# Build your own simple mobile machine base (with Photos)



## ndbrown (22 Jan 2013)

I promised in my very recent Sedgwick rebuild that I would post details of how to build a mobile base for your machinery using a fairly basic tool kit. This is a much easier project than building Furniture so give it a go!

Why build:
Your stand will be more rigid than a store bought adjustable one, giving your machinery more stability. The stand design can be tailored to your exact needs. You can re-use the same basic design and lift bar system to mobilise all your machines. There is little real difference in cost apart from your own time. You do not need an ability to Weld or welding equipment - you are doing the time consuming and expensive part of the build, welding it up is comparatively cheap (though still skilled). If you are in a small workshop, having the ability to move machines around is a real benefit.

You will basically need;
*For holding the metal parts: *My advice would be a Workmate placed outside (but dry weather might not be so easy to organise!)
*Cutting the parts: * I prefer a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder as it will do most of the work, but others might prefer a Reciprocating saw or even a heavy duty jigsaw wit a good quality metal cutting bade. I find the angle grinder with metal cutting discs and grinding disk keeps the neighbours entertained better! Make sure you use the discs marked for cutting only for cutting! I actually find the Zirconium flap disks better to work with for grinding off edges but everyone has their own preference.
*Drilling holes*: A heavy duty drill as you will be drilling holes up to 10mm in metal. A side handle will help on the drill as well.
*Holding small parts /assemblies*: One or more "Mole" type grips and or some small G Clamps.

you will obviously need all the usual smaller things like drill bits, tape measure, square etc

Health & Safety - Ignore at your peril when working with steel!
Heavy duty gloves for handling the hot/sharp metal during cutting and preparation, I like the rigger type gloves
Goggles - Eye protection is a must (you only have one set of eyes) apart from my wife who seems to have another in the back of her head that are sensitive to new tool purchases.
Ear protection - I have tinnitus, so some ear protection is always a good idea.
Disposable dust mask(s)

Materials: - Base
*Some Mild Steel Angle section:* (I used 50 x 50mm wide, 5mm thick), I originally looked at buying the steel on e-bay for this but when I approached my Local Blacksmith/fabricator to ask about a quote for welding one of these I found that he was MUCH cheaper for the material. All in cost for enough steel for this base is around £20. this is fine for most normal machines but if you are mobilising a Wadkin, you might need to up-scale the material thickness a little more.
*Some Mild Steel plate*: - between 3 and 4mm thick, You could make it thicker, but 4mm is already fairly strong in this application.
*Wheels: *100mm diameter Poly tyre wheels are best as the standard ones take 200Kg+ each. Dont be tempted with rubber ones as they will develop a flat spot in the tyre with the weight and irregular movement. These should be about £9 a pair
Adjustable feet: I used M12 x 120mm long feet threaded feet, costing £15 along with with two unplated M12 nuts. Un-plated because they are going to be welded. The blacksmith/fabricator will probably have the nuts as well.
About 20 off M6 Hex head machine screws (fully threaded), plus washers and nuts to hold the parts together during welding, these are all removed once complete and can be reused on your next stand.
Paint to finish it, of course, you could always make it in stainless!!!!

I recommend working outside if at all possible, apart from the noise in the confined space, it's less dirty and saves your workshop going up in flames with all those sparks _(you did remember to clean up those wood shavings, didn't you)_.

You can complete the whole job, less welding and painting in a day. I built the Sedgwick stand in February 2012, it was cold but dry (unusual for Scotland - the dry bit that is).

*This next section of the post has been edited following some of the feedback from the original one*
--------------------------------------
OK some (revised) photographs to let you see the idea, these were are all for some fairly heavy machines:

(1). Some standard base options
The photo on the left is the type of stand I made for my morticer. These types of stand are fine for machines that are naturally very stable. When making your own stands, you can adjust all the dimensions / geometry to suit your needs and space. Although the base legs stick out from the base of the machine, the upper parts of the machine often overhang the base so the "outriggers" are not a trip hazard in reality.






