The history of the castor wheel

Imagine for a second that we didn’t have any castors and wheels; that for every object you wanted to move you simply had to lift it up and place it elsewhere (even the thought gives us backache). Now take a moment to think about all the uses that you have for castors today – office chairs, medical equipment, trolleys, buggies, tables… the list goes on! But where did it start?

Imagine for a second that we didn’t have any castors and wheels; that for every object you wanted to move you simply had to lift it up and place it elsewhere (even the thought gives us backache).

Now take a moment to think about all the uses that you have for castors today – office chairs, medical equipment, trolleys, buggies, tables… the list goes on! But where did it start?

Introducing the first castor
History shows that wheels have been around from as early as 3500 B.C, when ‘potters wheels’ were nothing more than a chunk of rounded wood with a hole in the middle for an axel.

The history of the humble castor wheel however started a lot later, when American inventor David A. Fisher worried over whether there was an easier way to move furniture, tools and equipment from one place to another without causing injury or damage.

During the 1870s the furniture industry was on the up. But manufacturers were having to work hard to move large pieces of furniture without throwing their back out, damaging the furniture or damaging anything they bumped in to. Cue the first castor.

In March 1876 (after having already patented the joiners clamp a year earlier) David came up with a timeless and crude device capable of moving heavy objects around safely and with ease. This device was a simple system of glass rollers and leather pulleys, which not only saved money on medical expenses, but also allowed workers to maximise space and time by efficiently moving items around their workshops.

Modern day castors
Castors continued for many years to be used mainly for industrial purposes, but as times evolved so did the castor. Today there are a wide variety of castors each with their own unique features, including: braking castors, direction lock castors, castors made of different materials with varying levels of bounce, rollability and hardness among other things. 

The caster wheel is a versatile, amazing – yet simple – piece of engineering which has revolutionised materials handling across almost every industry segment. To find the right high-quality castor for you, contact Ross Handling’s specialised team of experienced sales agents for more advice or understanding of which castors would better benefit you and your application.