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I need to make some skates to make heavy(300kg)benches portable. Thinking of making some ply skates with rubber wheeled casters, but need some form of device just to jack the benches up by about 15mm in order to move them around on a fairly level floor. Or maybe someone can tell me where I can get some lifting casters? Done all the usual googling but most of the best solutions look to be in the US.
I'd be grateful for any help. The budget is a few hundred pounds so that'll rule out major engineering projects.
Thanks
Rich
Lever & pivot. Long metal bar and a block of wood?
look for a cheap pallet truck on ebay?
Sorry, should have said, it needs to be something that will be very compact to store and can be operated by a single, relatively elderly lady.
Do you want the bench to be on wheels all the time? Or to lift the bench to get wheels under between moves.
Without seeing them and knowing what the options to get support under them to lift a compact option could be something like a hi-lift jack if the benches are table-like or a car jack if you've only got a small space underneath to lift by. Clarke / Machinemart make an aluminium bodies car jack thats a bit lighter to handle and stash than regular hydraulic jacks.
Wheel / skate / castor wise if you're on a smooth surface then hard nylon wheels will get moving and roll better than something with tyres.
Otherwise look at furniture-moving jacks - [url= http://shop.handling-storage.co.uk/bmechanical-furniture-mover-jackbbrsmallmodel-mj1000bbrcapacity-1000kg-832-p.asp ]these are the cheapest/most compact[/url], but they don't swivel so you can only move in straight lines.
Something like [url= http://shop.handling-storage.co.uk/b600kg-furniture-mover-setbbrsmallmodel-fml60brcapacity-600kg-701-p.asp ]these[/url] would be more pack-away-able than a pallet truck but probably over budget unless you could track down something second hand
300kg and movable by an old lady? Is she going to be able to physically start moving (and also stop) that much weight it's a lot of inertia?
Something like this: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8411220.htm
How exact is the weight of the benches.
Machinery skates could be what you want. There's various types, so try a Google images search to see what looks suitable.
However, I occasionally have to move bus engines about while they are hanging from an engine crane and I'm sure that the combination of 300kg, little old lady and fairly level floor simply isn't going to work.
Come to think of it, hire or borrow an engine crane to see if that would work instead, lifting from above rather than jacking up.
But most of all, we need more background information.
What sort of bench weighs 300kg and why do they need to be portable?
why not just get some locking casters? My toolbox must weigh over 300kg when full and that is on a set of chunky casters.