DIY Roll-Around Tool Base

Measure the footprint of the tool you will set on this base, or measure the largest tool footprint you have, and cut the plywood to the same dimensions plus 1/4 inch.

Cut 2 pieces of the 1-by-2 stock to the same width as the plywood base.

Cut 2 pieces of the 1-by-2 stock to the length of the base plus 1 1/2 inches.

Screw the 1-by-2 pieces onto the plywood with the narrow ends on top and bottom with the bottom edge of the 1-by-2s flush with the bottom of the plywood base. The two short pieces will match up perfectly with the sides of the base. The long pieces will extend past the sides of the base to line up with the outside edges of the short pieces. Secure the long 1-by-2s to the short ones at all four corners using the wood screws.

If the tool you are mounting to the base has feet with mounting holes, place the piece on the base and center it. Mark where the four mounting holes sit on the plywood base with the pencil.

Remove the tool from the base and set the base on a couple of pieces of scrap 1-by-2s.

Drill the four marked holes with the 5/16-inch drill bit.

Flip the base over and place a locking swivel caster in each corner and run a bolt through the outside corner of each caster and through the mounting holes you just drilled.

Use the 1/2-inch screws to secure the other three mounting holes of each caster to the base; make sure the caster mounting plate is square with the base.

Remove the bolts and flip the base back over right-side up and place the tool on the base aligning the mounting holes in the feet to the holes you drilled through the base.

Put the bolts back up through the caster, the base and the mounting holes in the foot of the tool. Add a washer and a nut for each of the four mounting holes.

Tighten the nuts with a nut driver while holding the bolt head steady with a box end wrench.