Here’s our guide to choosing the right casters for your next DIY project on wheels, including ideas and tips for using casters.
You built a beautiful butcher block island for your kitchen. But now you’re wishing it was on wheels so you could roll it around the kitchen as needed. Hindsight really is 20/20.
You need casters for your DIY project! Adding casters is a quick and easy way to retrofit your items with wheels.
Using casters is simple and provides so much more versatility to your projects. Keep reading to see how to choose the right caster for your project – complete with tips on where to use them!
Where to Start
Before we get too far, let’s talk about what a caster actually is.
A caster is a wheel that is attached to a plate or rod. The plate or rod can be affixed to the bottom of furniture and other heavy items to provide rolling solutions. Casters were designed to increase the ease of moving heavy objects from one place to another.
Although they can be aesthetically pleasing, casters are for functionality!
How to Choose
You’ll want to make sure you pick a set of casters that live up to the job. Casters are rated by the load capacity. This means you can buy light-weight casters for moving smaller objects and heavy duty casters for projects that weigh more.
You can find casters rated up to 100,000 lbs.
Here are the two main categories of casters:
Swivel Casters
A swivel caster is designed to allow swiveling in all directions. The perfect example is the front wheels on a shopping cart. The wheel pivots to allow easy movement in any direction.
Swivel casters move around an axis in 360 degrees.
Rigid Casters
A rigid caster is sometimes called a fixed caster. These casters have no turning capacity and can only roll in a straight line, back and forth. You cannot steer.
Rigid casters are typically found in more industrial settings, such as a warehouse or garage, where the cargo is only rolled back and forth between two fixed points. An example of rigid casters are the back wheels on a shopping cart.
Rigid casters are much stronger than their swivel counterparts. If you need to move some serious weight, you may only have the option of rigid casters.
When Using Casters…
Retrofitting your furniture with casters or adding wheels to your latest project is the easiest way to increase versatility and function. Here are some ideas for using casters in your next projects:
Keep It Easy
Wheels making moving heavy things easier. So add casters to all your heavy objects and make life a little simpler.
Laundry room carts and heavy storage containers in a garage are great options for casters.
Make Your Space Versatile
A rolling ottoman or coffee table allows you to reconfigure your space for exactly what you need at that moment. If you’re living in a small space, such as a studio apartment, you know the value of being able to quickly and easily reconfigure your space.
Take the Inside Out!
Why not extend your living space into the great outdoors? Putting wheels on your bar cart and other serving tables is a no-brainer when you roll them out to the patio for your next dinner party.
Take Your DIY Project to the Next Level
Adding and using casters is a great way to increase versatility and decrease effort. You can easily attach casters to any of your projects and then roll the furniture around without any headache.
Did you find this article helpful? Check out the rest of our blog for other smart ideas for your home.
