As an ex longshoreman and a rigger, that place where one was in harms way was refered to as th' *bite*. Never, ever, let yerself be placed in th' bite... you will get bit!
Escape route, always have one identified before th' lift. That means a clear path to safety, if there's some kind of an impedement, move it first! And don't do this shit by yourself, always have at least someone hold yer beer and a cell phone.
Indeed. And carefully inspect every piece of equipment used for th' lift. If it's straps and there's a few cuts in it, throw it away. Same with cables. If chain, are there any stretched links? Is th' hook and swivel rated for th' job at hand? If you aren't sure, don't use it!
I recently moved a Chinese 12" x 36" lathe (1/2 ton, new in th' crate) about 10 miles to my shop using an engine hoist at th' shop end. We had a car hauler trailer so it was pretty low. It was loaded at th' other end with a forklift. I brought my engine hoist there and double checked that it'd work at my end after it was loaded with th' forklift.
Had to use th' 1,500 lb setting to make th' reach, but it worked there so I knew it would on my end. It was semi-tricky because we needed to have it as far forward on th' trailer as possible for tongue weight. That meant taking some weight off th' crate with th' lift and
*sliding* it back in smallish increments (6-12") at a time until we got a good center of gravity lift.Three guys, about an hour on each end, and it was sitting in my shop. Th' engine hoist worked ok but th' lack of swiveling front wheels meant we had to muscle it around a corner... no big deal, just went low n' slow.
A mill is gonna be a whole 'nuther animal. It might take a spell to find th' right pick point so th' center of gravity is dead nuts on. Just take your time, lift it as minimally as possible, and go slooooow. A good life insurance policy isn't a bad idea either .
Snarl