Warning ... if you are expecting Rob Wilson quality then these are not the posts you are looking for. To be honest these posts and "quality" define the word 'oxymoron' 
I had managed to get the surface grinder into the basement but that was about it. I've finally gotten some time to put some effort into it. The first thing I wanted was a mobile base. This would allow me to move it when I had to ... like during the initial rewiring and setup for the VFD's, etc., but for the most part it will be thought of as a stationary tool.
When I thought about the base I wanted the stationary pads to be far apart but I also wanted the casters to be even further apart. The grinder is top heavy and I was concerned about where the center of gravity might be in relation to a caster axle when 'in transit' across the basement floor. With that in mind, over the next several weekends I developed a mental image of what was needed, looked thru the metal pile, put the 4 x 6 band saw to work, sandblasted the considerable surface rust off the cut up pieces and finally started building the base.
Obligatory picture of weld ...
Eventually it was ready for paint ...
This is a tool base and the primary goal is to have paint on the base with "looks good" not being a consideration. To make this easy on me I put 6 inch long carriage bolts into the caster mounting holes to act as standoffs. This allowed me to lather ... [a verb meaing 'to get paint out of the can and onto the base without any concern what so ever about what it looks like.' A disposable brush, a disposable roller, a disposable [do you see a pattern here] tray, a disposable rag, etc. are all suitable tools for performing this activity.] ... primer one side, flip it over and do the other side in one shot rather than lathering one side, waiting for it to dry, flipping it over and doing the other side.
Note that the standoffs also keep paint from getting in the threads during the lathering process.
Once the primer dried I put on Rustoleum Hammer Finish paint. This is really great stuff. It dries to a reasonably hard finish and the texture hides a tremendous number of painting sins. The only shortcoming I've found is that it takes a couple of days to completely dry. Here I have the pads in the holes from the wrong side so could use them as standoffs while I mounded the casters.
I then flipped it over and was rather surprised to discover that all four casters seem to touch the table at the same time. Guess even a blind squirrel gets lucky with a reasonably flat base ... or something like that. I still have to take the pads off and put them on from the correct side after I took this picture.
Managed to muscle the base from the garage to the basement and did an eyeball check for size.
Bev is becoming quite adept with the pneumatic cylinder on the engine hoist. This allows her to lift the surface grinder while I employ levers and foul language to guide it into the base. My mental design had even taken the bottom edge of the door, the height of the side of the base and the tall pad screw in consideration allowing the door swing open freely. See blind squirrel referenced earlier.
Next on the agenda is the rewiring.
I had managed to get the surface grinder into the basement but that was about it. I've finally gotten some time to put some effort into it. The first thing I wanted was a mobile base. This would allow me to move it when I had to ... like during the initial rewiring and setup for the VFD's, etc., but for the most part it will be thought of as a stationary tool.
When I thought about the base I wanted the stationary pads to be far apart but I also wanted the casters to be even further apart. The grinder is top heavy and I was concerned about where the center of gravity might be in relation to a caster axle when 'in transit' across the basement floor. With that in mind, over the next several weekends I developed a mental image of what was needed, looked thru the metal pile, put the 4 x 6 band saw to work, sandblasted the considerable surface rust off the cut up pieces and finally started building the base.
Obligatory picture of weld ...
Eventually it was ready for paint ...
This is a tool base and the primary goal is to have paint on the base with "looks good" not being a consideration. To make this easy on me I put 6 inch long carriage bolts into the caster mounting holes to act as standoffs. This allowed me to lather ... [a verb meaing 'to get paint out of the can and onto the base without any concern what so ever about what it looks like.' A disposable brush, a disposable roller, a disposable [do you see a pattern here] tray, a disposable rag, etc. are all suitable tools for performing this activity.] ... primer one side, flip it over and do the other side in one shot rather than lathering one side, waiting for it to dry, flipping it over and doing the other side.
Note that the standoffs also keep paint from getting in the threads during the lathering process.
Once the primer dried I put on Rustoleum Hammer Finish paint. This is really great stuff. It dries to a reasonably hard finish and the texture hides a tremendous number of painting sins. The only shortcoming I've found is that it takes a couple of days to completely dry. Here I have the pads in the holes from the wrong side so could use them as standoffs while I mounded the casters.
I then flipped it over and was rather surprised to discover that all four casters seem to touch the table at the same time. Guess even a blind squirrel gets lucky with a reasonably flat base ... or something like that. I still have to take the pads off and put them on from the correct side after I took this picture.
Managed to muscle the base from the garage to the basement and did an eyeball check for size.
Bev is becoming quite adept with the pneumatic cylinder on the engine hoist. This allows her to lift the surface grinder while I employ levers and foul language to guide it into the base. My mental design had even taken the bottom edge of the door, the height of the side of the base and the tall pad screw in consideration allowing the door swing open freely. See blind squirrel referenced earlier.
Next on the agenda is the rewiring.