Clearance for castors

[elfman12]

For those of you that have castors on your cabs, how far do they stick out beneath the cab? My cab will be on a low-pile carpeted floor eventually, so I was just wandering if anyone had experience with this. (I want it to be easy to roll around, but I also don't want it to look like it's floating, either!)

Thanks!

[spidermonkey]

You're going to want casters that have foot locks so that your cabinet isn't moving all over the place during game play. If you recess the casters too much then you won't have easy access to the foot locks. The floor of my cab is only recessed about a 1/4" above the sides because my casters are mounted pretty close to the outer corners of my cab. Otherwise the casters won't clear the corners of the cabinet thus hampering their swiveling ability. If you want to recess and hide your casters then you will have to move them inwards but forget about trying to get at them to lock them in place.
Just my opinion from my experiances
S.M.

[elfman12]

You're going to want casters that have foot locks so that your cabinet isn't moving all over the place during game play. If you recess the casters too much then you won't have easy access to the foot locks. The floor of my cab is only recessed about a 1/4" above the sides because my casters are mounted pretty close to the outer corners of my cab. Otherwise the casters won't clear the corners of the cabinet thus hampering their swiveling ability. If you want to recess and hide your casters then you will have to move them inwards but forget about trying to get at them to lock them in place.
Just my opinion from my experiances
S.M.

Yeah, that's a good point. What I'm planning on doing is cutting a "mousehole" by the front two swivels, and covering it with either a removable chunk of wood or a sliding panel. Either way, I'll use that to get to the swivel locks.

Considering that, how far should the wheels clear the bottom of the cab? 1/2 inch? 1 inch?

Thanks for the reply!

[1UP]

I have a pretty short carpet (average apartment type carpeting) and the casters on my cab stick out a little less than an inch below the bottom edges.  With the full weight of all the guts installed, it looks like the edges are resting flush with the carpeting.

I have locking wheels on the front, but once it settles into the carpet for a few hours, the locks are unnecessary.  If needed, I can reach under with a large screwdriver to trip the brakes, but the weight of the cab is more than enough to keep it from rolling even an inch during play.  It's still fairly easy to roll it around, but it takes a good push to dislodge the wheels from their impressions in the carpet!  If you want to cut holes to access the locks, why don't you cut them in the floor of the cab and operate them from above, rather than marring the sides of your cab?  You wouldn't be able to operate both of the brakes from holes in the side panels anyway, since both would have the brake on the same side, one of them is going to be facing the inside of the cab...  

BTW, I used the Happ 3" cabinet casters for the rear of the cab (the ones with the L-shaped bracket), and some 4" heavy duty swivel casters for the front.  It was necessary to make a 4" recess in the front of the cab to allow the swivel casters to turn freely.  The front casters are actually mounted to the floor of the cab, and an additional sheet of 3/4" ply was screwed to the two 2x4 beams that form the bottom frame of the cab.  Slots were cut in this plywood and in the back kickplate of the cab to allow mounting of the rear casters.  Both sets of wheels protrude about 0.9" (a little more than 7/8") from the bottom edge of the cabinet.

[spidermonkey]

Well it depends on whether you want to look at casters on the bottom or mouse holes on the bottom. The further you recess the casters the bigger the mouse holes you'll have to cut. If you do cut mouse holes maybe you could staple some soft pieces of tire tube or something similar around the edge of the mouse hole so that it kind of blacks out the holes and covers the casters while still allowing the casters to swivel freely. I would let the casters sit about an inch below the cabinet so that if your ever moving the cabinet from room to room you will have a little clearence for going over door saddles and high pile carpet ect... but remember to decide on a caster height and incorporate that into the height of your control panel. Too many guys have decided on a control panel height and forgot that the casters will raise the cabinet up just enough to screw up that ideal comfortable height.
Hope I was of some help
S.M.

[elfman12]

If you want to cut holes to access the locks, why don't you cut them in the floor of the cab and operate them from above, rather than marring the sides of your cab?  You wouldn't be able to operate both of the brakes from holes in the side panels anyway, since both would have the brake on the same side, one of them is going to be facing the inside of the cab...  

Hey, great idea.  I was going to hide those mouse holes with a cover, but putting the hole inside on the floor would work great. Thanks for the idea!

BTW, I am using some big ole' wheels that were not used from a craftsman tool case - one of those big shop deals - so they are free - all 4 wheels are 4" in diameter, so they are kinda big - but strong.
 

[eightbit]

I have a converted mortal combat cabinet and have wheels on the bottom back that only lift the cabinet when you tip it back onto them. This way the cab sits firmly on the floor all the time but its not to hard to move. There is also 4 levels on the bottom of the cab so if necessary I can adjust it for level.

