Customer Reviews

HTC HTC2000 Universal Mobile Base

5 star:		(188)
4 star:		(70)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

If a tool is to be judged on it's utility then this is a winner. What makes this base so great is that it does what it's supposed to do, does it well, and sells for around fifty bucks.

My shop is so small Hennie Youngman could do a whole routine around it. I don't have the luxury of thousands of square feet of space to plant work stations and production tools. So, I rely on putting everything on wheels to keep it out of the way untill I need it. I made my own untill I discovered the HTC2000 mobile base.

I ordered one for my jointer and another for my table saw. My jointer is now a dream come true! The large wheels track easily and smoothly and it sets down firmly. The only drawback was that the front was higher than the back but that is an easy fix with a spacer or adjusting up your machines leveling feet.

Oddly enough I did not have this problem on the second one I ordered for the table saw. That on is so level you could set grade with it. For the life of me I can't figure the difference but who cares? The only downside I noticed on the one for the table saw was that my saw may be a little heavy for it. I have an old, big Craftsman with a custom made T-Square fence. It rolls very nicely but the cam levers for raising and lowering seem to strain a little in the lift mode. If you are going to move larger machinery I would suggest contacting the company regarding their custom made program.

Overall, if you ever want a stationary machine to have any portability you can't go wrong with this product. And at this price, you can afford a little custom tuning to get exactly what you want.

I have purchased 4 of these mobile bases and find them acceptable for "home shop" use. The bases are extremely flexible in that they consist of 4 heavy pieces of angled steel with numerous adjustment holes so that they can be assembled in a very wide variety of sizes. The bases themselves are quite sturdy. The "weakest" point of the base is in the plastic cambered lever that raises/lowers two wheels in order to allow movement of the toolstand. Being plastic the levers do not "appear" to be as sturdy as the rest of the stand and could break off. However, that being said, I have NOT had any problem with mine moving a jointer and a drill press to date. In fact, I am quite pleased with them and find them to be the most economical, yet acceptable stand available.

Yes, it has the expected sturdy construction, but the foot levers to raise and lower are a little hard to operate. I have a jointer mounted on one and I find I have to assist in raising and lowering the machine as I operate the rather thin foot levers. And if i'm not careful, I can lower the machine down with a thud.

In contrast to the Delta design, which I have my workbench mounted on, it is much easier to raise and lower with the single and larger foot pedal. Delta's design of a single caster also does seem easier to pivot with.

5 stars for srurdy construction
-2 stars for the hard to operate foor levers

3 stars overall

If you need a mobile base that's ready to put together out of the box, the HTC2000 will serve your needs well enough. If you're able to make the rails yourself for the Delta model, or need a custon size as I did, I would go for the Delta 50-345 model instead since I find its design easier to use.

I own two of these mobile bases. One moves a 10" Jet Contractor Saw around the workshop (the garage)and the other is used with a Jet 14" Bandsaw. These bases are easy to assemble and allow for easy lifting to move the equipment around your shop. I am planning on getting another on to make my thickness planer mobile. This is a good product for a good price.

How do you take a limited work shop space and turn it into full blown wood working shop? Get some Universal Bases. Unless your fortunate enough to be Norm Abrams and can afford to have 10 feet of space between all of your permanently mounted equipment, these bases are for you. I bought 7 of them. All of my major equipment is on one. I can move a heavy table saw with one finger, and when I want to use it, I simply set, the easy to move control arms by foot. Down it comes, on to secure, fixed rubber feet. You may have seen bases like these in Sears for [price]. At this price they are a bargain. They are substantially made. The corners which your equipment rests on, and the wheels are mounted to, are substantial, and the rails that run between the corners are built sufficiently for their purpose. You shouldn't be disappointed. I bought all HTC2000s so I am speaking about those. They are rated up to 400 pounds, and I believe they will handle that much weight easily. At first I hesitated to use one on my top heavy 34 inch Radial Drill Press, thinking it would be a toppling risk. After receiving the first 5, I quickly ordered 2 more, one for the drill press as well. By locating the wheels in the front on both sides, actually improves the footprint, and the stability. They are easy to assemble, and there is always additional hardware left over. Pertaining to use, the only drawback is that when you roll out a piece of equipment, you have to plug it in, and attach the dust collection hose, but that is not the fault of the universal base. The wheels are like a shopping cart configuration, with a fixed wheel position in the back, and universal dolly wheels on the front. Consequently, I am able to line all of my equipment up on one wall, with a minimum of space, and easily move out whichever I may need. I think I may have shared a common trait amongst those of us who long dreamed for a woodworking shop. My love for woodworking drove me to buy equipment even though I didn't have the space for it. I was cutting wood on the Radial Arm saw, with the adjusting handle to the jointer/planer stabbing me in the ... Seriously. That is how bad it was. Now I have space to spare. They roll so easy, I am considering storing the infrequently used jig saw in the adjoining room. I hope this review is helpful. To me they are a solution made in heaven.

