Display Case Retrofitting!?

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FraminGal

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
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Pittsfield, MA - The Berkshires
I'm hopefully going to be making some improvements to my retail area this fall and one thing I'd like to do is retrofit 3-5 fixtures (glass, shelves, etc.) with casters. Has anyone ever done this before? Presently, rearranging the store layout is not an easy task. My concerns are weight and keeping them square...no twisting/torking allowed. I've also thought about contacting a metal fabricator to make a frame with casters out of 'L' shaped steel that these cases would sit in. Any thoughts?

Judy
 
I love casters on my shop tables case ect..It should work, the metal angle iron on the bottom is a good idea if they are metal industrial casters they can be welded on, also the caster must be rated to hold whatever the cases weigh. You would not want to screw casters on to a a particle board base. You could also mount a block of wood or plywood on the bottom. And you might need to put casters in the middle of the case if it's long.
 
Do not put casters in the middle of the case!! What happens is that if the floor is a bit uneven, the case will rock between either the left/middle or the right/middle casters. There aren't legs in the middle now, right?

Cabinets have always been built with legs only at the ends of the piece so they will not rock due to uneven floors.

You don't need to have metal frames built either. That's overkill and a waste of money.

What you will need to do is make sure the corners have enough wood (add more if necessary) to screw casters into them.
Buy casters with a couple hundred pounds load rating per wheel and you will do fine.
I have casters on all of my benches in the work area including the one built with 2x6 lumber and 3/4 plywood with the heat press and a 6 drawer flat file underneath. It is heavy but it does roll just fine.
Carpeted floors make it harder to push thru and there are casters designed to roll on it.
Do a Google search for casters to see what is out there.:beer:
 
..of course the other question is are these cases the commercial metal and glass cases or wood built?

My ideas work with wood cases.
Cases with those thin metal square tube legs will require some reworking of the legs to fit casters. Stiffiners on the sides of the legs to keep them from bending and such will be most important.
Good luck.
 
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