Now that youve purchased heavy shop tools, you can make them mobile with a mobile tool base. A mobile tool base allows your heavy shop tools to be moved around easily. Most shop tools can be wheeled out to their intended use and stored near the wall when it is finished. This allows you to store your tool and move it to a better location. Mobile tool bases have casters that allow them to move about and offer a way to lock down the tool so it stays put to operate the tool. I will show you how to build a mobile tool base from scratch instead of buying expensive ones online. It should be fun and cost-effective.
Before we get down to it, Im going to give you a little bit of info on my version of the mobile tool base. This base is made from 2x lumber and plywood, and has a foot-activated lift mechanism. Although it isn’t very fancy, it is not too offensive. It rides on 2 fixed casters at one end with 1 rotating 360 degree castor on the opposite end to be able to turn as you move it around. Two leveling feet were added to the side of my lifting mechanism, so you can keep your tool in place when it is being used. Based on metal foot activated foot levers, the foot-activated lifting mechanism was designed.
Materials needed:
- 24 lumber (2 pieces @ 2.5m length based upon a shop tool measuring 76×76 cm. More pieces are needed if you want to build a larger base).
- 26 lumber (minimum length 12-
- 46 lumber (minimum length needed 9-1/20 cm)
- Optionally, you can use a 44 instead of a 46. This project doesn’t require 46 lumber.
- Although I said I would use a 46 foot lever in my video, it is not necessary for this project. All you need is a 44.
- Optionally, you can use a 44 instead of a 46. This project doesn’t require 46 lumber.
- 3/10 cm plywood (approximately 81/21 cm L x 33cm W minimum) based on a shoptool with 76 cmx76cm base. Tool may be longer if it has a deeperbase.
- 2 pieces of 5 cm heavy-duty fixed casters (5 cm)
- 5 cm heavy duty rotating caster (1 piece)
- sheet metal 26gauge (will need enough to make one3-1/10 cmx4-
- 20 cm long, 5/41 cm length thread hex bolt (2 pieces).
- 5/41 cm washers (12 pieces)
- 5/41 cm lock nuts (2 pieces)
- 3-
- 1/10 cm copper pipe (minium 38 cm length needed)
- 8 cm #8 gold screws (18 pieces)
- 5 cm #8 gold screws (amount needed varies)
- 3 cm long 1/10 cm lag screws (12 pieces)
- 5/41 cm-18 x 3/20 cm T-Nuts (2 pieces)
- 5/41 cm-18 x 1-
- 3/10 cm steel roofing nails, or any small nail with flat wide heads (8 pieces).
You must first gather all necessary materials before you can assemble the base. Choose casters that can hold your heavy tool. Each wheel must distribute the equipment’s weight because there are three wheels. They don’t all distribute the load equally, however. The two fixed casters will carry half the load (so technically each of these fixed wheels is carrying half of half the total weight of the tool), and the single rotating caster will carry the other half of the weight of the tool. Does that make sense? This is because the sets of casters are on opposite sides, so each side will carry half the load. When selecting fixed casters, make sure that the COMBINEDrated capacity is atleast a little over half of the weight of your tool, and for the single rotating caster, make sure its rated for atleast a little over half the weight of your tool. Preferably youll want to get matching sets of fixed and rotating casters so they are all the same height.
This design is also a good starting point for your mobile tool base. It was designed to be used with 5 cm casters, with a total height 2 inches.
Im not saying dont use different size casters, feel free to use different sizes but you will need to modify certain components of the frame and the lifting mechanism for the difference in height of different sized casters. If you feel up to the challenge of using different size casters and making it work, by all means go for it, although I dont have the time to help you troubleshoot when you runinto problems. In the future I might supply templates and instructions for use with larger casters such as 8 cm casters but for now, make the best use out of these plans based on 5 cm casters. Enjoy!
STEP ONE
Measure the base of your shop tool. This is the base of your shop tool, which will be placed on top of the mobile device base. We only need the width (side-to-side) and depth (front to back) measurements. Add an additional half inch to each measurement. Add an additional 6- to your width measurement. Save these final measurements as the following steps will refer to the final measurements from this step.
STEP TWO
Cut 2 identical pieces of 24 lumber using your width measurement (these will serve as your front and back frame members). Make 3 identical cuts with 24 lumber (with your length measurement) from step 1. These will serve as your crossmembers.
STEP THREE:
Make a 3 cm tall by 3/10 cm wide rabbet into both front and back frame members as shown below, and also make the same rabbet cut intoONLY ONE crossmember piece. These pieces should be left aside.
