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How "deep" do I recess my casters under the cab?
quarterback:
I've got four 2" casters (2 are swivel, 2 are fixed) that I was planning on putting on the bottom of my cab.
The distance from the caster mounting plate to the bottom of the caster is 2-1/2" (IOW, they're 2-1/2" high)
Jakobud:
I'm not sure how anyone except you is going to know the answer to this since you have the actual casters and the carpet they are going to be rolling across right in front of you. Just put a caster down and see how far you can push it into the carpet and take a measurement.
cdbrown:
I went for abit less than a half inch gap between the sides and the floor but I have very thin carpet and tiles so it doesn't affect me.
Things you need to be concerned with - spongyness of the carpet which is tested like jakobud said. If you make it have slightly more clearance than it can depress you will be able to move the cab around without hassle.
Next issue is the long term compression of the carpet. Some carpets may seem quite firm and only compress a little when you push the castor on it, but over a long period of time the castors will compress the carpet further either until the sides come in contact with the carpet or it can't compress anymore. If the sides come down onto the carpet you may struggle slightly to get the cab to move however this will probably look the best as there is no gap around the base. If there is a gap then you'll just need a little force to get the castors out of the rut.
quarterback:
Thanks.
Yeah, with my carpet 9pretty low pile), I was guessing that leaving about 1/2" of the wheel 'exposed' below the bottom of the cab will probably give me enough to roll-it when I want, but prevent it from cruicing across the floor of it's own free will
I was just curious if there's some general rule-of-thumb. But I'll do some 'press-tests' on my carpet as well, just to check it out.
Thanks
Bones:
You should also be aware that some caster wheels might leave skid marks. (He he, skiddies!! ;D)
Ahem......
You can get castors that are non-marking. These are used in hospitals etc. They are more expensive but might offset the cost and frustration of leaving marks on your floor coverings.