allsas
06-26-2010, 10:23 PM
Caster Aided Pro Planer (Yeah, Yeah, It's a nut job, just listen as you say the thread title fast.)
I was trying to do some maintenance on Pro Planer, lifting, and dragging it was getting old. The sore back muscles were the recurring indicator. A folding dolly for moving a table saw on a sheet metal stand was found in a compendium of FWW Proven Shop Tips. The dolly folded by changing from a rectangle to a parallelogram that allowed the dolly to be positioned between the legs, the saw tipped, two legs placed on the ends of Load Beams, the other side of the saw tipped, the dolly unfolded to intercept the stand legs, and the raised stand legs lowered on the opposite ends of the Load Beams.
I knew that a regular set of SS casters would fit the Pro Planer. I wanted something NOW and a general solution for moving equipment around the shop, so I forged ahead.
The design, as proposed in FWW, raised the stand the combined height of the caster and the thickness of the material used to support the stand legs on the Load Beam. If a 3 swivel caster (3 3/4) was used and a 2 x 4 Load Beam the dolly would raise the stand 5 Ό .
If the caster was attached to the bottom of Cross Beam and the Load Beam was suspended from the Cross Beam, the leg would be closer to the floor, the casters could be larger and easier to push on a rough concrete floor without raising the stand as much. A suspended Load Beam would raise the load height to 3 3/8 and have 2 7/8 floor clearance using a 2 x 4 for the Load Beam.
Pro Planer on the proposed Dolly
9380
Dolly folded to load the Pro Planer on the proposed Dolly (See Paragraph 2)
9382
Dolly Configuration using caster wheels w/post for prototyping.
9381
Dolly End Beams Configuration w/cleats and shims.
9383
Cleats to hold the legs in place were added by gluing a 3/8 x 3/8 x 2 ½ cleats ,4, to the ends of Load Beam. Additional cleats, 4, were added to the side of the Load Beam ends to capture the stand legs.
Cleats were not included in the original design.
When I tried to load the Pro Planer stand on the revised dolly, the cleats restricted folding, the side cleats split off when the legs were set on top of the cleats. The weight of the stand tipped the unloaded side up. Placing the other two legs on the Load Beams turned in to a goat roping contest that was abandoned. The dolly was squared up and the dolly loaded by lifting the stand onto the dolly. The stand fell off the dolly when pushed over some cardboard on the floor, breaking off another side cleat.
With the side cleats broken off, the dolly could be folded enough to slide between the stand legs. Landing the legs on the parallelogram end points was still difficult. The dolly still tipped up. Straightening it under the stand was difficult. The dolly was squared up and the stand lifted onto the dolly, not an acceptable process. Squares were glued to the top of the Load Beams to brace the internal edges of the sheet metal leg to hold them in place, replacing the cleats glued to the side of the Load Beam.
The folding dolly could be improved by shimming the Load Beam with a shim equal to the cleat thickness. The shim would permit the dolly to be folded without the cleats interfering with the Cross Beams. The cleats and shims are needed to allow the dolly to be fully functional. Attaching the casters to the Cross Beams can lower the overall height of the Load Beam 1 7/8. The thickness of the Load Beam can be a 2 x 4 and still have 2 7/8 floor clearance. Temporary blocking may be needed to decrease tipping during loading.
When laying out the length of the Load Beams, just match them to the one side of the stand and add for the end cleat. The casters attached to the Cross Beam must permit the dolly to be folded, The position of the Cross Beam on the Load Beam needs some clearance for the slant of the inside stand leg about 1 3/8 in the case of the Pro Planer Stand. The length of the Cross Beam affects the dolly's footprint, wider is more stable and makes more room for the caster bracket when the dolly is folded. The Cross Beam should be at least 29 long. The The Load Beam is 24 long. The hole for bolt is 6 1/2 : from the centerline of the Load Beam to allow clearance for the Cross Beam next to the stand's leg.
This configuration puts the casters under the Planer Table. The Support Beams could be perpendicular to the planer bed, making the footprint wider, stability greater, and the Load Beams longer. This configuration was selected for the smaller footprint and stability when feeding stock into the planer.