STEP FOUR:
Another crossmember piece should be cut off at 3/10 cm. This will give you a crossmember piece measuring 1
STEP FIVE
Use the finaldepth measurement taken in step 1. The final length measurement is the original depth plus.
Now you should be left with 2 identical front and back frame members with rabbets, 1 crossmember piece with a rabbet, 1 crossmember piece with 3/10 cm removed (this piece is from step four), one unmodified crossmember piece, and 2 plywood boards. These are the components of the mobile tool base frame.
STEP SIX:
Now it’s time to assemble your base. Place the 2 plywood boards down and spread them apart. Place the crossmember piece from step 4 on the left side of left plywood board with the cut side facing down. Place the two front and back frame members on the left side of the plywood board. Then place one in each corner. Then place the crossmember with the rabbet groove over the right side of the right plywood place with the rabbet groove sitting over the plywood. Next, clamp down the left side of the plywood and tighten. Then clamp down the right side but dont tighten all the way, leave enough slack to allow the placement for the last crossmember. Place the last crossmember in the right-hand corner of the frame, touching the crossmember with rabbet groove. Place this crossmember towards the top of the frame. I added a couple of clamps to clamp these 2 crossmembers and then tapped them in place with a hammer. Then tighten the right clamp down all the way.
If done correctly, the opening of the mobile tool base should be the same size as the base of your shop tools plus an additional half inch to allow for flexibility. If you need assistance, please refer to the video.
STEP SEVEN:
Using 8 cm #8 gold screws fasten all the crossmembers in place. On the front and back frame members, predrill 3 holes and drive 3 screws where each crossmember connects.
STEP 8:
Flip the mobile base over and attach bothplywood boards to the frame using 5 cm #8 brass screws. Make sure to predrill before driving each screw.
STEP NINE:
Place the 5 cm heavy-duty fixed casters, one in front and one in back, on the underside of the crossmember to your right. Each caster should face the wheel with the wheels facing right and left. To attach each caster, pre-drill four 3 cm x 1/10cm lag screws.
STEP TEN
On the opposite side of the base (while the base is still upside down), using a 3/20 cm drill bit, drill two holes 1-
Now flip the mobile tool base over and the frame is complete. All it needs now is the lifting mechanism.
STEP ELEVEN:
Now were going to build the lifting mechanism. Make two cuts of 6-1/20 cm each with your 215 cm. Grab your 44 or 46 and make one cut at 9-1/10cm wide. Then grab a 24 to make another cut at 5-3/10cm wide. Although I said I would use a 46 foot lever in my video, a 44 is sufficient for this project.
STEP TWELVE
Print the templates and cut each shape using the holes. Then place the templates over the pieces you cut from step 11. Place the templates over the pieces you have cut in step 11. The lifting mechanism side template is over the 26 cuts. The foot lever template goes over 46. Finally, the caster assembly template is on the side of 24. Trace the shape and mark the holes for the lifting mechanism side template and the foot lever template. You don’t need to trace the template for the caster assembly. This template is used to mark the location of the hole to be drilled.
Click here to download templates
STEP THIRTEEN
Use your bandsaw to cut the shapes for the lifting mechanism and foot lever.
STEP FOURTEEN:
Take the foot lever to the belt sander and sand these two corners.
STEP FIFTEEN:
Each hole should be drilled using a drill bit measuring 3/20 cm.
STEP SIXTEEN
Insert the 1/10 cm copper pipe into each hole you just drilled. You will need to tighten the fit so make sure you have some elbow grease. Cut the overhang of the pipe with a reciprocating saw equipped with a metal cutting blade.
STEP SEVENTEEN:
Grab some sheet metal and using some tin snips also called aviation snips, cut out 2 pieces. Each piece should measure approximately 3-1/10cm x 4 cm.
STEP EIGHTEEN
Place the small sheet metal piece on top of the 24-piece caster assembly. Place it on the end opposite of the side with the hole. Then clamp down and nail into place with 4 nails.
STEP NINETEEN
Place the larger sheet metal over the bump on the foot lever. To bend further, take off the sheet. Then place the bent sheet metal over the foot lever and nail into place with 4 nails.
STEP TWENTY
Flip the caster assembly over and place the rotatingcaster in the hole opposite. This caster can be attached by predrilling four 3 cm long 1/10cm lag screws.
Now its time to assemble the lifting mechanism.
