Moving Heavy Shop Equipment without a Forklift!

John · 2005-01-03T04:29:00+00:00

I've been trying to work through a fairly challenging issue andthought I'd open a question up to the group for discussion.Assume there is a rather large and very heavy piece of equipment,say... 6'h x 2'w x 3'd and 500lbs. The machine is made of steel, andthere are plenty of places around the base that would make fine weldpoints (if necessary). Also assume the machine needs to rest on it'sbase to operate (can't just affix wheels to bottom), but it also needsto be able to be moved randomly around a shop by a single individualwithout a forklift. For grins, it's a 100lb. 5' tall female.How would you modify the machine for this requirement? Oh yeah, youhave to do it with a budget of $100 or less (hopefully a lot less...)My first two thoughts are as follows:1) Build a frame which fits around the base of the equipment out of 2"square tubing. Attach 4 heavy duty wheels to the bottom of eachcorner of the frame. Somehow weld this frame to the base of theequipment in a manner that allows the frame to swing upwards, allowingthe machine to rest on it's base, but also allowing the use of a handoperated hydraulic jack (a small car jack perhaps?) to raise theequipment up to a point at which it is off the ground and the wheelsare free to roll the machine. (Hope you could follow that.)I'm not quite sure how to best accomplish connecting the rolling frameto the machine base so it can be jacked up, so if anyone can helpcomplete this idea it would be great.2) This one breaks the $100 rule... but I'm just tossing out ideas.Have you ever seen the hand operated pallet movers they use at WalMartor other retail stores to move pallets around? Well, you'd have toget one of those, and then you could simply weld on a couple ofchannels underneath the base of the equipment and use that palletmover to roll it around.I really, really don't like that idea, but had to throw it out there.Any other ideas are greatly appreciated.John

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Harry Putnam 21 years ago

Having spent a large part of my life as a construction Boilermaker, welder and blacksmith...

I once rigged up a 400lb anvil with about a 100lb riveted base like this:

I welded up a trap for 1 5/16" hard nuts (with some reinforcement by

1/4 inch steel wing plates, to the corners of the anvil base. I used fine thread and axle grease to make it lift easier, but I had access to plenty of heavy and large bolts/nuts at the time.

My trap was arranged so that the nut was loose but sandwiched in with one side open for inserting a wrench. And of course a hole passing thru for the bolt.

These nuts were about 5/6 inches from the floor. I used long bolts. Probably about 10in or so. Ran the bolts thru a ways then welded heavy duty wheels (steel crazy wheels) to the bolts.

By cranking the nuts up or down I could set the anvil and base down on the floor or lift it up and easily roll it. I never needed more than a 12in cresent to crank the nuts. And the only reason an 8 or 10 inch wasn't enough is that they won't open wide enough. Something 8/10 inches long would have provided enough leverage.

This biggest shortcoming I guess was that this contraption probably took about 7/10 minutes to get airborne with a couple inches clearance.

I doubt if soft nuts/bolts would work as well, or at least not for as long.

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Fred R 21 years ago

True, but many do resist putting their hands on cranks.

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Anthony 21 years ago

"Roger Shoaf" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news01.syix.com:

I think that should be 'cranky'

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ATP 21 years ago

500 lbs is not heavy. You could probably use a modified unisaw type base, like the ones Delta sells. If a pallet lift is really required they are occasionally available for about $25.

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Roger Shoaf 21 years ago

Try McMaster Carr. If they don't have a caster to serve your purpose I would be shocked.

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Larry Jaques 21 years ago

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 13:09:46 -0600, Rex B calmly ranted:

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----------------------------------------------------------------- When I die, I'm leaving my body to science fiction. --Steven Wright ----------------------------

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Comprehensive Website Development

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freemab 21 years ago

Well, some respondents lost track of the title, "...without a forklift."

I have the following questions:

1) What is the shop floor? 2) How often does the machine need to be moved? 3) How accurately does it have to be positioned? 4) Is it to be moved along a single straight line, or along a complicated path?