(2). Some more specialised stands
This one is a base for my Sedgwick PT255, legs have been extended to improve stability for this particular machine.





(3). And finished with the MiniMax S45 bandsaw bolted to it (The lift bar is in prototype stage in this photo)





(4). *Axminster AW19FM morticer on a another stand*





(5). *Sedgwick PT255 fitted to the stand (Front)*





(6). *Sedgwick PT255 fitted to the stand (rear)*






The concept is to measure your machine and work out the size of the central area to suit the base. The stand shown is for the bandsaw. The key difference for my bandsaw was one leg longer than the other to offset the odd centre of gravity and the left hand side having a cut out to allow the bottom door of the bandsaw to open. The Morticer has shorter outriggers as it's fairly stable and the sedgwick much longer to give stability with long heavy timber.

Building the stand
The Next photograph shows stand marked "4" bolted together before welding. The* basic design of the stands* are the same for all my machines, the *build photos are for stand "4"* but the construction methods are the same for all with some minor detail differences I will point out along the way.

Here are two views of the top of the Bandsaw stand. These initial photos show how the stand will look when you deliver it to the blacksmith/fabricator for welding. The bolts mean that everything is held square and all they have to do is to weld it. The blacksmith was really happy not to have to do any prep work! The bolts are all removed after welding and most of the holes are hidden when in use.

(7). Top view - From front to Back of stand





(8). Top view - From Back to front of stand





Starting with the part that is supporting you machine. Work out what shape the middle of the stand needs to be. Using angle steel allows you to keep the base tight to the base of the machine. If you have a machine base like the Sedgwick where the mounting holes are outside the base, you might need to make the mobile base a little larger in this area, see the photos at the beginning to see what I mean. Once you have decided the size you need you can then work out how large to make the rear outriggers where the wheels and axles are mounted. Making your own base gives you complete control over how to configure this. A typical machine is raised by about 25mm when on the base, if the machines is already fairly stable, you can keep the wheels tucked into the side (like the morticer photo). Where you want to improve its stability, you can make these longer to suit. Tall machines like bandsaws can benefit from a slight increase in base size. Of course it all depends on how much space you have. In the photo where I have the Morticer next to the Planer / thicknesser, i normally store my shop vac in this space so it's not necessarily all wasted space. Once you have visualised how it's going to look, draw it out with some sizes. You can now start to work out how much steel you will need. If you know you are going to make more than one base, buy a little more than required.


Making the stand - Continued on Page 2.

Nigel
(updated with pictures restored from old Photobucket account)


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## RogerBoyle (22 Jan 2013)

Excellent work and I think that even I might be able to do this


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## gwr (22 Jan 2013)

Now i do like these and have a great engineers/steel fabricators near me for the steel.cheers ndbrown


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## Graham Orm (22 Jan 2013)

Great job, nice professional finish. MIG welding is very easy once you get the hang and the gear isn't that expensive.


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## marcros (22 Jan 2013)

brilliant. i am going to need a couple of these.


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## Tierney (23 Jan 2013)

Excellent thread, I've got a bloody big bandsaw that needs a base like this!

Keep 'em coming.

DT


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## Jacob (23 Jan 2013)

Neat. 
NB a single pallet truck would do all your machines, but not cheap. They come in many shapes and sizes. 
http://www.screwfix.com/p/2-5-tonne-han ... id=1268339
I also use a sack trolley for taller machines like the band saw, and sack trolleys are cheap!


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## GCR (23 Jan 2013)

Excellent idea, must nip round to the local steel fabricator to get an idea of his prices. Looking forward to the next instalment!

Bob


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## Racers (23 Jan 2013)

Hi, Jacob

Linky no worky

Linky now worky

Pete


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## Spindle (23 Jan 2013)

Hi

Are you sure you have calculated / estimated the C of G of the bandsaw correctly? I would think it would be towards the right as the base is shown in the photo.

