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Second, they left the outriggers sharply square, and you WILL catch your ankle on one sooner or later. First, compared to HTC bases, this Grizzly base has big, obtrusive outriggers for the wheels, that you are constantly tripping over. If you buy one, be SURE to round the corners on those nasty square wheel mounts with a grinder. (I usually purchase HTC bases). The leveler pads will fall down during rolling, obstructing your ability to roll over even the smallest unevenness of surface. (On HTC bases the wheels are close set to the frame).
Finally, the magnet system for the leveler pads is weak. Grizzly gave themselves such great reviews on this mobile base that I was fooled into purchasing one. I hate this mobile base, it's really bad. Man is that painful.
I'm happy with it now. JJK The plastic adjuster knob on one of the adjusters shattered but the bolt head that was left was sufficient to rotate the adjuster. Otherwise it is 1/4" out of level. This really solidified the saw like a rock. I installed this item under a Grizzly 1022z table saw and had to perform the following modifications:I made up four 1.5 inch angle iron pieces 2 1/4' long, mig welded them to the bottom of the saw while the saw was sitting on the assembly extended outward to where I wanted it after they were bolted with the metric bolts to the Shop Fax unit. Then constructed two 1/4" spacer blocks for the rear wheels only so that after adjusting the front adjusters to raise the front wheels off the floor the saw would be level. I didn't really need the knobs anyway so I busted the other one.
In fact, I put it together using a bolt in every available hole, that is ten in each corner rather than the intended four. I suspect such use would require a base of much bigger proportions with much heavier and larger dimensioned outriggers that would allow considerably larger and heavier duty casters to swing freely when trying to move the tool. I will be rolling the saw around infrequently, perhaps a few feet at a time, on a very smooth and level, wooden floor. I'm sure the four feet then also help share bearing the weight with the two casters that remain on the floor. I wonder if these were made specifically for the product.My table saw, when it showed up, weighing in when all assembled at about 480 lbs, appeared very stable sitting on the base and rolled freely on my shop floor. I have to imagine that the expense involved in producing that would make it hard to sell competetively and would not be required (and might even be inconveniently unwieldy in size) for the majority of users.I do not know whether the extra hardware I used was necessary, but it was relatively inexpensive for a tool I'll have a long time, and it leaves me comfortable that the mobile base is not going to fall apart under the weight of the saw.
Then once it sits where I want it, the weight will be taken off four of the casters completely and borne on the feet of the base (two of those being on the extension). Beating the casters against a hard, irregular surface, repetitively, over a relatively long distance with a tool weighing near a quarter of a ton pressing down on them would have to do damage to these small casters. To mount the casters, I bought separate 5/16" bolts and nuts, and I bought extra metric bolts to use so that I could assemble the base and not worry about the "pot metal" hardware that came with it or the "thin steel" it was made out of. It moves freely and appears stable in movement, turning readily for the size and weight, and not making any unusual noises.
I would not recommend its use in the context of a small shop area from which one must move a heavy stationary power tool over some significant, possibly rough and unlevel terrain and then back again every time it is used. I am very comfortable with this purchase, and I would recommend it to anyone who has a shop with a relatively flat, smooth floor, where it is expected that the tool will be moved infrequently and not a great distance. I figure with ten bolts at each of the four corners, each bolt is supporting roughly 24 pounds of weight, so I am not nervous about that part at all. In fact, I'd ordered it through Grizzly, and it had not occurred to me it might be available on Amazon, so I never thought beforehand to look here for reviews.In response to what I read, I beefed it up a little bit.
I also tried to find replacement casters, with the reports of them crumbling, but in order for them to fit on the outriggers of the base and swing freely, the caster mounting plates had to be of a particular, somewhat small size that is not readily otherwise available for purchase. After what has been written otherwise, I remain a little nervous about the casters, but I really have to wonder from the descriptions if there was not too much expected of them. Although I will not know for sure for a long time if I am right, I suspect the casters will last a long time with this pattern of use.I know some folks have shops where they have to move their tools outdoors from a small shed or a garage to work. I suspect that this is the primary sort of use the item was designed for.
I read the reviews here after I'd ordered the item but before I'd received it, and I was frantic, worried I'd made a mistake and searching for something that would be magically more promising. I have moved it about quite a bit, between cleaning up the floor after the tools were moved in, doing some work on the electrical system in the shop, assembling the extension kit of the base, and moving the saw around to find the best place for it. To expect to carry more than a relatively light saw on this sort of a mobile base in that context strikes me as expecting too much.
I would not purchase the base again or reccommend it to anyone. According to the instruction sheet if parts are missing you need to contact Woodstock directly or "for the sake of expediency, replacements can be obtained at you local hardware store." This really says to me that we (woodstock) know this is a problem but it is easier to have you go get the hardware yourself that for us to fix it.As for the base the bolt holes were extremely tight and difficult and some were stripped. When I opened the box all of the hardware was loose inside and nearly half of it was missing. All in all there has to be a better option out there. I purchased the item through Grizzly and their customer service was excellent. As for Woodstock and the Shop Fox do not bother buying. The locking mechanisim bolt holes were so tight they could not be tightened after about half way down and both plastic knobs broke off forcing the use of a wrench to get them down far enough to stop the base from moving.
Worth the slightly higher cost. I would rate this base a bit higher than the equivalent Hitachi base that is often offered as an alternative by Amazon. I used this base for my Grizzly G0444 Table Saw, and it worked great. A very solid base for the saw, yet letting me move it around my shop easily when necessary. Much more solid design, better engineered.
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