Leveling legs w/ casters ideas?

[bgaidan]

I really need to build a new stand for my CNC router so I can actually start using it again.

Gonna completely scrap the one from the OP as it's all booger welded, barely square and not remotely level-able. Between what I can salvage from the old stand and what's on my drop rack, I have plenty of material to build something beefy.

But I'm looking for ideas on a combo leveling leg w/ casters. Either casters that can be jacked down when I want to move it, or leveling legs that get jacked down and lift it off the casters. Ideally, I'd like something that I could work from the front side only as it may get set up in a corner or against a wall where access to the back legs could be tough. Something as simple as a long piece of rod w/ a nut that's connected to a 90 degree little gear box to turn the jack leg.

I have some ideas, but haven't come up with anything really great and I'm sure someone's already made a perfect solution that I can copy.

Give me some ideas!




This is from what I originally dragged it home. New one will be the same footprint but the front will have slot shelves for sheet storage and probably a couple drawers near the top for consumables.

My other though is to build it on a skid with fork pockets so I can move it with my pallet jack instead of casters....then I'd only need to level it.

 

[RustyC]

I have been looking at these. Order them up so I can get an honest review.

Amazon.com

 

[Steve300xcw]

Workbench lift kit

My bench is about 4-6" too low. Blacksmith who built it must have been a midget. It weighs about 2500lbs and has casters on it to move around. I would like the ability to easily adjust its height, level it and get it off the casters so its more stable. Thinking of just welding 4 scissor...

irate4x4.com

 

[OCD]

I have been looking at these. Order them up so I can get an honest review.

Amazon.com

They roll real nice, but the leveling feet are just ok. I suppose it really depends on how much weight you put on them. My 1300 lb break makes it difficult to use the levelers. I find it easiest to use the floor Jack to take the weight off when I want to put the leveling pads up & down.

Definitely wouldn’t be enjoyable to have to crawl under a cnc table to fight with them….

 

[arse_sidewards]

Fix the casters. Raise the table up off them with trailer jacks.

 

[bgaidan]

I have been looking at these. Order them up so I can get an honest review.

Amazon.com

I was looking at those but I was afraid they wouldn't have enough lift for my slightly uneven shop floor. The CNC needs to be damn near perfectly level.

They also lose points because I'd need direct access to them, which could be hard if I stick it up against a wall next to other stuff or in a corner.

Workbench lift kit

My bench is about 4-6" too low. Blacksmith who built it must have been a midget. It weighs about 2500lbs and has casters on it to move around. I would like the ability to easily adjust its height, level it and get it off the casters so its more stable. Thinking of just welding 4 scissor...

irate4x4.com

I remember that. Pretty sure I even posted in that thread about an idea to use 4 of these 90's Nissan bottle jacks. It'd be easy enough to position them to where I could use the jack rod to reach the back one from the front. Might need to revisit that though. Pretty sure I have 4 of them sitting on a shelf somewhere.

I need to find someone that makes lighter versions of these. Well them right to the legs of the stand and then extend the rod to the front for a hand crank or a socket to crank it up and down. The CNC and stand + stock that'll be stored on it will probably be in the 1k to 1.5k lb range.

 

[CarterKraft]

Mount regular casters to cross member or outriggers on legs.

Put some 980 (10 ton) class cutting edge bolts upside down on the legs, weld the nut to the leg.

Now you have radius headed bolts with easy adjustable square drives on the heads with ample adjustment range.

Not revolutionary but easy to whip up with used farmer parts. I bet Panzer could hook you up with a flat rate box of bolts/nuts.

 

[bgaidan]

Mount regular casters to cross member or outriggers on legs.

Put some 980 (10 ton) class cutting edge bolts upside down on the legs, weld the nut to the leg.

Now you have radius headed bolts with easy adjustable square drives on the heads with ample adjustment range.

Not revolutionary but easy to whip up with used farmer parts. I bet Panzer could hook you up with a flat rate box of bolts/nuts.

You're missing the part about not always being able to access the rear legs. Remote adjustment will be much, much better.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I need to find someone that makes lighter versions of these. Well them right to the legs of the stand and then extend the rod to the front for a hand crank or a socket to crank it up and down. The CNC and stand + stock that'll be stored on it will probably be in the 1k to 1.5k lb range.

Thats heavier duty shit. You want the cheese dick jack they put on the fancy boat an tent trailers

Cut off that handle an weld a socket on, so you can just use an impact....