Regards Mick


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## marcros (23 Jan 2013)

Racers":3mheu21x said:


> Hi, Jacob
> 
> Linky no worky
> 
> Pete



works for me. it is a pallet truck for £269 if that helps...


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## Racers (23 Jan 2013)

Works for me now.

Jacod

How would you get one under a machine? I have used one for moving a fire safe around, but that had a removable panel so you get a pallet truck under.
Most machines don't have that facility.

Pete


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## marcros (23 Jan 2013)

unless you put the machine on a pallet of course, and then just move it on that.


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## Jacob (23 Jan 2013)

Racers":247hf6a1 said:


> Works for me now.
> 
> Jacod
> 
> ...


Nearly all machines have something in the way of feet and you get a pallet truck between them. If no feet you could put wood blocks at the corners, fixed or loose.


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## Racers (23 Jan 2013)

Hi, Jacob

Got any pictures of machines with enough clearance, I can't think of any.
Wooden blocks don't sound to safe.
My Startrite 352 had a handle and small wheels so you can move it, don't you have one?

Pete


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## Jacob (23 Jan 2013)

Racers":1rocokvd said:


> Hi, Jacob
> 
> Got any pictures of machines with enough clearance, I can't think of any.
> Wooden blocks don't sound to safe.


I've moved lots of machines with pallet trucks. Wooden blocks can be as safe as you want them to be.


> My Startrite 352 had a handle and small wheels so you can move it, don't you have one?
> 
> Pete


Mine's the same. But it's a lot easier with a sack trolley, especially if the floor is covered in shavings, uneven, or stepped


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## ndbrown (23 Jan 2013)

Thanks for all the comments people have posted and alternative suggestions. The idea of a sack barrow seems very good, but as far as a pallet truck is concerned in my particular situation I don't have the space to store a pallet truck or manoeuvre the forks under a pallet as I only have a single garage with machines and workbench up both sides. However, if you've got the space, some of these alternatives are all very worthwhile considering.

As far as the C of G is concerned, this particular bandsaw has the spine located on the left hand side and only an alloy bodied motor on the right (see photo below, which probably explains it all). With the cast iron table, support trunnions and cast iron bandwheels all on the far left of the machine it was just not stable without being bolted down. I don't have a manual for it but I would expect that SCM recommended it be bolted down. When I got it, I was really worried that it would fall over on my son as he also stores his bike in the garage. If you held the front of the machine at the top it only needed a movement of a couple of inches to the left to want to topple, you could not easily move it to the right at all. If you did not have to move it, you could bolt it down to something to spread the load. I think this problem is unique to this particular model, however, despite this, its a an excellent heavy duty bandsaw for the £500 I paid for it and I can safely live with this design quirk now that it's on the base. 

This machine was the original motivating factor to do something practical to solve the problem and to be honest I didn't really set out to make any more than just a base for this. Having made a base and lift bar (it's hanging on the wall on the left at the rear in the picture). I found it so easy to move it around, I decided to repeat it for some of my other machines. I don't move the Bandsaw that often, but move the morticer out to do longer pieces and have moved the planer thicknesser a lot to work on it, generally just moving it straight out from the wall. I was surprised how easy the bases were to make. 

Bandsaw and C of G


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## Bluekingfisher (24 Jan 2013)

Effective no doubt but they have a very large footprint and those legs look like a trip hazard waiting to happen?

Just an observation


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## Gary Morris (24 Jan 2013)

looking at the table of the saw, it looks like it extends over the feet, so may give protection against tripping


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## Graham Orm (24 Jan 2013)

Bluekingfisher":uu07bghs said:


> Effective no doubt but they have a very large footprint and those legs look like a trip hazard waiting to happen?
> 
> Just an observation



I thought that, or maybe 'ankle knockers'. I think some foam insulation taped round them would be a good idea.


