Advice on moving Lathe

Thought of an engine crane and trailer? That does, of course, assume that you already have a tow bar on your car. A Boxford isn't heavy and as long as you plan every stage, have lots of decent strapping it shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise a tail lift

Charles

Nope!

I have certainly considered the Engine Hoist option. Do not have one at present. Not sure yet what the access to the macine is. I have used shop type wheeled hoists but these have a good spread between the supports. Engine hoists seem to be narrower, not sure if they will sit around the base to be able to get a central lift. I do have some slings and a 500kg lever chain puller. Could be useful for dragging to a better position. I used to have some crowbars but they dissappeared!

I've crow-barred it onto 4x4's and then slid the engine hoist under the base. You can't beat a crow bar.

Charles

An AUD weighs 610 lbs (276 kgs).

There are through holes in the cabinet just under the splash plate a each end through which you can pass bars for for slinging.

It can be done with an engine crane (just done it). The bigger th wheels on the crane , the better. While little wheels are fine o smooth flooring, crossing concrete or tarred gravel becomes a problem as do gaps between the ground and the trailer bed / hoist.

They are top heavy, so getting them onto skates without strong helper is a problem.

For transport you need to ratchet them down to stop any swa developing, or secure them to a strong sidewall.

And that 600 lbs is quite concentrated. If the floor of the van isn' that clever, use a spreader board. (DAHIK)

And as I have just found, although in theory you can bolt them dow with the centreline 13 inches from a wall, you need to get behind th headstock if you want access to the mandrel and back drive

-- rss

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Just out of interest, how much does a van with tail lift to shift a small machine tool (say up to 1000 lb) cost to hire?

Bill H Derby

Moving it on your own assembled is not such a good idea, they are very top heavy. My advice is to strip it into manageable bits.

Find some whitworth spanners, plus 3/16" 1/4" 5/16" hex keys.

Remove the topslide, tailstock, carriage and headstock (and gearbox/leadscrew if fitted)

The headstock is a bugger to unbolt but with a couple of spanners with differing offsets or one with a suitable 60 deg or so bend will clear the bed. Don't be tempted to move it assembled single handedly as it will all go pear shaped.

Unbolt the bed from the stand

Remove motor / countershaft from the base

Each bit is then, with a bit of aid from a few chunky wooden blocks or a frame of 4x2's a single person lift/slide into the back of an estate car/trailer/small van. You don't need a tail lift.

Bed and other components in first, stand on its back in last.

If you intend using pumped coolant in future you'll need to reseal the bed to the stand with some mastic.

From experience of doing one quite recently the time to strip and load is around an hour and a half.

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Why not do it the way that the ancients did (and me and the lads do whenever we are moving the Bridgeport/Harrison L6 or any of the rest of the workshop 'bruisers'? When you say 'stand' I presume you mean 'cabinet'... if so it will have a solid'ish base rather than individual legs so get yourself a length of scaffold pole (or similar) and cut it down into 30-36inch lengths.. and roller it. Use your Crowbar and a length of wood to lever the thing up... slide the first roller under then edge forward until you get a second under it with the first about the half way mark... then simply push, ..... It gets a bit tricky when it comes to getting up the little ramp of the tail-lift but not that difficult to work out. As written... we've moved some really heavy gear over the years with nothing more than some 24inch lengths of 2x4 timber 3 or 4 rollers and a crowbar.... just don't rush it and you'll be suprised at how easy it is.

Ian

Salford Van Hire are about 60 quid a day for a 3.5t Luton with tail lift Sixt (used to be Kenning's) charge around 100 quid a day for the same thing.

A *dismantled* Boxford will easily fit in Ford Combo/VW Caddy costing

Mid Wales to Cheltenham, bit like moving the stones for Stonehenge then :)

Thanks to everyone for their advice. To bring the story to a near conclusion I must admit to telling a porky! The machine was in fact a Denford Viceroy on Ebay. I went to see the unit today, bid on it tonight and won it with 2 seconds to spare. Having seen the machine I will visit and break it down bit by bit, hopefully I can then get it all home in my C5. The main problem is getting it all past the tons of stuff stacked in the garage, (theirs not mine) (though mine needs a good clearout). The multiple visits will pay dividends with SWMBO as she gets days out and a lunch somewhere! If anyone on the group has a Viceroy I will need some info. The Tailstock barrel clamp is missing, I need to make or buy a new one. The machine came with 4 jaw, fixed and travelling steadies, faceplate, catchplate, carbide tooling, plus a host of bits not advertised. I am well pleased.

Thanks again for the info.

Sir Clive would be proud of you Sir!

One up on JS .

Mark Rand RTFM

Yep battery all charged up and ready ;-)