Adding Casters To A Cab

[fjl]

Is adding casters a good thing? I ask cause I've read some comments where an arcade cabinet could easily move while playing if it has casters.

Also, I just recently saw an old Ms. Pacman cabinet and notice that the backside had casters. But not like your normal wheel caster that go underneath. They instead go on the back corner of the cabinet. And top back side of the cabinet had handles/slots to hold the machine. From the looks of it, you can tilt the machine backwards and use those special bottom corner casters to drag the machine on its wheels. Looked something like this...



I've been searching around and can't find casters like those. Where can I get some. And if you have any opinions, experiences(good or bad) and or ideas on using casters on a cabinet, please share them. 

[ahofle]

I have 4 heavy duty swiveling casters on my cab, and they don't budge when playing.  Of course the cabinet is on carpet.  Not sure if it would be different on wood or tile.  You could always get the ones that lock in place if you're concerned about it moving.  The casters come in seriously handy when I need to move the cab a few feet to get in back and access the PC.  Personally I would stay away from the wheels that require you to tilt the cabinet back as in your diagram -- they seem too dangerous.

[fjl]

Dangerous how? And actually I just found them on another thread.

http://www.happcontrols.com/accessories/33119800.htm

[arzoo]

Some Williams cabs had a similiar design - the lower back edge of the cab was angled and used a normal caster. The wheel only touched the ground when the cab was tipped back.

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I had considered doing this for my cab but decided the extra construction effort was not worth it.

I also considered using photoshop to make an image of my example, but decided the effort was not worth it. 

[shardian]

I have a cabinet with the tilt casters on the back. If I can remember, I will take a picture of it sometime in the next few days - odds are someone will beat me to it by then.

[clockwork]

Wheels on the back are what I'm planning on doing. Most of my exercise equipment is set up that way, and I like it. It should sit very solidly without needing to lock anything.

[Hoopz]

I have 4 heavy duty swiveling casters on my cab, and they don't budge when playing.  Of course the cabinet is on carpet.  Not sure if it would be different on wood or tile. 

My cabinet is on oak floors and doesn't move even with 4 kids playing on it.  It's close to the wall but not touching it so there would be room for it to move given enough force.

[ChadTower]

If tilting and moving the cab on wheels like that would be dangerous for you you should not be attempting to move the thing alone anyway.  That person isn't capable of moving the cab safely.  That's about the safest way you're going to move a cab without a set of 4 wheels on the bottom.

[shardian]

Personally, I think the tilt and move is safer than 4 wheels - the reason being is that you end up with aot more control over the cabinet. Also, if you lose control, you can always lay it down as it's halfway there already. If you tip a cabinet on 4 wheels, you aren't going to catch it - something is going to break.

[ChadTower]

If you lose control of a cabinet already at 45 degrees it's going to come down right on top of you.  The danger in a 4 wheeled cab is breaking the cab... the danger in a tilted 2 wheel cab is breaking yourself.

[clockwork]

I feel the tilt method is easier to push over carpet. Will four wheels, if you're not very careful there's a chance on pushing it over since it's going to be quite top heavy. Then again, if you have a 27" TV in there, you have to consider that's a lot of weight to hold as you move the cab.

I'd think the danger of tilting would be the cab sliding away from you and falling, not so much dropping on top of you. Generally you're not going to be under the cab as you push it.

[shardian]

I'd think the danger of tilting would be the cab sliding away from you and falling, not so much dropping on top of you. Generally you're not going to be under the cab as you push it.

That's what I was going to say.

Anyways, you can always let the cab down fairly easy if something like this were to happen. If you can't, well then you shouldn't have been moving the cab in the first place.

[ChadTower]

If you can't, well then you shouldn't have been moving the cab in the first place.

That was my point exactly.  If the method is that big a deal, wait for help.

[ahofle]

There is much less of a chance of toppling a cabinet with 4 wheels (unless you are an idiot) than having to tilt it 45 degrees to move it with 2 wheels like a dolly.  With 4 wheels, you simply push on the bottom -- it's just about impossible to tip it over that way.  Also there is no need to 'wait for help' if you have 4 wheels.  I can't imagine tipping my huge cabinet over to move it.  Maybe a small Pacman cab but not a large one.

[fjl]

What if I did both? Put normal casters on the front bottom and then those corner casters on the back? I have wooden floors at my house.

