be very far off the floor.

    The problem with these methods is they requires space to do the tipping or lifting (especially if long handles are used) whereas if the machine is on 4 steerable coasters it can be moved more or less within its own foot print.

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    One method I use on my rather heavy welding table, is to use 4 trailer jockey wheels. These can be bought real chap nowdays, $100 should give you 4 nice jockey wheels. The nice thing is the table is nice and rigid on its own feet. Only when I need to move it, about two cranks on each jockey wheel is enough to lift off the floor and wheel it away. Afew more cranks are needed to lift it over a door jamb. The jockey wheels are quite large in diameter, whick makes wheeling around much easier than with smallish castor wheels. And, should I ever in future decide on a fixed location for my welding table, jockey wheels are easy to remove and use elsewhere.

    The downside in the case for an SX3 mill cabinet, is that one would have to weld up a frame to attach the jockey wheels onto.

    One more thing comes to mind WRT X3 or SX3 mills on wheels. I just bought some 12x4kg dumbell weights (Aldi discounted) to make up a counterbalance for the mill head. Such counterbalancing is probably not going to work or not being practical if the mill is on wheels, as counterbalancing calls for a wheel attached to the wall or the ceiling above the mill head. As is, the X3 and SX3 rely on a gas strut to counterbalance the weight of the mill head. This gas strut limits Z travel, and it is not a perfect counterbalance either.

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    Hi Mark, I'd be inclined to make a bench that fits over/around a cabinet to hold all the accessories, that will accumulate in a very short time, (and empty the wallet/credit card quicker). Using jockey wheels is a fantastic idea, as they will take a good size load, (which won't take long) and could be transferred to other machines to move.
    Kryn

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    If you make a base/table with adjustable screw jacks, why not add a set of wheels that engage with the floor when you lower the screw jacks? Then move into position. When happy with the position, screw down the jacks to provide a stable, level table. Of course if you plan on moving it around quite often then this may become a little laborious but you would only need to clear the wheels by 5mm or so.

    Simon
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

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    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by sacc51 View Post
    . . . . . A long lever like this may seem awkward, but if it is removable, not so much - unless of course you are in a 3x3 shed...
    Its not so much the size of the shed that matters, but the amount of stuff that's in there

  10. #10
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    Thanks for all your replies. A lot of interesting reading and good ideas.
    I have been worrying about the mill being so top heavy, I buggered up my shoulder a couple of years ago and never recovered properly so try to avoid heavy weights.

    I have a heap of 50 X 50 X 5 mm angle iron I can weld up for a frame,
    If i weld some nuts to the frame and use 1" bolts bit like Simonl's suggestion, would this be stable enough?
    Would castors like this be any good ie, take the weight?

    http://castorsolutions.com.au/indust...-e21unrsb.html

    http://castorsolutions.com.au/49-e21unrs.html

    Ratty 05/2004 -05/07/2010 COOPER 01/08/1998-31/01/2012

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