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[M92PV4U]

5000 lb. Capacity Drop Leg Trailer Jack

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Drop Leg Trailer Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

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[CarterKraft]

5000 lb. Capacity Drop Leg Trailer Jack

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Drop Leg Trailer Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

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I support chain driving all these together and powering them with a dc motor for g code enabled lifting/lowering

 

[Steve300xcw]

Ever since I saw that table with sammy axles and a harbor freight hoist motor powering them...all other tables have failed in my eyes

 

[SomeGuy]

One of my really old vids, but here's how I did it for my lathe (and later on mill stand too):



Leg feet are just 1" bolts with a bit of plate on the bottom, floor jack from a cross piece and bolt on wheels when I need to move it.

 

[bgaidan]

5000 lb. Capacity Drop Leg Trailer Jack

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Drop Leg Trailer Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

5000 lb. Capacity Drop Leg Trailer Jack

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Drop Leg Trailer Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

The second ones are the leader right now. They'd be easy enough to weld right to the leg tubes. The round ones with the swivel/tube mount would be to wobbly. These things need to be rigid once they're jacked up and level.


They're still majorly overkill. That's 20k lbs worth of jack for something that will weigh less than 2k. And I don't need nearly as much travel as they'll provide....a few inches would be more than enough.


I need something like that, but about 1/3 scale. I can't think of anything that exists like that, other than screw jacks from cars, and those would be harder to attach.


Might wait until the next time the HF ones go on sale and jump on 4 of those.

I support chain driving all these together and powering them with a dc motor for g code enabled lifting/lowering

Kind of hard to level if they're all tied together.

 

[CarterKraft]

Kind of hard to level if they're all tied together.

Individual steppers it is!

Best I could do, sub $30 each...

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Having said all that I think I wouldn't want this thing sitting on any casters during operation. Moving around is fine but for operating I would want solid coupling to the concrete with some rubber traction pad to prevent shifting.

 

[CarterKraft]

Individual steppers it is!

Best I could do, sub $30 each...

Sidewind Marine Boat Trailer Jack, 1,000 lb Capacity, Swivel Swing Down Design - Newegg.com

Buy Sidewind Marine Boat Trailer Jack, 1,000 lb Capacity, Swivel Swing Down Design with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Having said all that I think I wouldn't want this thing sitting on any casters during operation. Moving around is fine but for operating I would want solid coupling to the concrete with some rubber traction pad to prevent shifting.

Same thing from Northern $20 off

https://www.northerntool.com/products/ironton-bolt-on-sidewind-marine-swivel-jack-1000-lb-capacity-104481?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Trailers%20%2B%20Towing%20%3E%20Trailer%20Jacks%20%2B%20Accessories%20%3E%20Trailer%20Jacks&utm_campaign=Ironton&utm_content=104481&ogmap=SHP%7cPLA%7cGOOG%7cSTND%7cc%7cSITEWIDE%7cINTRADE%7c%7c%7c%7c19587468707%7c146228626318&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI56eo4ZHngAMVeTHUAR3zGwwHEAQYBCABEgLS2PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[CarterKraft]

$23.75 Model T jack?

VINTAGE ANTIQUE CAR SCREW JACK MODEL-T MODEL-A FORD? | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">I have not used it. it does move up and down when the screw is turned. it is not new when show signs of use and age. please use the pictures to help determine the condition of this item. I am selling this item as is.</p>

www.ebay.com

 

[CarterKraft]

Something long like this? Extend it with cheap 1/2" drive extension accesible from the top of the frame?

 

[bgaidan]

Individual steppers it is!

Best I could do, sub $30 each...

Sidewind Marine Boat Trailer Jack, 1,000 lb Capacity, Swivel Swing Down Design - Newegg.com

Buy Sidewind Marine Boat Trailer Jack, 1,000 lb Capacity, Swivel Swing Down Design with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Having said all that I think I wouldn't want this thing sitting on any casters during operation. Moving around is fine but for operating I would want solid coupling to the concrete with some rubber traction pad to prevent shifting.

Read the OP. That's exactly what I'm trying to accomplish.

Wheeled jacks won't work. The idea would be to use the leveling jacks to lift it up off the casters. The square tube HF ones would do the trick, just majorly overkill.