And Shardian, please post a picture of your caster setup.

[rockin_rick]

So if you use the rear "tilt back" casters (as shown in the first post), then is it better to use 4 leg levelers and have those wheels off the ground when the cab is sitting flat, or should you use just 2 leg levelers in the front, and use the 2 rear wheels in the back for the back "legs"? 

With the 4 levelers, you could completely level the cab, but with just 2 up front, then it may be a bit off, but you should still be able to eliminate the cab from rocking, which is most important.  (assuming that levelers are to be used - my floors aren't the flatest).  What is anyones experience?

Rick

[Circo]

On this topic of adding wheels, has anyone ever added wheels to a slikstik cab?  I have been batting the idea around but can't think of an easy way to do it.

[johnvv]

For a Slikstik cab, I'd do it as I did on a Williams cab.

- make some plywood (or other strong wood) squares about 5"x5".  Ideally they should be 1" or more thick.  You may need to glue some together to get the desired thickness.
- drill the squares for the caster mounts
- attach the squares to the bottom of the cab
- mount the heavyy duty 4-5" casters on the cab with heavy bolts or even large toggle bolts.

The problem with the SlikStik cab is that the base is very large, the bottom shelf is recessed about 5" from the bottom of the sides, and it is made from MDF.    You may even need six casters for it due to the size.  The wood blocks (above) give a nice strong mounting point for the casters.  I would not mount the casters directly to the MDF as the MDF may crack, chip, etc.  Along those lines, it is probably even better to have two sets of plywoode square mounts for each caster - one to mount on the bottom of the cab and one for the inside, effectively 'sandwiching' the MDF between the plywood squares and giving bolts a very strong mounting point.

It also wouldn't hurt to drop SlikStik a note and see if they have any suggestions.

[arzoo]

I have a cab with tilt-back wheels and another with four non-swivel wheels. The problem with the tilt back method is you may have nothing to hold on to except the sides of the cab - I recommend a heavy duty grab handle mounted on the back (Williams cabs have this). The other problem is - one person still can't easily get the cab off the wall to tilt it back - so you end up using a hand-cart anyway. I prefer the four wheel design - easy to get it off the wall for rear maintenance and if I need to move a long distance I end up using the hand-cart which provides better mobility. Just my 2 cents!

[rockin_rick]

How well does 4 casters work out on hardwood or another smooth floor?  Carpet may hold it in place, but does the cab tend to walk around on smooth floors?

Also, how do you level the cab with 4 casters?  Well, leveling isn't necessary, but perhaps the cab would rock if the floor isn't level, and that's where leg levelers would come in handy.  Does anyone have any problems with 4 casters and rocking?

Rick

[bvicarious]

Something like this would be neat, I think.

[rockin_rick]

lol 

I love how it zooms off!!

Rick

[johnvv]

How well does 4 casters work out on hardwood or another smooth floor?  Carpet may hold it in place, but does the cab tend to walk around on smooth floors?

Also, how do you level the cab with 4 casters?  Well, leveling isn't necessary, but perhaps the cab would rock if the floor isn't level, and that's where leg levelers would come in handy.  Does anyone have any problems with 4 casters and rocking?

I've put caster on about a dozen early 80s cabs and never had a problem.  As long as the floor meets normal building standards, I've never seen any rocking problems.  If you've got a dirt floor in an old barn, then you'll have problems.

As has been mentioned many times before, the best solution for stability is to use two locking casters on the cabinet.  Once they are locked, the cabinet will not move during play.

[fjl]

bvicarious, that's awesome. But would seem too elaborate to build unless you plan to move the cabinet a lot. And actually woudn't the back bottom corner scrape the floor while rolling it?

And as for adding lockable caster, I don't want to make the wheels viewable. They would be low enough to reach the floor obviously but there would be wood trimming in front of them low enough to keep them out of view. But doing so would make the lockable moving part of the caster useless since they can't be accessed without lifting the machine.

[clockwork]

I love how it zooms off!!

lol

Sweet, bvicarious. Rocketcade! That would add a new dimension to game playing.

[bvicarious]

There's a little bit of clearance in the back, which all depends on the angle you tilt the cab. I move my cab an average of 0.6 times a year, so this isn't for me, but maybe for someone who likes their gaming on the go? And actually, if the front had two leg levelers instead of wheels and the rear ones were lockable, this would be a pretty versatile design.