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Caster Installment

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xb100

Mar 24, 2004
616
0
37
NH, In
#1
Hey guys I just got 4 2 1/2 in swivel casters, along with 12# 1 1/2 in wood screws.

I was talking to my guitarists' dad and he said that he would help me install em, and I told him about them and everything and wanting to put them on my tnt.

Well heres the deal, he said that I might want to screw the wood screws in with a piece of wood for extra wood for the screw to go into then into the bottom of my amp.

wood screw>>>>>>little 4x4 pice of wood>>>>bottom of my amp.

I was thinking that that would be to much of a hassle, couldn't I just screw the casters right into the bottom of my amp with out having to put any washeres over them or screwing extra wood into my amp or anything?

I was originally just going to screw the wood screws in once I got everything measured, or should I rethink this?

If I'm not mistaken the casters that dave from avatar speakers sells all you need to install them are 4 wood screws and you're good to go right?

Thanks for your help.

-Rob
 
#2
Those casters take a lot of abuse. I've pulled cabs over rough gravel, concrete curbs, up and down stairs...at 2 in the morning during load-out, we're not as careful as we normally would be.

I'd go one step further than your dad... I'd put a steel backing plate inside the cab and use bolts completely through, with nuts and lockwashers, and secured with Loctite.

And use nice large casters, good solid ones, not the cheap little dinky ones they sell at Walmart.
 
#5
Wow, tee-nuts are a great idea probably the best, and the machine screws that go with them. I've installed permanent casters on quite a few cabs I've had, but I've always used phillips head sheet metal screws (pan head style) that were about 3/4" long. Can't remember the size, but the diameter should be the largest the caster's hole will allow, and the length should be less than the estimated total thickness of the cab wall and the caster mount plate (to minimize intrusion into the cab). I drill a guide hole as well, smaller than the diameter of the threads but larger than the solid portion of the screw shank, as this type of screw isn't as self-tapping as a wood screw. But it allows the screw to go in and use all its thread area to hold tight. The pan head puts a lot of surface on the mounting plate and holds solid, compared to how a wood screw typically fits into the plate hole. Wood screws typically are tapered and only have thread on part of the shank. So that's my take on it. YMMV!
 
#6
Man thanks for all the replies guys.

I did buy all of the casters and screws but deep down something tells me I should of just got a dolly or something.

Anyways this is all alot of info for me to take in at once.

What I was thinking is since I cant take the back off of my tnt and the only way to get into the back of it, is to reach your hand into the port which is about 12'' or so around, and it is really awkward.

I could get some small pices of wood and drill the wood screws through the little pices of wood, then drill the pices of wood into the cab.

wood screws>>>>>casters>>>>6x6 piece of wood>>>>>bottom of my amp.

Would that work any better?? ^^^^

Or should I stick with getting some washers and nuts to secure everything with.

Cause I just don't see how I would first get the wood blocks inside my tnt and get them placed correctly, then drill the wood screws through them, same thing with the nuts and bolts.

All of this because the only acces to the back of my amp is by the way of the rear port which dosn't allow much movement of anything.

-Rob
 
#7
Better yet, I was reading through some old threads about casters and such.

Would it be easier to just make a caster plate?

Like get a piece of sturdy wood (no mdf or cheap crap) and get it to be a little deeper and wider than my tnt, carpet it to prevent my amp from slipping, then install my casters to the plate of wood?

I assume I could get some if not all of this stuff at parts express?

Would I still need some washers and nuts/bolts?

Thanks for your help!

-Rob
 
#10
You won't void the warranty by merely removing the grill and speaker...provided of course you take care not to destroy them in the process.

The removable dolly underneath (what you called a caster plate) is a good alternative, just get a piece of 1/2 inch or heavier plywood and screw the casters to it. Then you can use a few bungee cords or something to secure the dolly to your amp...
 
#11
When I put casters on my 1810 all I got were some 2.5 inch caster and the largest lag bolts that could fit and come washers and called it kosher. never had a problem. Unless your going to be doing some rock crawling with your amp some good lag bolts from home depot or something of the sort should do fine. just make sure you pre drill.
 

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