Mobile Base for [floor mounted] Drill Press — revisited
note___ i found a bunch of junk at the bottom after i sent it. don’t know how it got there and removed it now so if a moderator gets this , would be best to remove it/edit it ..sorry
I am brand new to this site/group so if i do something wrong i am sorry.
this relates to an old posting for help that i just i stumbled upon as follows..
“As anyone placed a floor model drill press on a mobile base with locking casters and had success or I am asking for trouble with this type of arrangement when I go to move the press….”
i am looking to replace what i have due to a flood, and came across this posting.
10,15 years ago i bought a heavy duty steel dolly meant for a floor mounted drill press or similar thing .
Now i cannot find one, however this “dolly” was all steel and shaped a bit like like a low-bed trailer, so the drill press base was just above floor level while castors and elevator screws were at the very corners. You can roll it around, then when you get it to where you want it, you turn the elevator screws to let them take most of the weight , and stop any movement or wobble. i am in canada, and think it came from Princess auto, 15 +years ago but now cannot find anything like it. But it worked well for me but now the bearings will be shot.
So this is an answer and a question all in one.
Thanks ..radiodon
Replies
I used one of the "Bear crawl" mobile bases from Grizzly for my drill press. You can see most of it in this picture. You do have to infill with a couple of layers of plywood. The hard urethane coated metal wheels glide across the cement floor with ease. The foot pedals on the front lift the front feet off the floor for moving and set them back down for securing.
Hi dstevick
My attempts to reply get stuck, maybe my computer is too overloaded ...too heavy!!
my Mobile Base is very similar to... Grizzly?..
"Shop Fox D2057A - Heavy-Duty Mobile Base"
My drill base fits right into the corner angles
mine is likely 20 some years old now.. cant believe it!
radiodon ..one more try to reply
Hi radiodon,
I agree, the Shop Fox and Grizzly are probably the same with just a different paint job. I did use one of the larger ones since the drill press is so top heavy, which necessitated the plywood infill.
Good luck.
three options - poor, ok, and great.
1. poor - picture 1/drill press - these are rocker mobile bases you configure yourself by cutting 2x2 to size. this pm drill press is surprisingly heavy (400lb), and this base is wobbly and weak - you could substitute 2x2 metal tubing, then would be wobbly and strong.
2. ok - picture 2/bandsaw - can't remember manuf, maybe bora? expensive, strong adjustable metal base, but again is wobbly. this pm bandsaw is very heavy (1000+ lb).
3. great - picture 3/hammer a3-41. this is base built in to hammer, but could easily be made/added to any tool with a solid base. with t-handle, this is a great system, stable and very easy to move/maneuver .
4th option... Perfect: I bought a sawstop hydraulic industrial mobile base and brought it to a steel shop where it was cut and sized for my jointer/planer. I can spin it in place when I need to swap functions. This keeps my feed direction the same and my dust collection on the same side. It also tucks into the corner on 4 pivoting casters with no need to parallel park.
I had an arm like that for my Laguna bandsaw and hated it... mostly because my shop is tiny. I bought a foot lever with a swivel caster as a replacement part from Grizzly and put it where the bar's peg hole used to be. Now the saw does the same swivel but without the long handle.
Some good mobile base info here, but I'd be careful using them with a
drill press. All the weight is up high and the tip-over possibility is real.
If I had to make mine mobile, I'd add some serious weight to the base.
I made a plywood mobile base from a Wood Magazine plan. It works great, balance isn't a problem. I added a 1/4" cover to keep shavings off the drill press base.
https://www.woodmagazine.com/project-plans/workshop-jig/tool-bases-stands/mobile-drill-press-base-downloadable-plan
Yours worked for you - still have it? Lots of oil and maybe new wheels and or bearings? Yours sounds heavy duty. All the ones I own ,supposedly state of the art when I bought them , have issues. Casters that swivel even with brakes have a lot of slop.
hi guys and any fine ladies listining in.
i have to say that because the young ladies in HD lumber put me to shame and the guys too.. and were very pleasant
i am new and i last attempt to reply got eaten-up , maybe it was this PW change stuff??
i have a bit to say but this might go ..again
re your comment Mr. pantalones868
yes, my mobile base worked for me.
The press is a Delta 16-1/2 [Canada] about 6 feet hi, 115 volts, about 14 amp motor, don't see a HP ,maybe 16 speeds by belt shifting.
my base is similar to but not quite the same as that seen at...
https://www.busybeetools.com/products/shop-fox-mobile-base-700lb-cap-d2057a.html
in their picture you can see the castors, elevator screws adjustable frame length and width and the low bed 45 degree angle corners that nicely hold a rectangular drill base. seems good for my size press.
yes i can oil/grease etc, but i am looking for a price for insurance, because i got hit with 5 inches of sewer backup.
i have not yet learned how to get pics from my new phone to my old w7 computer, but maybe later
don / radiodon ... ya i try to fix vernier etc in big old 30's and 40's console radios
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