5 Wheel Dolly for 5 Gallon Pails

I use Oneida's Dust Deputy with 5 gallon pails and my shop vacuums in my work areas.  This project is a 5-wheeled base for the 5 gallon pail to keep it from tipping over easily.  The pull from hoses on the Dust Deputy make them tippy, especially when recently emptied. 

5 sided for a stable footprint

I cut the base from a 1.25" thick scrap of heavy particle/chip board.  The casters came from a box I have of casters salvaged from past projects and discarded furniture over many years.  

The ancient particle/chip board was a dusty mess to cut on the CNC.  Two air cleaners and my shop vac running constantly during the cut, and there was still a mess to vacuum up after it was done. 

The pails are tapered.  A 3/8" deep tapered pocket in the center was the first detail cut.  When finished I move the router back and tested the fit of the pail while it was still clamped to the CNC bed.  Had the fit been too tight I could have generated a new tool path to widen the pocket. This time I got lucky with a good snug fit. 

Holes for the caster stems were cut next.  A quick check for fit verified the caster stems fit. The last toolpath to cut was the perimeter pentagon shape.  I left two tabs on each side of the shape to make sure it wouldn't come free while the router was still cutting. 

Once the CNC was done I flipped the board over. I used my multi-tool to cut through all the tabs.  The base was then taken to my trim router table to flush trim off the tabs. 

Fit is snug.  The base doesn't drop off when the pail is lifted, yet can be taken off with a good tap. 

A wedge fit.

This was a quick, easy project.  Key is that the base is relatively heavy.  Extra holes in the top were mortises for dowels to support an upper ring.  In use that ring isn't needed.  

4D