If someone wants I can take pictures if this isn't clear.

[SirPoonga]

You're going to want casters that have foot locks so that your cabinet isn't moving all over the place during game play.

really?  Mine doesn't move and I don;t have those castors

I left, damn, I don't remember, and since it is on carpet I can't measure.  I know I didn't leave much of a clearance.  The bottom of the cabinet just touches the carpet.  I have thicker carpet though.  I think I left like a half inch though.  

Anyway, I was thinking that if my cabinet moved (which it doesn't) I was just going to have a 1" x 1" board I could slide under the front.  

[Brad Lee]

I have a converted mortal combat cabinet and have wheels on the bottom back that only lift the cabinet when you tip it back onto them. This way the cab sits firmly on the floor all the time but its not to hard to move. There is also 4 levels on the bottom of the cab so if necessary I can adjust it for level.

If someone wants I can take pictures if this isn't clear.

My tempest cab is also like this, with just 2 casters atthe bottom of the back side, as well as leg levelers on all 4 corners of the bottom. To move, it only needs to be tilted a few inches before the wheels make contact, and even over carpet its a simple 1-man job to move

[Animeka]

Same here... Rear wheels only. Tilt the cabinet a bit, and off you go.

http://www.animeka.net/arcade/ga04.jpg

I'm putting cabinet handles at the top to make it easier to move around (not that it will move much but...) and to help with ventilation...

Marc

[1UP]

Another thing you could do is use those rubber cups that are made to protect your carpet from the legs on furniture, and keep the furniture from moving.  I think the cups are wide enough that you could roll the casters into them if your cab seems to move too much.

Like I said before, it seems like your cab would be dancing all around with wheels on the bottom, but it really doesn't.  Most cabs weigh a couple hundred pounds, and on most carpets, that will bury the wheels pretty deep.

[Luxury]

1up -

You said that you got those L-shaped casters from Happs?  I am looking for a pair, and I can't seem to find them anywhere.  I've searched the net and i've been to the local stores and came up with nothing.  does anybody else have these, and if so, where did you find them?  
My cabinet is too heavy to work on!!  

[cdbrown]

Luxury,

After having a really good look at 1up's pic it would seem the rear castors actually have a plate that resembles a C shape.  The wheel seems sunken into the plate and seems to protrude out the back.

*Shrug*

[1UP]

Luxury,

After having a really good look at 1up's pic it would seem the rear castors actually have a plate that resembles a C shape.  The wheel seems sunken into the plate and seems to protrude out the back.

*Shrug*

[SirPoonga]

You're going to want casters that have foot locks so that your cabinet isn't moving all over the place during game play. If you recess the casters too much then you won't have easy access to the foot locks. The floor of my cab is only recessed about a 1/4" above the sides because my casters are mounted pretty close to the outer corners of my cab. Otherwise the casters won't clear the corners of the cabinet thus hampering their swiveling ability. If you want to recess and hide your casters then you will have to move them inwards but forget about trying to get at them to lock them in place.
Just my opinion from my experiances
S.M.

You don't need locks on the wheel, mine don't and it doesn;t move.  It;s a heavy object on carpet.  Mine only stick out 1/2".

[Luxury]

*blinks*
gosh...i thought i searched every nook and cranny of happs site!  i guess i missed that page.  thanks!

[cdbrown]

Hey guys, I'm talking about these! http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/acesor/33119800.htm  You could have looked at the Happs site yourself, but...    If you'll notice, the bracket is L-shaped (only the bottom plate is visible in the photo.)  C-shaped wouldn't make any sense.

Hey c'mon - I'm too lazy to search for things.  I just looked your pic coz that was easiest.  But you have to admit that the base plate by itself is a C-shape?  If you looked at the pic on happs site but rotate the pic in your mind so all you will see is a C-shaped plate (well more like a [ shape) and the wheel.  C'mon admit it I'm partially right - you know you want to.

[1UP]

Hey c'mon - I'm too lazy to search for things.  I just looked your pic coz that was easiest.  But you have to admit that the base plate by itself is a C-shape?  If you looked at the pic on happs site but rotate the pic in your mind so all you will see is a C-shaped plate (well more like a [ shape) and the wheel.  C'mon admit it I'm partially right - you know you want to.

No one would call it a "C" bracket, because the "C" doesn't perform any function.  It's a square plate with a notch cut in in for the hole to poke thru.  It's an "L" bracket, which means it attaches to 2 surfaces (bottom and back), just like L brackets for shelving, etc.  I assumed most people here would understand that, and therefore realize that it's not just attached on the bottom, so they could know what to look for on the Happ site.  There's no point to this "C" argument...