Mobile Kitchen Island

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  • George Fulford
    30 March 2015 at 9:13 pm #126110

    I’m in the design phase of re-vamping a mobile kitchen island. I’ve got a substantial butcher block top already, and plan to make simple base cabinets for the body. The thing that has me concerned, however, is how do I choose which size casters to use? I’ve attached pics to show how it is currently, and you can see how tiny they are. One of them has already failed. I think the person who put them on originally used a chair caster and not something beefy enough for a cabinet. However, I’ve been researching all day and have read more than once where casters have failed under less than their weight rating. Is there anything beyond weight rating to consider?

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    jmahoney
    31 March 2015 at 1:04 am #126116

    Those grout lines in the tile have to be brutal on the rigid plastic casters. I’d say what the wheel is made of plays a part as well as the weight ratio. Perhaps the hard rubber type wheel tucked behind a skirt added to the base of the cabinet would help. I would choose a wheel size that is large enough to not bottom out in the grout line but rather roll over it..say 3″ wheel, 4 might be ridiculously large but very stable.

    George Fulford
    31 March 2015 at 5:00 am #126119

    Thanks, J. I had considered the hardness of the tile, but not the grout lines. I just found a reasonably priced one with a 210lb load rating and polypropylene wheels. I think four of these should be plenty for this project.

    http://www.homedepot.com/p/Shepherd-3-in-Polypropylene-Swivel-Plate-Caster-with-210-lb-Load-Rating-9394/100154979?N=5yc1vZc29fZbwo5o

    Ben Fisher
    31 March 2015 at 5:12 am #126120

    Nice job. Let us know how the casters do.

    Jim Braun
    31 March 2015 at 1:37 pm #126125

    If you are going to be doing any food prep on that island then I would get some total lock casters and maybe some soft wheels to ease over the tile.

    I have had pretty good luck dealing with these folks:
    http://www.servicecaster.com/Series/total-lock-locking-casters-S20.php

    George Fulford
    1 April 2015 at 4:53 am #126139

    Thanks for the link. I called them earlier today and they were quite helpful.

    jmahoney
    1 April 2015 at 6:07 am #126141

    I think those should do just fine, let us know how it goes!

    George Fulford
    1 April 2015 at 5:41 pm #126156

    Will do. I have to finish tweeking the design and get the ok from the owner first, though 🙂

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