I had to move a 700# treadle hammer across a strong but somewhat irregular cement floor. I did it by putting 1/4" rods under the "front" edge and rolling the thing. This worked exceedlingly well, but bould not be the method of choice in many cases.

This could be made a more controllable means of moving a machine if a Johnson bar were used to lift one edge and steer.

A 100# woman might need a come-along, or some such thing, to provide the pull to move the thing. Be careful. Some machines may be top-heavy and could fall over.

Bruce

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Gerald Miller 21 years ago

Several years ago, I got tired of seeing a 1500 pound concrete planter (these were placed along the walkway in front of the store to discourage late night, drive in business) sitting on a skid in front of the computer store where Junior worked. One night I jokingly threatened to take it off the skid and set it in place. Next day, the store owner approached me to inquire if I was serious. Sunday was cleaning day, and the store owner cleaned the same window many times while I carried out my threat using nothing more than a selection of wood blocking and a carpenters wrecking bar (one handed), when I was finished he asked how much he owed me and I informed him that all I wanted was the skid, which I still use as an outdoor workbench supported on a pair of sawhorses. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

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yourname 21 years ago

d blocking and a carpenters wrecking bar (one handed), when I was

hey, iv'e got a bunch of stuff I need moved and quite a few skids....

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Martin H. Eastburn 21 years ago

I'd like to add a well swept and clean floor - so the small bits of whatever won't act as wheel stops.

The lady has to over come the friction. If the floor dips or strikes (both are axial slopes) the lady or man might be run over when the initial friction is overcome.

Martin

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Charly the Bastard 21 years ago

Two problems; actuators that push, and the leverage of turning corners. Linkage in compression has to be three to four times as massive as linkage in tension because of the bending force. Just how much does this machine weigh? Not just the hammer, but the entire structure. Maybe you'd be better off using a cam to push directly down on the wheel mount in a sliding 'bushing', and rotating the cam with a foot pedal and a long arm. If you have a smooth shop floor, you only need to lift the machine about an inch to get it on the wheels. A piece of 3" round with the axle hole drilled off center makes a cam. If you're not beefy enough, you can still use the jack to apply twist to the axle with a lever that bears on the ram. Something to think about, it's certainly in the 'scrapyard' catagory.

Charly

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jpolaski 21 years ago

I generally move stuff around the shop with 2x4 scraps, a crowbar and some black iron pipe for rollers. You need to pry or jack the machine up enough to get a few rollers under it. You can steer the machine by pointing the rollers.

You can push some suprisingly heavy equipment like this, or use the long pry bar to move it.

This is a little hard to describe in words, but you could also make some "dog-bone" or "I" shaped rollers that the machine can fit into. The four corners of the "I" have rollers and the inside of one of the "I" shapes (where the arrow points to: I

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SteveB 21 years ago

When you brought the human into the equation, you entered a weak undefinable variable.

I, myself, am a competent rigger. Offshore Petroleum Institute Certified. Passed various union programs. Lots of real life experience.

If you had only ONE person doing this all the time, a system/procedure could be established, and that person would be familiar with the system/procedure, and its variables and nuances. It would be impossible to put something in place that every person could do without repetetive experiences.

Moving a 500# piece of equipment is no small thing. I recently had to move two 8' spas about thirty feet. On the first, I had five helpers. On the second, I moved it myself. It was easier than trying to communicate everything and watch out for people who didn't have a clue. I had a floor jack and four four wheeled furniture dollies. I used PVC pipe as rollers when I got it to the new cinderblock base. Point is, a person who knows how to do things like this has no problems. A person who doesn't can easily lose fingers.

Steve

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Doug Warner 21 years ago

Have a smooth floor and compressed air? Mount the machine on an air bearing platform:

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dcaster 21 years ago

If you already have the air compressor, then air bearings will definately work on a smooth level floor. At work they use air bearings to move heavy things around. They do use about five people, but the ratio of weight to people is about ten tons per person.

Dan

Doug Warner wrote:

individual

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