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## ndbrown (24 Jan 2013)

I think they are all valid comments. The rear outriggers never cause me a problem as they are all up against a wall and as has been said the bandsaw front ones are under the table so less of a problem. However, the morticer front legs do stick out a bit at the side. There are enough bits of machines poking out above to stop me walking too near mine but that might not be the same for everyone. I will add these point to the first bit of the build to highlight them as things to watch out for. 
I am also conscious of the fact that people seeing these frames might come up with a variety of better ways to build their own mobile bases changing and improving the design to suit. I think the main thing was to encourage people to think about how they could build their own showing how I built mine. This information plus the added contribution of the forum members should allow people to design and build a better designed stand than I have. 

Nigel


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## Bluekingfisher (25 Jan 2013)

Can't fault the workmanship and application Nigel, just something from my own experience I noticed. I have mobile bases on all of my machines too (purchased rather than fabricated). The heavier ones have suitably uprated bases to accomodate the heavy machine. Unfortunately, the heavy base incorporating the castors and brake protrude beyond the work table. The problem I have is, having a smal workshop the bases take up quite a lot of floor space meaning I can't move the nachines closer together. They also stick out quite a way from the wall. So, after my initial calculations I was not able to site the machines as I had originally planned. My error of course, just something for others and me to be aware of in the future.

If you have the luxury of plenty of space then I don't think your design will have any negative aspects. 

David


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## ndbrown (25 Jan 2013)

*Sometimes when you are staring at something you just cant see it! - Sorry David, that comment is not my response to you - it's a note to me!*

This is now a proper response to you and the other good people of the forum who took time to point out the trip hazard.
When I posted the pictures at the beginning of the topic, I wrote that I had made THREE bases and showed pictures of three machines on bases, but actually only included photographs of TWO bases without machines and it is these bases that I *now recognise that everyone is looking a*t with the wide outriggers etc. I dont have a picture of the Morticer base before it was fitted. In my other post that started this one on my Sedgwick rebuild, I was going on about machine stability but I notice I have made no mention of this here and simply went straight into how bases like this are made!

*The key is in picture (4) and (7) on page 1* A *normal* base looks like the one on the morticer in picture (4). Granted the legs do stick out a little but so does the table of the morticer and the handwheels and the reality is that you don't end up near the bits that stick out when they are in use. They are not nearly as wide as the other base photos. The footprint of the morticer base is only a couple of inches bigger either side than the sheet metal base and not too different from the overall machine footprint above it. This sort of base is what you would normally make where machines are already fairly well designed and stable. I'm no expert but most of the machines aimed at the hobby end of the market are already fairly stable and not designed to be bolted down. Presumably to comply with CE regulations.

*The other two bases are a different matter and are designed to address an additional factor! * The bandaw and planer thicknesser I have are industrial machines, primarily aimed at a different market and have been designed to be bolted down. I have seen similar machines on wooden bases/pallets etc and these solutions are all better than leaving the machine completely free standing. I have also seen pictures of a Sedgwick planer / thicknesser like mine with 4 revolving castors fitted where the hold down bolts are meant to go! This is dangerous on three counts, it raises the centre of gravity considerably on four revolving, wobbly castor which can actually reduces the machine footprint, does not support the machine table properly when heavy loads are applied at the ends and this arrangement does not stiffen up the base, quite the opposite. I noticed the sheet metal base does twist noticeably when it is not bolted down on a the Sedgwick PT255. 

I don't work in Health & Safety (frankly, I occasionally get as frustrated as most with some of the regulations), but equally I don't want to see people hurt themselves either. I am not a professional woodworker, but like many I am attracted by the build quality and value for money offered by some of the second-hand smaller industrial machinery. Like many, I don't have a lot of space though and need to sometimes move things around to use them. 
The extended legs on the bandsaw and planer bases purposely address the safety/stability issue whilst mobilising my particular machines. This is something a normal store bought base would not do for my particular machines. Like most things in life, its a bit of a compromise though. Yes, they do poke out a bit in places, but I have tried to design both of mine to still be a little less than the tables they support or the machine controls so actually walking or moving close to these parts is not a problem in reality. I think the important point is not necessarily to copy my bases but to think what you need in your situation and tailor your design to suit. 