The base came with the ALUMINUM cam levers!! I think HTC got the message on the plastic levers it formerly offered with this kit. The new lift/release levers are now just as rugged as the rest of the kit, and should last a lifetime. Although the price has been adjusted accordingly for the upgraded cam levers, this kit is still WELL WORTH IT! Just finished setting up the base for my Jet JJ-6CSX jointer, and I couldn't be happier with the extreme mobility and smoothness offered by this kit. Contrary to another reviewer's comments regarding the poor performance of the 4-wheel design, this base enables me to EASILY manuever my jointer into and out of extremely tight spaces within my small shop. The manueverability is every bit as good as the 3-wheel base on my Dewalt table saw. The instructions were very clear, and the unit went together without a hitch. However, the Jet jointer stand has 2 L-shaped hold-down brackets for mounting the base to the floor that necessitate a slight modification to the mobile base. These brackets are centered on the opposing short sides of the jointer stand, and create a pivot point that causes the machine to rock back an forth in the mobile base. The bracket positioning also prevents the jointer stand from being bolted directly to the HTC base for safety. The HTC base has mounting points in the corners, but not along the sides. To get around these issues, I simply cut a 1/2" plywood blank to snugly fit the dimensions of the assembled base, and rabbeted the edges to clear the nuts that protrude through the inside of the frame. The plywood can then be bolted to all 4 corners of the mobile base and to the brackets on the jointer stand. Now the unit is ROCK SOLID! Thanks to everyone who took the time to write these reviews. I am very pleased with my purchase, and will undoubtedly be back for more!

JW Austin, TX

I have two of these at work in my garage shop. They are really great for moving heavy things around in a confined space. I bought one for my Jet drill press first. I mounted the drill press directly on it, and although it was stable enough, I later cut a piece of 3/4" plywood about six inches larger than the tool base and expanded the frame for added stability. I screwed the plywood to the mobile base from underneath with some #12 x 1/2" pan head screws. I then bolted the drill press down through its corner holes. That is a nice feature about these bases - you can change your mind with a wrench!

I bought a second one for the radial arm saw I have been dragging around for 20 years. I should have done it long ago! On the radial saw I discovered that you really should overlap your rails by at least 4 inches at the corners to keep the weight of the tool from "sagging" the joints. I am considering adding a sheet of plywood under the saw to provide space for a storage cabinet.

I also have an HTC base for my Jet table saw. It is the one specifically built for the Jet with the 52" fence. I couldn't live without it either!

I have just spent the weekend with my new HTC2000 mobile base and I absolutely love it. I have a small area in which to work and my table saw was constantly getting in the way. I also had to turn the saw to cross cut and again to rip, but with the HTC2000 base, what used to be 1-2 minute grunt fest is now a 10-15 second breeze. It is also very easy to assemble, all you need is a couple of tools and about 20 minutes. If you have a need to move your tools around, then I highly encourage you to get the HTC2000 Universal Moble Base.

I had purchased two mobile bases from a large department store tool department for my drill press and radial arm saw. Upon searching throught eh Amazon.com site I noticed the HTC 2000 mobile base was on sale with free shipping and no sales tax. The picture looked awfully familiar to me. I ordered on for my Ryobi table saw. The item arrived quickly as promised. I opened the box and was amazed that the contents and assembly instructions were identical to the previous bases I had purchased at the department store for twenty dollars more!!! The only difference was that the HTC 2000 has black colored wheels while those on the higher priced department store version are colored red. Everything else is identical down to the last nut and bolt. The HTC 2000 also came with solid brushed aluminum cam levers. The version currently stocked in the large department store now have flimsy plastic cam levers. This is a great must have mobile base for any shop. My heavy stationary tools glide around with the mere push of a thumb. I have just placed an order for another one of these to mount my new JET 14" band saw on. You cannot go wrong with this mobile base. Sturdy, well designed, extremely versatile and all at a great price. If you are looking for true mobility for your large power tools, look no further. GET ONE OF THESE. You will not be dissapointed!!!!

I recently purchased a Jet table saw and immediately came to the conclusion that it would require a mobile base if I wanted to safely share the garage / shop with our two cars.

My first purchase was an inexpensive wood and steel kit that added a modicum of mobility, but whose lurch and drag design would eventually lead to a gouged fender in the tight quarters.

I immediately went back to the drawing board and chose the HTC 2000.

Wow! What a difference! Not only did all the holes line up, there were extra bolts and nuts which is a nice extra. The kit went together in half the time of the wood/ steel model and the final fit and finish are excellent.

The real test came when we loaded the HTC base with the heavy Jet saw. It moved the 300 lb. saw effortlessly and the design allows me to maneuver the saw with no fear of damaging the cars.

Bottom line: Save yourself time and money and go with the HTC 2000. You won't be sorry!