But I'm looking for ideas on a combo leveling leg w/ casters. Either casters that can be jacked down when I want to move it, or leveling legs that get jacked down and lift it off the casters. Ideally, I'd like something that I could work from the front side only as it may get set up in a corner or against a wall where access to the back legs could be tough. Something as simple as a long piece of rod w/ a nut that's connected to a 90 degree little gear box to turn the jack leg.

$23.75 Model T jack?

VINTAGE ANTIQUE CAR SCREW JACK MODEL-T MODEL-A FORD? | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">I have not used it. it does move up and down when the screw is turned. it is not new when show signs of use and age. please use the pictures to help determine the condition of this item. I am selling this item as is.</p>

www.ebay.com

Interesting. I think more modern screw jacks would be better. I bet there's a lot of backlash in those gears that would make adjustments tough.

 

[bgaidan]

Something long like this? Extend it with cheap 1/2" drive extension accesible from the top of the frame?

I like that and putting that in the bank for a later project. But it wouldn't work here unless I made the stand a lot bigger. Currently, it'll sit under the subframe of the router and the table will overhang it quite it bit on all sides so there would be no way to access the rods.


But, went down another rabbit hole. "Worm gear screw jack" is the term to search for. But none of these are cheap. The square tube HF jacks win on price.

Here's the motor driven one so it can be automated.

Even the cheapest import options on Aliexpress will be well over $200 per corner.

 

[bgaidan]

So far, I think the best plan is going to pick up 4 of these and weld them directly to the legs of the stand. Cut the handle off and weld a coupler on for an extension. Probably have to make new feet or modify the ones that come on it to clear the legs and/or casters.

 

[CarterKraft]

So far, I think the best plan is going to pick up 4 of these and weld them directly to the legs of the stand. Cut the handle off and weld a coupler on for an extension. Probably have to make new feet or modify the ones that come on it to clear the legs and/or casters.

How many different places are you going to move this?

If you're putting it back in the same spot every time why would the level change?

 

[CarterKraft]

I like that and putting that in the bank for a later project. But it wouldn't work here unless I made the stand a lot bigger. Currently, it'll sit under the subframe of the router and the table will overhang it quite it bit on all sides so there would be no way to access the rods.


But, went down another rabbit hole. "Worm gear screw jack" is the term to search for. But none of these are cheap. The square tube HF jacks win on price.

Here's the motor driven one so it can be automated.

Even the cheapest import options on Aliexpress will be well over $200 per corner.

I tried to find a cheap Chinese version of those too but I failed like you did

 

[bgaidan]

How many different places are you going to move this?

If you're putting it back in the same spot every time why would the level change?

Not entirely sure yet. My shop is constantly changing at the moment and I don't know exactly where this thing will live. It's possibly that it'll sleep in a corner and I'll pull it out to the open when I need to run it....but eventually I'll designate a spot for it.

And I still need a way to jack it up and down off the casters (or jack the casters up and down) so the most logical thing to do is to incorporate the leveling jacks in to that system.



Not likely that it'll be perfectly level after a move or that it'll be back in the exact same spot. Not saying it'd move enough to throw it out of tolerance, but I also like to take that chance out of the equation.


Hell, I leveled my Fadal with a precision level and 2 days later it was out again. I'm guessing the concrete is settling in to the new load.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Or buy some acme thread/all thread/rope thread etc an bit of square tube an make your own jacks

Would be pretty easy

 

[desertPOS]

Use a chain binder at each corner and hang it from the ceiling Just for the sake of thinking in the opposite direction

 

[Dethmachinefab]

4 air cylinders with casters attached. Like race car jacks. Got any air bumps around?

 

[CarterKraft]

4 air cylinders with casters attached. Like race car jacks. Got any air bumps around?

I actually looked at Chinese air cylinders, it would work fine but managing cost is more difficult.

 

[WESTOF7]

I haven't been able to find anything cool. Might just have to make something but haven't had the time.

Kinda annoying to have to get the forklift or overhead crane to move the tables around for cleaning etc. I keep mine against the wall until I have something big enough that needs multiple sides

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

4 air cylinders with casters attached. Like race car jacks. Got any air bumps around?

I've seen it done with brake pots and air bags, but would still need to build something for levelling,

The plus side would be that you would only need to build three levelling adjusters, not four, so one of the rear legs wouldn't need adjustable access from the front.

Make the table a tripod (with a single leg at the back in the middle and you could adjust only the two front legs from the front...