Delta Unisaw mobile base: design glitch?
Some of us were discussing mobile bases for a Unisaw a few days ago, I touted the Delta mobile base, which is on my 1998 version Unisaw. It is very sturdy, smooth moving, incredibly easy to assemble. However, I ran into a glitch last night, want to toss the info out there. I seem to have gotten my saw to a place on the rough, funky cement floor where not all of the levelling pads can get completely off the floor when the middle wheel is engaged.
IMHO, they should have positioned the bracket for the pads a little bit higher so that there’s more room to compensate for a not-level floor. I’ve got the pads screwed all the way in the highest position, but it’s a no-go. The saw is pretty much where it’s going to live, but if I’d anticipated this problem during assembly, I would have sanded the pads down some. Since they are tapered, I’m not sure if the smaller diameter would cause a problem. Another option would be slightly larger wheels, but don’t know if that’s easily doable.
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
I doubt if anything's easily doable with the saw in place :^( The guy who complained about his SC base had a very similar problem, and he was proposing to move the 2 fixed wheels on his base to the alternate holes. I don't know if there are 2 holes on the Delta, and the OP didn't say if it worked out. I hate it when they do that. Personally I'd go for the bigger wheels given that there's going to be heavy lifting no matter what. Good luck with it.
Jim
I had the same problem with my Delta Mobile base, solved it by placing a nylon block under the pivot between the wheel lift
Replace the screw pads with longer ones...
Regards...
Sarge..
Sarge, I need help lifting up the saw!!!! It's really aggravating, because based on how well the saw moved around the other part of the garage, I went ahead and secured the big table on the right, built in a cabinet (of sorts), hung stuff on backside pegboard. Now, I can't get the *^(% thing to move! All that's got to be taken apart.
Oh well, if that's the way it is, that's the way it is. Not going to mess with it right now, but at some point, will have to solve the problem.
Furniture arrangement: One thing I'm considering is putting the lathe along the outfeed side of the saw -- I rarely cut anything so wide it wouldn't slide out over the lathe bed, between the headstock and the ... whatever that other thing is called -- oh yeah, tailstock! (Hmmmmm, shouldn't have attended happy hour this afternoon). The competing arrangement has the lathe against a wall so all those shavings have limits as to where they can fly around. Any thoughts?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
O-Kay, so I'm only theorizing, partly hearsay. But I think you can rent a grinder that will actually grind the high spots off the concrete to make a level floor. It would leave a sandy finish that a protective coat, like epoxy, would probably take care of. If you are using this building as a permanent shop, it may be cheaper than you think.
I have a high spot in my shop that gives some trouble as it is right next to a steel form that gives me access to the basement. My floor is treated so I don't think an epoxy would work on the rest of the floor, only where I ground concrete away. I also have a low spot right in front of the entry door. Not sure how I could fix that. Feels kind of funny walking in and there is a low spot.
Thanks for the idea, T. I'd be happy to get a 6'x8' swath smoothed out. I just need to be able to move the saw when the odd very-long board comes along. Or, if I put the lathe along the outfeed side, the saw needs to move. Never very far, but 2" is far when it's stuck!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Two inches doesn't sound like very much. If you throw your back two inches out of place, you are in bad shape.
I do not want you to get you hurt so make your own judgement in this!
A long lever and a fulcrum will lift that saw. Make sure that you find center when you place the lever so the saw raises straight up and DOES NOT TIP! A very small 'lift' will tell you if you are lifting on center. If you are unsure, place a level on the saw table and watch the bubble.
Get a friend to help you so they can place some old 2X4 scraps under the base at each side. to hold the saw up. To keep from raising the saw more than necessary I would suggest removing the leveling foot bracket if that is possible. If not, you will have to lift the saw high enough to unscrew the foot. The higher you raise the saw, the more likely it will tip Or at least increasing the likelihood that it will.
You could also use a lever and 'walk' the saw off of the stuck leveling foot. You would not have to lift the saw very high to do that and much less danger of the saw tipping. Decide which way you want to move the saw to get the foot off of the high spot. Put a long lever under the base an inch or two. Lift up on the lever (not using a fulcrum) until you feel the saw lift a 'bit' and push/pull the lever sideways while the foot is off of the floor. If you are using a fulcrum you would push down on the lever while moving the lever sideways.
Or better yet, ask a friend to do the levering while you 'observe' if you have a bad back.
Only hurt my back once and I was in misery for a few weeks. Back fine since. More careful?