I am sorry if I have unintentionally misled anyone at the beginning of the topic (I will edit and fix it though) but I took the original set of photos on the build of the first base to help me remember what I needed to do for any further ones. I did not start out with the intention of publishing these.

*So a NORMAL base would look like this (Axminster Morticer)*






*And the same design tailored for my Sedgwick looks like this*





The Bandsaw base is a real special to address the unusual design of the Mini Max S45

I appreciate all the feedback so far.

Nigel


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## Racers (25 Jan 2013)

Hi, Nigel

I think they look fine, most machines have overhanging tables, so tripping won't be a problem.
Can't see what they are complaining about the wide part is at the back.

I put wheels on my kitty Bestcombi by bolting wheels to the sides and fitting a bracket for lift bar.
I have to move my machines about as I only have a garage to work in.

Pete


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## Bluekingfisher (25 Jan 2013)

Racers":2x0ju6w7 said:


> Hi, Nigel
> 
> I think they look fine, most machines have overhanging tables, so tripping won't be a problem.
> Can't see what they are complaining about the wide part is at the back.
> ...



We were not complaining about anything?? merely an observation, which if you took the time to read, Nigel the original poster acknowledged identified and responded to. How you work your space is quite rightly down to you, perhaps you have enough space or not too many machines on bases to cause you angst?

I trust the point is now clarified?

David


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## Racers (25 Jan 2013)

O/K I didn't mean to up set the group, who you seem to be the spokesman for.
I got the impression that it was a problem.

I think they are very good stands.

Pete


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## Bluekingfisher (25 Jan 2013)

I'm not a spokesman for any group, I speak for myself.

If you have the impression of a problem, that's for you. 

I'll say it again, merely an observation.

You may even read that I complimented on the build quality of the stands.


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## ndbrown (25 Jan 2013)

I have now amended the initial part of the topic, adding new photos and comments in the beginning to hopefully be a bit clearer on options and will complete the rest of the topic over the weekend. Hope it helps.
With the amount of snow currently falling in the part of Scotland where I live, it looks like I wont be doing much else this weekend!

Nigel :roll:


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## Graham Orm (25 Jan 2013)

Excellent neat job :wink:


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## ndbrown (1 Feb 2013)

*Part 2 - Making the stand*

Having worked out the size of machine base to be accommodated, I would start by cutting the rear piece to length (cut it slightly oversize at this stage), then follow it up with cutting the basic parts for the sides and lastly a front section where the feet will later mount. You can lay it all out on the floor of the workshop. Then grab something to drink and ponder and admire your work. By this stage, you will probably start to get a better understanding of how it all fits together.


(10). This shows the top inside looking towards the rear all bolted together temporarily for welding, bolts will then be removed






(11). And this one shows the top inside looking towards the front of the stand all bolted together temporarily. Note the front part of the stand has been raised up by 15mm to allow the lift bar to hook into the front of the stand when finished.






You will probably start to see that the front has two pieces of angle, one is used to close the rectangle or square central area, the other to form the front support, sitting a little higher up than the rest of the base.
Now when you look at the next two photographs, you should get a much better idea of how simple it is


(12). Rear underside before welding here:







(13). And front underside before welding here:






Don't worry too much about the additional parts for the front as I will cover this in more detail. Also don't worry about small gaps between parts as they will be filled up when welded, its not fine cabinetmaking here.


(14). To join the side "L" section to the back "L" section at 90 degrees and keep the area flat, you need to cut a square section out of the bottom of the "L" to fit into the corner as shown below (Red Arrow). If you are finding this hard to visualise, refer to picture (12) above where the top right shows the finished part bolted to the rear section in the direction of the Red Arrow. The cut out shown by the yellow arrow was only needed on my bandsaw base to clear the door and allow it to open. You also need to grind a "V" shape chamfer the two part meet on the underside at approximately 60 degrees (30 degrees per side). you need to create a "V" shape wherever two surfaces join or butt together flat. If they join at 90 degrees, then they are fine for welding without this feature (I hope this is all making sense). You need to cut four areas like this in the centre of the frame. The photographs show two rectangular plates bolted to the Mini Max S45 bandsaw frame, but you could use smaller triangular plates just as effectively as I have in the Sedgwick frame in picture (4) on page 1.







