Semi-Centennial casters

[guyatou]

Does anybody happen to have a good part number for modern replacement casters for the Semi-Centennial stands? Mine's a 2A, but I'm sure the 1A has the same wheel.

I tried Lowe's, but the shank isn't long enough, nor is it thick enough to stay in the stand's leg. I have one original wheel, so I generally know what the shank looks like, but haven't come up with anything locally that seems to work.

The forum has good suggestions of places to try (like Harbor Freight), but no sizing/part number info. Someone had some for sale years ago on the forum, and those seemed to have a separate metal cap that went between the shank and the stand's leg. Haven't come across anything like that in the wild.

Thoughts?

[Tin Can]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-casters/=wsbcht

[guyatou]

^^Right, I know McMaster exists, but looking for the specific wheel to order. They have dozens of options.

[Peter De Smidt]

Measure the inside dimensions of the receptacle where the wheel stud attaches to the stand.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Measure the inside dimensions of the receptacle where the wheel stud attaches to the stand.

He has one of the originals to measure. I've said it too often: any DIY and advanced photographer should have a dial or regular caliper. Even the relatively inexpensive plastic ones are good enough. I got this one (http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/87/875bc0f0-8148-40c5-a0aa-273b2c94a5bc_400.jpg) from Home Depot years ago.

[Tin Can]

I also suggest getting the right wheels for your floors. If hardwood, you want a special wheel, if concrete another.

Since these obviously wear out, adherence to originality may not be best.

[guyatou]

True. I don't have a caliper, although one would be useful for lots of purposes. I may just break down and buy one. The original wheel has a weird taper and a ball toward the top that I haven't seen in any of the online options. Not sure how critical that part of the design is.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Time permitting, I will remove one of mine and measure it
and reference my choice of replacement.

I strongly suggest you choose a compliant wheel with rounded
edges. The original which I have has small, flat profile iron wheels.
They tear up every surface, and do not move from stop easily.
.

[Peter De Smidt]

Mine are hard black rubber. I can't be sure if they're original, although they look pretty old. I can measure them tomorrow as well, if needed.

[goamules]

There was a guy on the forum that used to sell a LOT of brass lenses, and he had the right castors for the stands at one time. I can't recall his name, but do a search and you may find him.

[jnantz]

garrett

was it eddie gunks ?

[jcoldslabs]

Eddie sold me casters for my Semi-Centennial stand a couple of years ago. I just pulled one off and measured it as best I could with a ruler since I am without a caliper myself.


http://www.kolstad.us/ebay/SEMICENTENNIALCASTER.jpg

Jonathan

[Tin Can]

That's 2 parts, the insert is the outer part and the inner pin which is pushed into the outer.

[jcoldslabs]

I thought so, but I couldn't get the sleeve off and didn't want to force it. This was how Eddie sold it to me, so I don't know if he got them this way or if he added the sleeve afterward himself.

J.

[Tin Can]

They are a tight fit, with a wire ring that is pushed past that dedent.

A large flat screwdriver will separate the 2 right after you slip and poke a hole in your hand.

[guyatou]

Thanks, Jonathan! That's what i was looking for. Just gotta find out where to get those caps.

I sent a message to Eddie several days ago, but didn't hear back -- the last "for sale" post he had about those casters was several years ago, so they may be gone by now.

[guyatou]

OK, I think I've found the caster socket (the cap on the end of the caster's stem). It's 9/16" outside diameter, and just about 1-1/2" long (or, at least it says it accepts connectors up to 1-7/16" long).
http://apollocaster.com/store/916-od-caster-socket-for-a-716-diameter-grip-ring-connector-89300-p-89300.html

And this is the caster itself, or pretty close. The wheel is 2-1/2" tall, and has a "grip-ring" connector that works with the above receiver socket.
http://apollocaster.com/store/212-x-1316-swivel-caster-with-a-thermoplastized-rubber-gray-wheel-grip-ring-connector-and-plain-bore-67538-p-67538.html

The gray ones seem to be best for low weight and hardwood floor applications. Dividing the stand and camera weight by the three casters, I'd bet there's not more than 20 lbs each, way less than their max capacity.

I'm hoping the stand's brake will work since I'll have wheels that are the right size. The ones I got at lowes were 3", so the brake didn't reach the floor.

Thanks for the help, everyone. I'll report back how these work once they are delivered.

[Louis Pacilla]

I'm hoping the stand's brake will work since I'll have wheels that are the right size. The ones I got at lowes were 3", so the brake didn't reach the floor.

Thanks for the help, everyone. I'll report back how these work once they are delivered.


I own 7 + complete Century Studio Rigs from Master, Imperial Studio Unit, 10A,8A and so on and after installing new wheels from 2" to 2 1/2" including the Gunk Greys, I can say I NEVER found that the break worked w/ these wheels. No trouble though as all that's needed is the round heavy felt pads (the ones that go under chair or table legs). One pad stuck to the bottom of the break base w/ give you the extra distance needed to lift the rear end of the stand up and lock it in that position.

BTW- This has been my personal experience w/ the various models I have. This may not be true for other folks stand breaks.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the link on the casters. I need to do mine for my stand. I can't wait to move to a home with wood floors! My Century stand on carpet is no fun with the 8A on it especially with the big 18" Verito that I got from Louis! Thanks again for a great deal on a great lens. Now if I can just find another stand reasonably close to me for the 14 x 17 studio camera I built I'd be set!

[guyatou]

Louis -- thanks for the tip. I have some of those felt pads somewhere, I'll give that a try. And Jim, glad I could save you a bit of leg work tracking these down.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Louis -- thanks for the tip. I have some of those felt pads somewhere, I'll give that a try. And Jim, glad I could save you a bit of leg work tracking these down.

Thanks, I do appreciate it!

[Jimmy Mathis]

Guyatou,

I just picked up a semi-centennial stand without casters. Thank you so much for the links to the casters/inserts.

Louis,

Thanks for the felt pad tip.

Cheers,
Jimmy

[williaty]

It's my turn to try to source a caster for a 1A. Did any of you actually end up ordering the casters recommended by Guyatou in post #17? If so, did the combination of cap and caster work properly for you?

Thanks as always.

[williaty]

After a long back-order, my casters and cups arrived today.

I ordered the cups listed above and they fit the front two wheel locations perfectly. The rear location required a little filing of the rough casting to get the seam (you'll see what I mean if you look at the rear wheel position on one of these) to meet up a little tighter and then I still had to wrap the cup in a 0.010" thick brass strip all the way around the cup to get it to snug up tightly.

I did not order the casters listed above, though I did order ones dimensionally identical to them. The casters listed above have no proper bearings in them and are also non-braked. I ordered casters with actual ball bearings in them and with total-locking brakes. They fit properly and the stand rolls around very easily. To use the total-locking feature, I drilled and tapped the stand for an additional set screw on each front wheel receiver. I drilled a clearance hole in the cup and then filed a flat on the stem of the caster. The new set screw passes through the cup and bears directly on the flat on the stem of the caster, which prevents the stem from rotating. This allows the total-locking brake to prevent the caster from swiveling, which means the stand can't shift at all even if you bump it (normal swiveling casters would allow the stand to swing side to side as they rotated even if they didn't roll anywhere).

And, of course, the original lever brake on the stand isn't even close to touching the floor. I'll need to make an extension for it eventually.