Author Topic: Harbor Freight portable machine base  (Read 6040 times)

Offline PTsideshow

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Harbor Freight portable machine base
« on: September 21, 2012, 01:13:24 PM »
Since I brought the Delta/Rockwell model 14 inch bandsaw home. I have been trying to get it the basement. It seems a lot heavier then when I took it to my dads house 15 years or so. I bought the HF Mobile machine base. The instructions suck, the base is the same as others sold by the wood working stores and other tool importers, but on sale and the coupon you can't beat it.

First thing you should now is you are required to supply the hardwood frame rails. Also they don't supply enough hardware to bolt it together with all the available holes.

After cutting the wood to the proper length for machine base you have to add some and subtract some from the sides, so the base will fit the machine base. see photo below.

Put the rear wheels, first so the wood will be positioned correctly they don't go to the corners
Measure the size of the openings so the base will fit correctly. Also make sure that you put the bolts in so the heads are inside the framework. Then clamp the rails in place so you can drill the holes in the wood they suggest you drill thru the holes. They claim they are 3/8" but they are the next size smaller metric.


Here are the 3 holes on the rail and bracket. I drilled all 3 out and added the extra bolts nuts and lockwashers.
They have some all threaded bolts these are for the caster mounts. Also you will need to use the washers between the caster mounts and rail brackets to keep the mount straight. They have 4 larger nuts that are used to mount the casters to the mounts I also put a flat washer on each.

Completed unit


With the machine mounted in the base.
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