(15). Axles - The arrangement for the axles is the same for all the stand variations. You can shorten or lengthen the rear wheel outriggers to suit your particular machine / requirement. To keep it compact, you can shorten these axles even further than the one already shown. Before you start, I recommend you purchase the bolts that are used for axles. For the 100mm Nylon wheels I purchased, I needed a 10mm axle. In this arrangement, you can use two M10 bolts, zinc plated or if you are feeling particularly flush, Stainless Steel. It is important they are bolts (partially threaded) and not machine screws (fully threaded). The longer bolts I used were 170mm long, but you can tailor the length as I have said to suit you particular needs. In addition to the two bolts, you will also need 8 off plain M10 washers, 2 off plain M10 nuts and 2 off Nyloc M10 nuts. The axle arrangement is shown in the picture below. When constructing the frame, you position the brackets to suit the wheel width in the centre axle area, with the thread being used to adjust the amount of float allowed for the wheel. As the frame wheels are not constantly turning, you don't need expensive wheels with bearings. A washer is fitter either side of the wheel and between the frame and each nut.







(16). Cut two small "L" shape sections similar to those shown from a piece of angle. Place them back to back to for a "T" shape as shown in the photograph and mark and drill a 10mm hole(shown by Red Arrows) through them both at the same time to ensure the axles are in line, remember to clamp these when drilling them. Temporarily fit them to the frame and assemble the axle to get the best adjustment. Clamp them in place, remove the axle and drill a 6mm hole through the axle support and frame (shown by Yellow Arrows). You now need to prepare these for welding. For the inner axle support, you need to grind the areas of the bracket and frame shown to approx 60 degrees to allow a good weld to be formed. For the outer bracket, you need the same are plus the outer section as shown below. I recommend bolting these to another piece of angle whilst grinding them down. This only takes a few minutes per bracket to complete this part of the job. Repeat the whole process for the other side.







(17). Front Support: This photograph shows the underside of the front support section of the frame where the adjustable feed are fitted. The next two photographs show the detail of this part.







(18). At the extreme right hand side of the frame there is a triangular section fitted to give some strength at the foot mounting. A 10mm hole is also drilled through this and a bolt temporarily holds the two parts together. A 10mm UNPLATED nut has been fitted here and the nut will be tack welded to the frame to provide a fixing for the adjustable foot to screw into. On the left hand side of this photograph is another triangular section used to strengthen the section where it attaches to the frame. A 6mm bolt hold this onto the front "L" section as well as the central section of the frame. Again, this bolt is removed once welded.







(19). The next photograph shows the end prep for welding, with a 30 degree chamfer added to each part. Repeat the whole process for the other side.







(20). The last part of the frame that you need to make is the lifting point in the middle at the front. I doubled up on thickness here and added another section underneath. This can be clamped to the main part and a 10mm hole drilled and temporarily bolted together for welding (see Red Arrow). When the bolt is removed, this becomes the hole for the lift bar to engage in - see next two photograph below. 







(21). And finished and painted after welding:






(22). You can now take the frame to your local fabricator for welding or do it yourself. Once welded, all the bolts are removed leaving only the two M10 nuts welded to the bottom of the frame (shown in photo 18). Now you can drill the mounting holes for the machine, In my case I had to drill four 12mm holes. Then I added a couple of coats of paint, fitted the wheels and axles along with two adjustable M10 feet (if you search the internet for suppliers you will get a number of companies who supply these sort of parts).

The machine can now be fitted to the base.

*Almost finished, next instalment will cover making the lift bar.*


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## marcros (1 Feb 2013)

thanks for the latest update


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## AES (1 Feb 2013)

@ndbrown - Nigel

Excellent post, very clearly written and photographed, and above all, very helpful. Thank you very much Sir - I bet these 2 pages took you longer than "a few minutes" to produce! Thanks for taking so much trouble.