Thanks, Will. Actually, levering is how I got it to move a couple inches the other night when I was moving the dust collector around. It was pouring rain outside, and I was too lazy to go across the yard to get a crowbar out of the garden shed so I used an old, massive screwdriver. Marginal success, of course.
Don't really want to be lifting it up toooo far, as that might tweak the long (52") fence, but I'm seeing some ideas here that are promising.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
and I was too lazy to go across the yard to get a crowbar out of the garden shed so I used an old, massive screwdriver.
I can see you now! ... Gruntin' a bit...
I have a very old Craftsman, VERY long screwdriver like that.. I can wedge tree logs apart with IT!
I can see you now as I was as at 20 years old. A tank recovery mechanic. Lift a 40 ton tank with a Lever.. I had alot of help on that lever.. Especially if it was stuck in mud!
I hope I did not hurt you back doing it!
A yellow/blue/red chalk line on the high spots may help you when moving the saw again!
I have become quite adept at Will's use of a lever as a fulcrum as I have learned to put 500 lb. machine from the floor onto mobile bases. There are some situations that might require a second person in lieu of getting hurt. Sounds as if you have a really out of kilter floor there. I suppose the real question is should you fix the saw to accomodate or fix the floor and I would chose whichever presented the least amount of difficulty.
The lather behind sounds goos as I have done similar over the years. My SCMS cannot accept 14' stock sitting on a wall with a router talbe on one side and a drill press on the other. The stock will go under the drill press but won't clear the table. I have the SCMS on a mobile cabinet and simply roll it 2' forward and then I can accomodate.
Each shop is different.. every situation is different depending.... just use common sense to come up with the best formula given the amount of X factors you have to calculate with. Where there's will ... there's a way.
"Yes We Can"... :>)
Sarge..
I don't have a Unisaw nor have I ever seen the base, but can you screw the pads down fully to lift the saw so that when the middle wheel is retracted it sits higher off the floor? If you can, then you should have enough room to slip a sheet of hardboard/masonite or 1/4" plywood under the wheel, raise the pads, lower the middle wheel and "drive" to the smoother end of the shop to make the mods you want.
If the saw is to live primarily in the same spot perhaps a sheet of 1/16" thick steel under the saw area would do the trick without resorting to fixing the floor or "butchering" the mobile base.
Thanks, QC. Your suggestions are helping free up the brain-freeze that this situation precipitated. I think a slight bit of disappointment (anger?) has clouded my thinking!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
One of the better levers is an appliance dolly.
Jim
Appliance dolly......a good choice when there's two of us. Thanks.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Oddly enough nobody's addressed the "design glitch" part of your heading. I'd agree that that's exactly what it is. It's never made any sense to me to have a liftable turning wheel in the middle of the base, with fixed wheels on either end. Why not have fixed wheels in the middle and liftables on each end with decent quality feet to take the weight?
I imagine you'll want to adapt the base you have, but you might find the first picture in the attached string from another forum interesting. The guy's taken 2 Samona lifts (about $50 Can. each) and overlapped them, leaving out the fixed wheels. You can raise one end, then the other with plenty of clearance, and the feet screw down easily. For a long fence extension saw you'd have to leave a set of wheels in the middle, and possibly brace the base with a length of angle iron -- not difficult to do. Food for thought, anyway.
http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?t=23777
Jim
Perhaps they need to have a "4WD" version, with knobby casters for use on rough terrain? ;-)
I'd settle for gas shocks and power steering.
Jim
Interesting idea, Jim. I have a Somona base, currently under my bandsaw. I think it cost quite a bit more than 50$Can though! I'll keep the idea of overlapping bases in my head for possible future application.
Just to be clear, on the Delta base: The single lifting wheel is about in the middle of the extension. There is only one set of fixed wheels, at the left side of the saw body. Under the right side, and at the end of the extension-supporting frame, are the levelling pads. When on a pretty level floor, this arrangement makes for very good maneuverability. But I suspect you're right the design could be improved.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
IMHO, they should have positioned the bracket for the pads a little bit higher so that there's more room to compensate for a not-level floor.My garage shop has a hump that is about 3 inches high! Old maple tree I let grow. Big mistake on my part. Same tree I had to cut down and had to replace about 100 feet of sewer pipe I posted awhile back.My house is on a 'slab' six inches thick and reinforced with re-bar..
Roots cracked that also!A saw would look funny and a bit unstable on 4 inch high rollers!Edited 11/7/2008 12:10 pm by WillGeorge
Edited 11/7/2008 12:11 pm by WillGeorge
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