STEP TWENTY-ONE:
Grab the two 20 cm long 5/41 cm lag bolts and insert one 5/41 cm washer in each bolt. Next, insert the bolts into one of the lifting mechanism sides pieces (the piece from 26). Place this piece with the bolt heads below and the bolt threads facing upward. Then insert two 5/41 cm washers into each bolt, yes 2 washers for each bolt. Next, slide the foot lever onto the top bolt. Then slide the caster assembly on the bottom bolt. Next, place 2 more washers on each bolt. Then place the right side of the lifting mechanism. Next, insert the two last 5/41 cm washers into each bolt. Finally, add the 5/41c lock nuts to each bolt. Make sure to tighten everything snug but yet loose enough so the caster assembly and foot lever can move easily.
Next we need to attach the lifting mechanism onto the frame of the base.
STEP TWENTY-TWO:
The lifting mechanism assembly must be placed on the opposite side to the fixed casters. It also needs to be in the middle of the frame. The bottom of the lifting mechanism must be flush with the bottom of the frame. This was achieved by placing a piece of plywood under the frame and lifting mechanism.
STEP TWENTY-THREE:
Attach the lifting mechanism to the mobile tool base frame with the 3-
Now your mobile tool base is complete! Test it out and make sure everything functions. The pressing down on the foot lever raises that side of the frame off the ground allowing the wheel to make contact and to be able to move around freely.
The frame is lowered by lifting the foot lever. It rests on the elevator bolts.
Once everything is done, mount your heavy shop tool on the base and adjust the elevator bolts so that the base is level when the frame resting on the floor.
Final Thoughts
After building two sets of these mobile tool bases I have come to appreciate the ease with which my heavy jointer and bandsaw can be mobile. My jointer mobile tool bases have larger 8 cm caster wheels. They run smoother and turn better, although I’m not sure if it is because the wheel size is larger or the fact that the jointer weighs significantly less than the bandsaw. On both of the mobile tool bases that I made, the one-wheel side can tip if the unit is turned too fast. The base is very close to the ground, and the sides of the frame catch the floor to prevent the tool from tipping. This is possible if the base is turned too quickly and sharply. It rides and turns good most of the time. This is because it can be a problem for some builders. You can build two lifting mechanisms, and have them placed closer to the corners than the one in the middle.
If you end up building a mobile tool basebased on this design, I would love to see it. Send me a photo and I’ll post it below.
email: [email protected]
Images of completed mobile tool bases from others whove used these plans
Chriss October 2022 build for his Jet bandsaw added a custom gray paint job.
His build appears to be an exact replica of my plans and it turned out great! Thank you for sharing!
What Chris had to say about his build experience:
Hi. Hi, my name is Chris. After looking at several mobile bases that I could make for my Jet JSL 12BS (which I recently purchased), I chose yours. Your build process was very easy and I loved the base design. To attach the sheet metal to the lift mechanism, I used too small nails. After two lifts, sheet metal began to fall off. I removed the lift and reattached it using countersunk drywall screws. Works great now. I went all out and measured my 210 cms using the planer. After that, I sanded, smoothed the edges and primed and painted everything. The base works as advertised. Your plans would have called for 8 cm casters. However, my 5 cm heavy-duty casters work perfectly.
We are grateful for your excellent design and plans.
Chris
Jared A. L.’s August 2022 build of his 136kg mortising machine, built with hardwoods. Custom mods. He promises to build more, including one with two-foot levers.
Instead of using rabbet slots in the frame lumber that serve as grooves for plywood bases, he opted to use 11 pieces as brace supports for his plywood bottom. This will add some extra height to the tool no doubt which may or may not be what he was looking for. I noticed the foot lever mechanism is sitting lower than the frame which should be flush with the bottom of the frame as mentioned in step twenty two. Hopefully his foot lever doesnt touch the floor when parked otherwise he will have to adjust the leveling feet screws or just reattach the foot lever mechanism flush. The 6 cm casters he used should make it easier to roll. Jared, congratulations and thanks for sharing.
What Jared had to say about his build experience:
Amazing plans. Built one with a couple mods. Frame, red oak (foot lever), hard maple (11) and ash were the materials I used. Glued/screwed 11 on the inside of the frame flush with bottom and inserted plywood on top assuming thatll carry the weight a little better (assumption). It was able to hold a Powermatic 719A Mortising Machine, weighing in at 136 kg. Used 6 cm casters. The total cost was less than I had hoped. I still have a few to make and will be trying the 2 lever action, as I wrote in my post.
Very nice design. Thank you for sharing it.
Jared
I’d love to see your mobile tool base built on this design. Email me a picture and Id love to post it below for all to see.
email: [email protected]
