Installing Casters on Your Work Table: A Step-by-Step Guide

Wondering how to install casters onto your stainless steel tabletop or if it is even possible for you to achieve on your own? To help professionals like you, we have gathered a comprehensive guide on installing casters to your stainless steel tables to make the process quick and easy.

Stainless steel kitchen prep tables are the main part of any kitchen establishment and are used on a daily basis. Having the capability to move these types of tables around to various areas of a kitchen is essential to making employees' lives easier and their ability to prepare food quicker. Casters are the perfect solution for this exact need.

If you aren't sure how to install casters onto your stainless steel work table, take a look at our easy-to-follow steps below to learn about installing casters and get your table set up for mobility quickly.

How to Install Casters On a Stainless Steel Work Table

Learning how to attach casters is a simple process.  Just follow our steps below to get your casters attached correctly.

First, calculate an estimate of the weight of your stainless steel table including any additional weight that might be put on it.

Once you have selected casters that are rated for your stainless steel table and the activities you plan on using it for, follow these steps for how to install stem caster wheels onto your table:

1. Start by using a wrench to remove the tabletop from your stainless steel table.
2. Take a broom handle or an object of a similar size and shape and slide it into the opening of one of the legs. Push it gently until the foot pops off.  Do this for each leg of the stainless steel table.
3. The next step regarding how to attach casters to metal legs is to screw them into your table's legs. Take one of the casters and turn the nut.  This will slowly expand a plastic component located at the top which will help create a seal between the caster and the leg of the table. Place a caster inside one of the legs and adjust until there is a tight fit between the caster and the inside of the table leg. You will do this for each of the legs.
4. Once all the casters are adjusted and placed into the legs, tighten them down as needed until they are secure.
5. Place the legs back into the tabletop gussets and use a wrench to retighten the screws, securing the legs back into place.

Things to Consider Before You Purchase Casters

Getting a set of casters for your stainless steel table is a generally straightforward process once you learn the process of how to put casters on table legs. However, there are also several things you should consider before you make a final decision on casters.

Wheel Diameter

When purchasing casters, keep in mind the size of the wheel's diameters and how large they will be on your table. Consider the spaces your table will be fitting into and how much ease you need to have when moving the table around, especially if it's loaded.

Swivel Radius

Swivel radius is the minimum amount of space that a caster needs in order to make a full 360 turn. Again, this is a consideration that is dependent on the amount of space you will have around your table and the places it will need to fit into.

Height

Consider the height of the casters you plan on attaching. Your stainless steel table might be the perfect height now, but what about when you add casters that raise it up four or five inches? On the other hand, casters can also be used to raise a tabletop if needed. You might want to add casters to table tops that are low if you only need a few inches. 

Load Rating

Just like your stainless steel table, the casters you choose will have a load rating.  Determine how you plan on using your stainless steel table and casters and calculate how much weight will be placed on the table at any one time.  Are you going to be using it for lighter activities such as food prep or will you be completing more intensive tasks such as butchering large, heavy pieces of meat on it? Casters that are overloaded can fail or make moving your table difficult.

Locking

Do you need your casters to lock in place for safety reasons? Determine how much locking ability you will need from your table's casters before you look into how to attach caster wheels to your table.

End Results

So now that you know how to install casters, you should have a stainless steel table with perfectly working casters. Having a stainless steel surface that is mobile makes it a versatile and efficient piece of equipment in your restaurant or workspace.  A movable stainless steel table paired with other storage options such as metal wire wall mount shelving can help organize your kitchen and set it up for success.