Need suggestions for retractable castors for a heavy bench

[llucas]

I'm in the process of building an additonal workbench which will be 36" x 84". It will serve multiple functions and will need to be easily moveable.
It will weigh a little over 300#. It needs to be stable and mainly rest on the floor most of the time.
I am thinking of retractable castors. I want something pretty sturdy. Anyone have any recommendation?

 

[Martin Roper]

I saw this YT video. I have no idea of the quality:

Made in USA. 120# capacity each.

Bennington Manufacturing

 

[tvrgeek]

I have the large flip casters on mine. They work but are not perfect. You can come see how they work if you like. Heavy SYP bench with tool chest.

Take any claim for capacity and divide it by 2 or 3 minimum.

 

[Cuthriell]

Not sure if I can make this clear enough to understand, but this is a small bench I roll outside when nice. The large wood knob is attached to a piece of all thread and screws down on a board (blue taped piece) that is attached to the bench bottom cross member with hinges (shown on inside of bottom cross member) and the casters are on the bottom of the board. One of these hinged pieces is located on each side of the bench. There is a small piece of steel flatbar inlet into the hinged piece for the jack screw to push on. About five turns on the jack screws lifts the bench enough to roll around and in use the screws are retracted to allow the bench to touch the floor. I bought weld on hinges because they seemed to have less play. Hinges and casters came from Tractor Supply.

 

[marinosr]

Footmasters: Amazon.com

They go on all my heavy equipment and are amazingly sturdy.

Very expensive, but serviceable knockoffs can be had cheaply, and with a set of four rated for 2000 lbs, you're not pushing the boundaries of their performance.

Amazon.com

Though seeing the bench in this sales image makes me doubt everything they're selling haha...

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61CgNssvlfL._SX522_.jpg

 

[old and in the way]

Luke:

Perhaps just a pair of heavy-duty freewheeling straight casters and a pair of heavy-duty locking swivel casters screwed to the bottom of the legs, no need to retract, and available at any hardware store.

Just a thought.
Tone

 

[KenOfCary]

This is what I use on my very heavy workbench. They work great and fold up out of the way when not needed.

https://www.rockler.com/rockler-workbench-caster-kit-4-pack

 

[KurtB]

The ones I have a similar to the Rockler's and work very well. Easy to install and have been in use for over 5 years now with no problems.

 

[tvrgeek]

What I use as well, but I think one size larger.

 

[NCGrimbo]

The Rockler casters also come with a kit you can purchase that lets you remove the casters so you don't kick them when walking around the table.

Rockler Quick Release Caster Plates

 

[Martin Roper]

I bought these on Amazon for my band saw. Note the shop-made base:

I would not use these on a heavy workbench.

My workbench is very heavy plus I have a blueprint file cabinet full of tools on the shelf. On the rare occasions where I have to move it, I use a floor jack and place it on these:

It's kind of a PITB, so it's not ideal for something that's going to get moved often.

 

[Melinapex]

The ones I have a similar to the Rockler's and work very well. Easy to install and have been in use for over 5 years now with no problems.

Me too… I forget where I got them, but so far so good…

 

[llucas]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions.... With all this in mind i will cruise amazon for the best deal to suit my needs

 

[zargon]

Yes, I also use the rockler style on my super heavy bench but I have four on each end and I still feel like they might give out… This is the method I’m going to modify my bench with. If you haven’t built your bench already you might give it a thought.

There are also lots of YouTube‘s. You can watch for other great ideas.

This is a YouTube link:

 

[HMH]

another vote for footmasters. They do add height though, so make sure to factor that into your final design. I used them recently on a midi lathe stand - they work excellent in that capacity, w/ the added benefit of being individually height adjustable, so you can eliminate any “rock” if one foot lands on a high spot, or vise versa.

 

[holcombej]

Luke, I bought one of these that I use for moving a lathe bench. Can’t tell you how many times it came in handy for other jobs. Bought it at Northern Tool. I just keep it under one end of the lathe bench.