Moving a "Beaver"

It's a big lump and heavier than a Bridgie.

We moved ours on our trailer in one piece, can you get it loaded at the buyer's place? Then borrow an engine crane to take bits off when you get home.

Pictures of our one on the trailer are here, we did strap it down! :

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

I am in Cheltenham the machine is North of London.

I have always wanted a Bridgport but I believe that it is taller than the Beaver, which I understand from Lathes.co.uk is 2082mm without a riser block. IIRC the Bridgeport is 2400mm? My garage/workshop has a headroom of 2227mm unless I remove some plasterboard which would add another 100mm or so between joists. Not the best option!

Not sure yet of the load options at the sellers place. Thanks for your help and interest.

Richard

This from my experience with my Mk1 basket case, later versions are pretty much the same IIRC:-

If it needs to be knocked down for transport it's quite simple if there's enough lifting gear.

Take the entire ram, head and pedestal off the column by using a lifting beam and slings through the slotter head bracket at the back and around the head at the front. The front sling needs to go around the belt covers in order to stop the whole lot tipping over, since it's top heavy. Remove the four nuts holding the pedestal to the column and lift it all off.

The table and knee can be removed together by slinging around the table, use wood packers to keep the ropes off the leadscrew. Then undo the three screws holding the knee raising screw pillar to the base and take off the rear gibs holding the knee to the column. IIRC you'll need a shortened 3/8" Allen key to get to them, because there's not much space between the screw heads and the column casting. Once you've lifted the knee and table off, put the gibs back on and lay it all down on its back, resting on the gibs.

The column (or the complete mill) can be lifted by looping a sling around the knee ways. The complete mill lifts very easily like this, since you can adjust the table and the ram to get perfect balance.

Weight goes from about 19cwt up to about 25cwt depending on version, knee and table size.

Mark Rand RTFM

Is there two of them ?

John s.

Worth checking the Bridgeport height. My Bridgeport manual gives the heights as 2145mm for a J head (belt drive), and 2255mm for a varispeed model. That said I've just measured my J head and it only measures 2m tall which is good as it's under a roof slightly less than 2.2m and the head fit between the joists nicely.

On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:51:15 -0800 (PST), John S wrote: snip

No only one the other ad is to be removed from were you are looking

Richard

I would sooner have one of these Beavers or a TOS any day over a POS Bridgeport and it's not sour grapes as I have two Bridgies. The one in regular use is made from high tensile licorice and about as useful, the other is far better as it doesn't work .......

John S.

David, Thank you for that. Not sure where I got the 2400mm figure from, surprisingly Lathes.co.uk do not give dimensions for the Bridgeport whereas they do for the Beaver. The Beaver is interesting but is 100miles away, not sure what to do at present

I thought I was joking about working between the joists

Richard

How north of London is it? We are in Rushden, Northants NN10 0JT.

Can it be loaded at the seller's place, and if it came down to you on a trailer, how long would it take you to get it off?

I think we got a 1ES Adcock & Shipley off the trailer and down on planks, but the Beaver is probably 3 times the weight.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

I think he is based ooop north but is willing to combine jobs to share mileage. He has had good reviews here and elsewhere over quite a period Just google landylift. I have no commercial connection with the guy.

Bob

When I got my Bridgeport I knew a guy with a flat bed truck with a Hiab and he moved it. The round trip was maybe 160 miles and I went along with him to help and hand over the money. IIRC £100 about 1998. The worst part of the job was getting the BP over the frame of the double glazed doors that hadn't been there when the BP went in, other than that he just dropped it on my drive and I shifted it into position on rollers. BPs will go through a standard 2'6" doorway without dismantling.

Why did you acquire them then and why do you keep them?. I am aware that there are better machines than the Bridgeport but that's what I'm familiar with, they seem to be the standard machine of choice in US training establishments where I originally started to use them, and they fit in the space I have. There was a nice TOS vertical at Bath Tech College, back in the days when they had machine shops. They're all closed now and all the good machines were sold. A mate that still works there said they have re-equipped a bit but unfortunately with a couple of Chinese 3 in1 machines.

I would second that suggestion, he moved, admittedly a much smaller mill than the Beaver for me, I have nothing but praise for his attention to detail and carefull approach. He did a brilliant job, I would use him again. I also have no connection with him other than as a satisfied customer. Don

I acquired them at the right time and the right money. I keep them because the 3 days lost work necessary to change over to another machine is more than the damn things are worth and the manual one has every conceivable extra made and that alone has doubled it's price to =A312.99

Still doesn't mean I have to like the POS.

John S.

I assumed it would be something like that. So if you were offered £13 + your going rate for 3 days work would you sell.

It'd take him a couple of months to get them out of the door. Then the council would have to find the road under all the stuff that got moved out of the way. :-)

Mark Rand RTFM

I acquired them at the right time and the right money. I keep them because the 3 days lost work necessary to change over to another machine is more than the damn things are worth and the manual one has every conceivable extra made and that alone has doubled it's price to £12.99

Still doesn't mean I have to like the POS.

John S.

Aaahh the slotting head was one bit that got sold, don't need it, got a Ravensburgh 6" toolroom slotter [ somewhere ? ] The jib crane is mounted where the slotting head used to go.

John s.

I would sooner have one of these Beavers or a TOS any day over a POS Bridgeport and it's not sour grapes as I have two Bridgies. The one in regular use is made from high tensile licorice and about as useful, the other is far better as it doesn't work .......

John S.

I howled with laughter when I read the above. "High tensile licorice" will stick with me for a long time. Thank you John.

Cliff Coggin.