Krgds
AES


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## ndbrown (1 Feb 2013)

*Part 3 (Final Part) - Making the lift bar
*
I will start by saying that if I was to make this again, I would mount the axle lower on the bottom of the lift bar by extending the bracket down. I discovered on completion that my axle was a bit higher than it should have been, so I had to modify the pin that hooks under the stand to rectify this mistake. Having said that, it still works really well.

*Materials - You will need:*
Main lift bar = about 3m of 30mm box section mild steel with a 3mm wall thickness
"T2 Bar = about 400mm of solid black or bright mild steel bar between 8 and 12mm diameter
Brackets = a couple of pieces of 4mm mild steel plate to form the bracket at the bottom
Wheels = 80mm diameter Nylon with a 10mm bore (not the 100mm diameter ones used for the stand as these need to be low enough to go under the stand)
Axle = 200mm long M10 bolt plus 4 M10 washers and a Nyloc nut

All-in material cost for this was £15 and another £5 for welding

(23). I would start by cutting the main piece to length (cut it slightly oversize at this stage), sitting it over the axle and trying the geometry out with your stand (see photo below). You can bend the Box section really easily by cutting a "v" notch in the box section steel. You can also drill a hole at the top of the bar and fit the cross piece to form a "T".
The lift bar has absolutely no strength at this point, but it will have once welded with the brackets in place. See photo below







(24). To tidy up the top of the bar to avoid leaving a hole, remove the sides with the angle grinder and fold the back and front of the box section together as shown in the next photograph (apologies for the poor quality of this image). This can then be welded up and fettled smooth before painting. By this stage, you will probably start to get a better understanding of how it all fits together.







(25). Make the triangular brackets up. Trial fit the whole assembly again to make sure you are happy with it and clamp and drill 6mm holes through the plate and the middle of the box section to bolt all of this together for welding. Once bolted up, you can position the axle under the stand and decide the optimum place for the axle to be placed.
Apologies, I did not have a photo before welding, so the one below below shows it after welding and the main axle hole has been drilled. You can also see where the 6mm bolts were fitted before welding. If you have your own welding set, you could tack it at this point instead of bolting it together.
*NOTE: The notches cut in the bottom of the bracket are to allow access to weld the box section at the "v" notch joint.*







(26). This photograph shows the completed bar before wheels are fitted. You can now drill the axle hole in the bottom of the stand.







(27). This photograph shows a close up of the welding on the bottom inside of the bracket







(28). This photograph shows the 80mm diameter Nylon wheels and axle (Bolt) before fitting







(29). This photograph shows the Nylon wheels and axle fitted as well as the lift pin at the front. You can position the pin at the front that engages with the hole in the stand at this stage. I originally used some 10mm studding for this when the photo was taken, but have since replaced it with some partially threaded 10mm bar. The threaded stud worked fine as well though.







(30). This photograph shows the lift bar fitted under the stand and ready to lift the mobile base.







(31). This photograph shows the lift bar fitted under my Sedgwick. It works really well and my 12 year old son can easily move the 200kg Sedgwick Planer/Thicknesser using this arrangement.







*Finished: Well that should be it unless I have missed something. I can now get back to my original post covering the Sedgwick rebuild. Hopefully this article will help you if you decide to make a similar base.*


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## imageel (24 Mar 2013)

Nigel,
Great build information - couldn't have come across this at a better time since I need to build some bases for my machines, however because mine are on a suspended floor I have the added complication of having to make the wheels retractable so as to spread the load when stationary.
I think I have worked out how to do that bit :? however just looking at your designs has helped me immensely - thanks for posting!

btw - I am planning to use pallet rollers for wheels because they take higher loads, come with bearings and are not too expensive only £7.08 inc vat here -http://www.bil-castors-and-wheels.co.uk/bzh8260wnybj-p-373.html

Cheers
Ed


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