Mobility is key when setting up a shop. I don’t want to be stuck with a certain shop layout. Recently I discovered how awesome scaffold wheels are and how useful they are on workbenches and tables around the shop. Check out the post to see how easy it is to weld tubing on a workbench to add removable scaffold wheels.
This is a pretty tame project for me, but it was exciting because this is the first welding project I got to do in the new shop!
How to add scaffold wheels to anything
So I got this giant table off FB marketplace for free. Apparently it was an old display table from a Clark’s leather store and it is so big I can’t move it around by myself. I got tired of walking around it so it was time to fix that DIY style.
Why did I end up using scaffold wheels?
Since the new shop is up and has 13′ tall walls inside, I quickly realized that working off of a ladder is precarious and not very efficient. I found and picked up a couple of sets of used baker style scaffolding on FB marketplace that I kept out in the shed until recently when I finally had a reason to use them for hanging lights in my shop.
Quick lesson on stacking baker scaffold 2 or 3 high
I didn’t know this at the time but as soon as I stacked the two together to make it 12′ tall, I realized it was way too sketchy to use that way. After a little bit of googling and talking to a buddy, I found out you need to add outriggers for stability when stacking them. The type of outrigger needed varies on how many sets you are stacking. Also as noted below, when working over 6 feet off the ground you should add the guard rail set to the baker scaffold for safety.
Each 6′ baker scaffold set had its own wheels then the outriggers I bought came with wheels too. This explains why I ended up with an extra set of scaffold wheels. Figured I might as well put them to use. I really like these wheels because they are large diameter, roll well, have a high weight capacity, and have really good locks on them.
Outriggers for baker scaffold 2 high
Outriggers for baker scaffold 3 high
Guard Rails
Per OSHA rules, when working over 6′ high you need to be working within handrails or tied off properly with a harness. When stacking baker style scaffold you need to add the handrail kit.
Scaffold Wheels
I had an extra set because I had two sets of baker scaffold that I stacked then the outriggers came with their own set of wheels. If you want to go buy some separately though, you can find them at Amazon below or most hardware/tool stores.
Purchasing the whole kit together
If you don’t have any baker style scaffold yet, the easiest way to do this is to just buy the whole setup as a kit. The newer style like the one below has trap doors in the floor so you can go from level to level without having to go around the outside (swinging around the outside to get onto the platform is sketchy).
Attaching the wheels to the table
The OD of the square scaffold wheel stem is 1 1/4″ so I was able to find some 1 1/2″ tubing I had laying around with 1/16″ wall which is about 16 gauge steel.
In this case, the table had fancy 1/8″ metal kick plates around the legs so I was able to take those off and weld tubing on to them. If you have a table that doesn’t have something like this, you might be able to weld directly to the table if it is metal or cut out some metal plates that you could weld the tubing on to then screw to the table.
Retaining the scaffold wheel stem inside the tube
I didn’t put a pinch bolt to hold them in the slots but if you had an application where you were rolling the table over rough surfaces you would want to. You can do this by drilling a hole and welding a pinch nut on (just a nut welded on the tube that you then stick a bolt in and tighten against the scaffold wheel stem to hold it in there) or drill the tube so you can use the pins just like they are used in the bakers scaffold. I didn’t feel like it… so I didn’t.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading! Hopefully you learned something or at least got some ideas for making your shop more mobile
Now YOU, go outside and work on something!