Looking for good casters for shop carts

[Wipedout]

cams2705 said:

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I have been happy with the 3" locking casters from woodcraft. I usually buy two of THESE and then two of the non-locking versions for each cart. I got tired of buying cheap casters and them clunking around, not rolling smoothly or not fully locking down. No problems whatsoever with these. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for.

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And those are the exact ones that are falling apart on me. The red part breaks apart and falls off the plastic part. I've had atleast 10 do this

[JDuke]

I have gotten away from casters on most things and now primarily use a mini pallet jack from northern tool.

When I did use casters I would order 2 double locking from grizzly for about $15 each then the fixed back casters from harbor freight for about $5 each

At $40 plus shipping it only took not putting casters on 4-5 things to pay for the pallet jack.

Duke

[cams2705]

Are they the 3" model that is falling apart on you or the smaller ones. The difference between these and the smaller ones are the metal vs. plastic locking mechanisms. That really surprises me about them falling apart ... possibly a bad lot or shipment???

[Wipedout]

cams2705 said:

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Are they the 3" model that is falling apart on you or the smaller ones. The difference between these and the smaller ones are the metal vs. plastic locking mechanisms. That really surprises me about them falling apart ... possibly a bad lot or shipment???

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Yes. And have the metal locking mechanism

[AHill]

Wipedout said:

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[blockquote]cams2705 said:

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I have been happy with the 3" locking casters from woodcraft. I usually buy two of THESE and then two of the non-locking versions for each cart. I got tired of buying cheap casters and them clunking around, not rolling smoothly or not fully locking down. No problems whatsoever with these. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for.

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And those are the exact ones that are falling apart on me. The red part breaks apart and falls off the plastic part. I've had atleast 10 do this

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[/blockquote]

If that's what's happening to you, then I think you might be overloading the capacity of the casters. It's possible they could also disintegrate if subjected to very high or very low temperatures. They get brittle when the temp is pretty low. Check the ratings on the casters prior to getting a new set. I've had no issues with the polyurethane casters I got from Woodcraft or from the big box stores. If you want the smoother ride of the poly for a heavier application, you might have to upgrade to 3" or 4" casters.

[Forest]

I've had to replace 2 swivel and 2 straight caster from Woodcraft.
Took 2 at a time and had no problem with them giving me a replacement.
I do not believe they are overloaded but just a Polyurethane material that seems to dry out and get brittle. They were installed on Norm's Router table.
Rated at 300 Lbs. each I think I'm far below that.

Forest

[Pirate]

After buying a used 500# planer on a shop made stand, with 4 swivel, non locking, casters, it made me realize how much easier it to move in a tight shop.
When the 2 fixed and 2 swivel casters bite the dust on my jointer, I think I will use 4 swivel, and just have a block of wood handy to put under 1 end when using it.
The 500# planer doesn't move with non locking swivel casters.

[srv52761]

Wipedout said:

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That's an idea but some have to be locking

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Better than locking is all four swivel and make either two or all four retractable.
I use something like this. From mobile base post...
I only retract two wheels on my Dewalt 7790 (Maybe 350 pounds with table, saw, and all my stuff under the table)
I leave two wheels on the floor. But two solid legs is plenty stationary.

I use the Harbor Freight casters from their furniture dollies rated at 1000 pounds. The tag on one of the casters said each wheel was rated at 300 pounds; more than enough for my application.

[Cliff Ober]

Forest said:

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I've had to replace 2 swivel and 2 straight caster from Woodcraft.
Took 2 at a time and had no problem with them giving me a replacement.
I do not believe they are overloaded but just a Polyurethane material that seems to dry out and get brittle. They were installed on Norm's Router table.
Rated at 300 Lbs. each I think I'm far below that.

Forest

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Over the last 3-4 years I've had to replace a half dozen of the Woodcraft locking casters. 2 of those were on a Norm style router table; they disintegrated. I currently have two more locking casters that are cracked; they were purchased from Peachtree, mounted under a spindle sander and kept locked for quite some time. The single crack on each wheel is at the point of contact of the locking tab that contacts the wheel, and the shape of the tab is impressed into the surface of the wheels.

I'm of the belief that the wheel breakdowns being seen are caused by stress failure of the plastic material. They're all made in China, and probably of an inferior grade of urethane. Urethane is the material that is used for many forklift truck wheels and also for wheels on most of the roller coasters all over the world, so it can be incredibly durable when formulated correctly.

I have looked online for replacement wheels for the casters. They are available and less expensive than new casters. All my failed Woodcraft casters were replaced at no charged by them, but the the current failed Peachtree units probably aren't worth the shipping cost to send them back. I'll be trying out new wheels for those.

Cliff

[Waterloo]

I have been using these with good luck so far on shop carts. They are rated 5 star and come with free shipping.