Once you've chosen the best heavy equipment for your business, you'll want to consider setting it up on socket casters. Available in many different strengths and styles, casters are heavy-duty wheels that connect to the bottoms of your equipment, making large objects like network servers and shop machinery conveniently mobile.

Unfortunately, not all industrial equipment and office furniture can easily attach to casters. Some may not have the right caster socket for the wheels, while others may not have sockets at all. Outfitting your equipment with the correct caster sockets is straightforward, but you'll want to keep the following things in mind during the purchase process:

1. Caster sockets are often made for use with specific equipment or pieces of furniture.

2. Like casters themselves, caster parts come in an assortment of materials, including plastics and metals.

3. Matching the dimensions and shape of your equipment's caster holes to each corresponding caster socket is extremely important.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for furniture caster wheel sockets designed to fit your equipment

Although caster sockets will fit into any tube or drilled hole that's large enough to hold them, many perform best under a specific application. For example, furniture caster wheel sockets are made for use with sofas, desks and beds, while chair caster plastic sockets are made to fit office chairs and work stools with rolling feet.

I recommend: The Rodon Group produces a line of plastic caster sockets for use with beds. Their selection is limited, but the products fit a wide range of beds and sleepers. For sockets fitting a larger variety of office furniture, visit CasterWeb.com.

Choose a caster socket material that blends durability with shock absorbency

Caster sockets must have a firm grip on the casters, but they should also absorb lateral impact forces and deaden rolling noise. Plastic meets both of these requirements, but it may not be strong enough to support extremely heavy industrial equipment. For this reason, you may need to purchase a metal caster socket made from forged steel or zinc. To increase durability, metal caster sockets are also pre-treated to resist rusting.

I recommend: California Caster offers a well-rounded line of metal, plastic and reinforced thermoplastic caster sockets. Gabriel Glide also makes socket shopping easy with a streamlined selection of metal and plastic products.

Buy caster parts according to precise measurements

Each caster socket must fit its hole extremely well to provide a tight grip on the caster. Sockets that are too small for their holes won't securely support their loads, while sockets that are too large won't fit into the holes at all. If you don't know your equipment's dimensions off-hand, locate the product number and contact its manufacturer for more information.

I recommend: Both Superior Components and E.R. Wagner provide detailed specifications for each of their caster sockets, glides and brackets, allowing you to find a product that perfectly fits your furniture or equipment.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Sockets are fairly versatile and will accommodate an assortment of caster types, including ball and socket casters and German casters.