I have two more lifts for this nut job, one to remove the dolly to add the shims, larger casters, and the second to reset the Planer on the dolly.
I was trying to do some maintenance on Pro Planer, lifting, and dragging it was getting old. The sore back muscles were the recurring indicator. A folding dolly for moving a table saw on a sheet metal stand was found in a compendium of FWW Proven Shop Tips. The dolly folded by changing from a rectangle to a parallelogram that allowed the dolly to be positioned between the legs, the saw tipped, two legs placed on the ends of Load Beams, the other side of the saw tipped, the dolly unfolded to intercept the stand legs, and the raised stand legs lowered on the opposite ends of the Load Beams.
I knew that a regular set of SS casters would fit the Pro Planer. I wanted something NOW and a general solution for moving equipment around the shop, so I forged ahead.
The design, as proposed in FWW, raised the stand the combined height of the caster and the thickness of the material used to support the stand legs on the Load Beam. If a 3 swivel caster (3 3/4) was used and a 2 x 4 Load Beam the dolly would raise the stand 5 Ό .
If the caster was attached to the bottom of Cross Beam and the Load Beam was suspended from the Cross Beam, the leg would be closer to the floor, the casters could be larger and easier to push on a rough concrete floor without raising the stand as much. A suspended Load Beam would raise the load height to 3 3/8 and have 2 7/8 floor clearance using a 2 x 4 for the Load Beam.
Pro Planer on the proposed Dolly
9380
Dolly folded to load the Pro Planer on the proposed Dolly (See Paragraph 2)
9382
Dolly Configuration using caster wheels w/post for prototyping.
9381
Dolly End Beams Configuration w/cleats and shims.
9383
Cleats to hold the legs in place were added by gluing a 3/8 x 3/8 x 2 ½ cleats ,4, to the ends of Load Beam. Additional cleats, 4, were added to the side of the Load Beam ends to capture the stand legs.
Cleats were not included in the original design.
When I tried to load the Pro Planer stand on the revised dolly, the cleats restricted folding, the side cleats split off when the legs were set on top of the cleats. The weight of the stand tipped the unloaded side up. Placing the other two legs on the Load Beams turned in to a goat roping contest that was abandoned. The dolly was squared up and the dolly loaded by lifting the stand onto the dolly. The stand fell off the dolly when pushed over some cardboard on the floor, breaking off another side cleat.
With the side cleats broken off, the dolly could be folded enough to slide between the stand legs. Landing the legs on the parallelogram end points was still difficult. The dolly still tipped up. Straightening it under the stand was difficult. The dolly was squared up and the stand lifted onto the dolly, not an acceptable process. Squares were glued to the top of the Load Beams to brace the internal edges of the sheet metal leg to hold them in place, replacing the cleats glued to the side of the Load Beam.
The folding dolly could be improved by shimming the Load Beam with a shim equal to the cleat thickness. The shim would permit the dolly to be folded without the cleats interfering with the Cross Beams. The cleats and shims are needed to allow the dolly to be fully functional. Attaching the casters to the Cross Beams can lower the overall height of the Load Beam 1 7/8. The thickness of the Load Beam can be a 2 x 4 and still have 2 7/8 floor clearance. Temporary blocking may be needed to decrease tipping during loading.
When laying out the length of the Load Beams, just match them to the one side of the stand and add for the end cleat. The casters attached to the Cross Beam must permit the dolly to be folded, The position of the Cross Beam on the Load Beam needs some clearance for the slant of the inside stand leg about 1 3/8 in the case of the Pro Planer Stand. The length of the Cross Beam affects the dolly's footprint, wider is more stable and makes more room for the caster bracket when the dolly is folded. The Cross Beam should be at least 29 long. The The Load Beam is 24 long. The hole for bolt is 6 1/2 : from the centerline of the Load Beam to allow clearance for the Cross Beam next to the stand's leg.
This configuration puts the casters under the Planer Table. The Support Beams could be perpendicular to the planer bed, making the footprint wider, stability greater, and the Load Beams longer. This configuration was selected for the smaller footprint and stability when feeding stock into the planer.
I have two more lifts for this nut job, one to remove the dolly to add the shims, larger casters, and the second to reset the Planer on the dolly.