lifting a lathe

[hareng]

Even the pros have trouble with lathes and millers, go to any machine dealers and you will see lathes that have been dropped.
Forklift best method but most of us dont have that.

Theres holes in my ****** miller cast iron base approx 1" diameter. Bulkier than the Harrison, all the weight over a smaller footprint around 3/4 tonne. In saying that, used 1 tonne engine crane and a trailer with two other millers similar and other tooling 70 odd mile back Mondeo wouldnt pull holding artics up. 3 man job with boards etc to unload, 2 to load.

Off topic but got my first lathe ML7 with all extras, tooling and stand in a Fiesta XR2 with hardened lowered suspension, not recommended, luckilly only 20 mile.

Better way of moving lathes about if no crane is to use 3 rollers, 2" dia scaffold works great, i can move Harrison around with just a push of the hand!

 

[Pete.]

No chance of using rollers where mine is going. I'm standing at a 90-degree bend in the alley and it's the same both ways...

 

[hareng]

How you gonna get it down there

Take a spade with you and another set of rollers to slide 90 degrees round the corner, if it will fit.

 

[wyn]

Run a skateboard along the top of each wall, connected with a bar to hang it off.

 

[chrisg3103]

right, think i formulated a plan, worst case ill use the engine crane loading unloading both ends onto a dropside. dont fancy driving 300 miles to find i cant get it in the back of a van .

phoned the guy today (nice chap) hes going to have a word with the guys in the next unit to see if any of them will be working on sat. might have a forklift to get it onto the truck then, apparently he used a pallet truck and a forklift to shift it.
only thing now is trying to find a drop side, found a tipper make unloading easy thinking of a luton but the tail lift can oly take 500kg, dot want it going bang

hes going to have a look for lifting holes tomorrow, if there isnt anything obviouse ill just take my strops and a load of rope. the one handy thing i learnt from P&O was how to splice rope!

 

[chrisg3103]

oh er mr pete!

thought i had issues can always get 3 or 4 fence posts layed flat over the lumpy bits and use the tube/bar roller trick? or lay a mini railway how you change a crankshaft on a big marine engine

 

[hareng]

Just make sure the crane can lift base of machine on to flat bed, used to drive a tipper around for a few months, scared a few mates who didnt know it was me in front.

 

[beetlejac]

l think you'll have to see if airwolf is available.

 

[hareng]

Was just thinking that, Beetle luckilly the air ambulance base is only three miles away so a foreigner is on the cards.

 

[Pete.]

My mate has a unit about a mile away. I'm going to load it with a forklift at the pickup, then unload it at my mate's place, remove every bit I can and if possible split the bed from the base, then load it back into my van. The alleyway I'm going to tackle with a sturdy sack-barrow and 4 stong guys.
If it turns out to be too heavy for that split-down I'm going to make a tin sled and drag it up the alleyway on that using a tirfor.

 

[hareng]

make a tin sled and drag it up the alleyway

Is this some new sport team Viceroy racing.

Reckon you will still be ok on rollers provided you can get round the corner. As said earlier a few sleepers to clear the concrete etc, two man job intact.

 

[MrFluffy]

Id see if i could get hold of a pallet truck narrow enough to make the bend at the end (the steerable ones are really manoeverable with a bit of pushing and pulling), then strap the lathe to the truck and wheel it down there. Failing that, id roll it on rollers, you can go round corners with some deft bar'ing.
Id also want a sturdy pinch bar or two handy, for when disaster strikes...
On the upside, if it slides off a pallet truck, it should have only a couple of inches to slide down to ground level where you can deal with it.
For bars, something around the inch diameter is fine, Ive got some old car halfshafts I pulled out of wrecks which I keep for this exact purpose. They need to be wider than the lathe by a bit and if the bottom of the lathe cab isnt a solid regular surface, you need to put it on something that is first.

I unloaded both my harrison l5a, and 3/4 tonne of arno universal mill amongst other machinery using a pallet truck, some steel ramps and a small winch. And some pinch bars of course.
In fact ive moved them three times, and soon it will be four...
None of the moves have been straightforward and the current location is through two internal doors after traversing a garden...
When I moved my shaper, we got it up a ramp at the other end on rolling bars, and when I arrived home, i took my motorbike hydraulic bench, jacked it level with the back of my landrover, then just lowered it down to gnd level and bar'd it onto the pallet truck...
Tirfor's and rope are handy too, but sounds like you have that bit covered properly already

 

[aero]

I moved my Boxford AUD into a van on a pair of railway sleepers and six short lenghts of rod under it, with a rope and tackle to assit it going in and stop it slipping back down. I doesn't weigh that much though, about 200KGs.

Taking it out we just had brute force and ignorance so we put bars through the holes in the cabinet and and lifted it out.

Moving it into position it was again rolled on bars and lifted on to its plinth.

 

[MrFluffy]

The harrison L series have holes in the cabinet, that you pass bars through for lifting purposes the same.

 

[Pete.]

I've got hold of a sturdy trolley with 2 fixed wheels and 2 castors. Gonna ratchet-strap my lathe to that with timber protectors either side in case it topples in the alleyway. I'll probably split the lathe from the bed and shift it in 2 halves I can't see me unloading it from my VW transporter without a forklift - if it will even go in.

 

[Pete.]

Well I don't know if you've picked-up your lathe yet Chris but mine is in the back of the van in one piece and I'm going to just unload it by hand with 3 other guys helping. I estimate it weighs about 350-400kg. They have a sturdy sheet-metal base rather than the usual cast iron stand so are much lighter than they look.

 

[Robotstar5]

I'm going to just unload it by hand with 3 other guys helping. I estimate it weighs about 350-400kg.

Don't forget your manual handling course, you can only pick up 20Kg each

 

[chrisg3103]

you manhandled it into a van? curses! just hired a transit dropside, picking it up on sat. currently pilfering any rachet straps that arnt straped down from work
this is turning into quite a logistics excersise (lathe is 250 miles away btw)

any pictures? including potential lifting points? btw you know there is a denford forum? - http://www.denfordata.com/bb/ theres a post on there with an original colour manual of the 280 vs!

edit-

wooo! jackpot! just joined the forum and theres a full download for the manual

 

[chrisg3103]

well thanks to the denford forum i now have a definative answer (not that all the help here isnt appreciated )

sure they dont mind a cople of pictures uploaded here

theres an eye bolt fot lifting the lathe alone

and for the cabinet

and weighs 365 kg

 

[Pete.]

we got it in with 4 hefty guys and a sturdy trolley (and much cursing):