Though casters are typically associated with large-scale commercial usage and mobility, they’re actually a great way to make typical office furniture or home decor items more portable. This is made possible by smaller, light duty casters that can be attached to existing furniture in a number of ways. You have the option of using either a stem or a traditional attachment plate that utilizes a swivel plate. Let’s learn about the differences between the swivel plate and stem attachment:
The Swivel Plate Caster
With the swivel plate, you have the advantage of being able to move more weight without compromising the load. The caster is attached to a metal plate where the load can easily rest while being transported. The caster itself is attached to a ball bearing that carries the weight of the load. You’ll find such casters on material-handling equipment like dollies and flatbeds.
The Stem Caster
The stem caster is affixed directly to the caster. Most of them are typically threaded, but it’s not uncommon to have some that can actually pop into a piece of furniture—usually the kind that lightweight like plastic drawer bins. For heavier items like chairs, couches, and tables, threaded caster may be the better choice because it stands a better chance of staying secure presenting itself as one unit.
Which Kind is Easier to Replace on Furniture?
Stem casters are actually much easier to replace than a swivel plate. With a stem caster, all you have to do is unscrew the caster from the object that it is attached to. With a swivel plate caster, you’ll need to unscrew four screws from each caster. When you do this, you risk the chance of stripping the hole rendering it useless for any other kind of replacement because swivel-plated casters are usually installed to last.
They’re versatile and highly affordable, making them practical for a wide array of everyday uses.
Mobility Only When It’s Needed Using Furniture Casters
Being able to easily move furniture from one place to the next takes the strain and stress off manual labor, making life in general a little easier—especially in the workplace where something is always getting transported from A to B. Yet, what happens when you’ve reached the destination and don’t require your furniture to be mobile anymore?
A good number of office workers and home decorators are probably wondering how light duty casters can be used on furniture without that furniture rolling away at the drop of a hat. Even at home, many beds are situated on bedframes with casters. While it’s most advantageous to be able to move a bed anywhere in the room, ideally, it really shouldn’t be mobile, especially for kids or senior citizens. Someone could actually get hurt if casters are not securely locked into place. There is a solution for that. Most light duty casters come with brakes that can be engaged when the furniture is moved into its permanent (or semi-permanent) position.
Known as a “tread brake,” the brakes can be lowered simply using an individual’s foot, and the brake slides over the wheel itself and blocks the caster’s tread from moving. Generally speaking, at least two wheels with this kind of brake should be installed in order to keep portable furniture stationary. Ideally, all four wheels would be equipped with this feature to prevent someone’s work desk from rolling down a hallway and into the elevator — even though that would be a great reason to take the day off.
How Casters are Highly Adaptable to Every Environment
Light duty casters are pretty versatile in terms of their features, functions, and aesthetics. Douglas Equipment offers customers a wide selection of light duty casters.
Here are a couple of light-duty casters that we have in stock. The following list includes casters from our line of Shepherd and Colson line:
Stem Casters
- Colson 1 Series Wood Furniture Stem
- Colson 1 Series Expanding Stem Adapter
- Colson 1 Series Straight Thread Stem
- Shepherd Eclipse
- Shepherd Omega
- Shepherd Monarch
Swivel Plate Caster
- Colson 1 Series Small Top Plate Swivel and Rigid
- Colson 1 Series Large Top Plate Swivel and Rigid
- Shepherd Regent
- Shepherd General Duty
Most of these casters can come with stems installed. This is the perfect way to order replacement casters for existing medical equipment or office seating. They can also be shipped with swivel plates another ideal way to turn stationary furniture into a mobile-friendly piece of equipment.
What You Can Expect from a Light Duty Caster
Every light duty caster is shipped with a matching thread guard for a fully integrated solution that will match any office’s designs, or any home’s aesthetics. With wheel diameters of both two and three inches, they’ll be able to operate perfectly on larger pieces of furniture and in smaller applications where a larger tread is really not needed for maximum mobility. This smaller diameter also allows the wheel to be a less prominent part of any furniture item’s appearance, pairing good form with excellent function.
For Light Duty Casters, Go With a Company that Understands the Product
Douglas Equipment knows casters, and they know how the proper mobility can enhance any work environment. The company is well-versed in promoting greater mobility, productivity, and even safety, in a wide variety of home, office, and commercial applications; that bodes well for customers, who can rest easy knowing they’re buying a highly durable product from a highly experienced vendor in their own industry. For more information about light duty casters, please contact us.
