Open Forum

I'm pretty new to the construction of sceneries and we have this 6x8 stage wagon to build that's made out of 4x8 and 2x8 platforms joined together. The question is, how many casters am I supposed to put under those stock platforms to make it work safely? The wagon will hold flat, furniture props, and actors will stand on them when they are stationary on stage. I'm thinking put 4 casters on each corner of the whole 6x8 platform and possibly add extras 2 in the middle of the joined platform but I'm not very sure. Any ideas/suggestions will be appreciated.

Also, for joining the two stock platforms together, will 8 screws crossing the shared frames of the two be sufficient? Or I have to use 4 carriage bolts to do it.

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H. M.
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For me, I'd put a caster at the corner of each individual platform. That would give you eight, doubled up near the "seam". You also have a lot of weight on it, between furniture, actors, and flats, so I might reinforce with an additional caster or two toward the middle as you mentioned ... basically anywhere it wants to sag.

Screws or bolts would both work, but I prefer bolts for joining platforms together. I'd also offset them from center by an inch or so, up and down, in an alternating fashion to cut down on any flexing.

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Matthew Pavlak
Theatre teacher
Paulding County High School
GA
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We use a lot of 4x8 wagons, built of 1x4 dimensional lumber. We use 6 casters per wagon. One per corner one more at each side midpoint. They are very stable. I would do 5 per joined 2x8 platform skipping the inner mid wheel as load will carry to the 4x8. Screws will join the wagons together if the stringers are thick enough. If the wagons platforms are made with 3/4" stock you might want to use carriage bolts. Or innrt TNuts with through bolts. 

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John Alexopoulos
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