Guest Arrives Shortly

April 23rd, 2009

Help me With the Accommodations

Today I have a challenge. I have to figure out how to take this off a skid and turn it and put it up against a garage wall. It arrives tomorrow.

grahamclausing3-web

We are looking at about a thousand pounds here. I can’t lift it by the chip pan; it has to be moved using forks under the bed or some kind of strap.

A while back, I unexpectedly received an enormous used Genie Superlift, but it’s not well suited to this job. It only lifts 650 pounds, so picking up the entire lathe is not an option. And it would be awkward.

People have recommended a rented cherry-picker. That seems like the way to go. The manual has information on how to pick the lathe up, so I can probably rig a strap on the hoist and back the lathe against the wall.

I’ll have to run over to the rental place in a while and yammer at them.

People have recommended putting pipes under the lathe and using them as rollers. That would work, but it would still be tough getting the pallet out from under the lathe. One really pathetic solution some people use is to leave their machine tools on pallets. I really don’t want a giant motorized object rocking around on a bouncy wooden platform, waiting to fall over and crush me.

Maybe I should invest in a couple of HTC mobile bases; one for each end. I put one on my 700-pound table saw, and it works perfectly. But the lathe has leveling tabs that might cause problems.

And Jeff, I am not buying a forklift, so don’t even say it!

Leo will still tell me to get a Bobcat, however.

27 Responses to “Guest Arrives Shortly”

  1. Ric Locke Says:

    I’m really surprised you don’t have a cherrypicker. There are several folding ones on the market that can be stowed in a corner when not in use.

    If you decide to rent one, pay special attention to the wheels. Cherrypickers are most often used for engine changing, and are optimized for that — and that means that the lower part has to be as thin as possible, to fit under the car. This very often means teenytiny casters that are hard to roll and swivel.

    Regards,
    Ric

  2. Steve H. Says:

    I took a look at them, and they’re enormous, even when folded up. I already have a lift I can’t store indoors, and adding another one would be a problem.

  3. Mumblix Grumph Says:

    Here’s how one guy moved a heavy saw without a lift. Maybe you can apply some of the principals.

    http://sippicancottage.blogspot.com/2008/09/ill-take-end-in-middle.html

  4. blindshooter Says:

    This is why you spent so much thought on where it will be set up.

    How tall are your garage door/ceiling? I have a friend that moved his with the help of a local wrecker guy, strapped it to the boom and backed the truck to the spot and set it down.

  5. Steve H. Says:

    I don’t need help putting it in the garage. They’ll stick it anywhere I want. But it will still be on a pallet.

  6. JeffW Says:

    Forklift? Naw.
    .
    How about a pickup with a Tommy-Lift?

  7. Ksurfiws Says:

    The key is to lift with your LEGS and not your BACK

  8. Bob Says:

    Move it the same way they move houses. Maybe four jacks on rollers or on a sufficiently strong platform with rollers. Raise it up off the floor and then just roll it to where you want it, lower the jacks and you’re done. Shouldn’t be too hard to just cut away the pallet under the center part to make room for the jacks, then when you raise it the part of the pallet under the ends just pulls out. This is all assuming you can raise it from beneath the open center part and assuming the center of gravity is also located in the open center section. Photo does not show the bottom so I’m just guessing there. Only have to raise it a quarter inch or so off the floor so it shouldn’t be too dangerous. Worth considering anyway…It’s gonna be easier to raise it from the bottom than any other way.

  9. og Says:

    make an aframe. then use lumber for other projects. 4X4 uprights and a 6X6 beam would do fine. can then be dismantled and stored or re used. Chain falls are cheap.

  10. Bob Says:

    OK, now I see the part about the chip pan. Method would still work by using supports under the bed that extend out past the chip pan, put the jacks under the supports. People that sell and deliver safes would probably have a way of doing it. Also, there’s those dock use things that have two wheels under a long lever that could be put under each end once it is off the pallet. Then two people could just pull/push it into place.

  11. Bob Says:

    These guys..

    http://uscargotools.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CC&Product_Code=OTM-22016&Category_Code=OTM

  12. blindshooter Says:

    While the wrecker has it off the floor remove the pallet then sit it where you want. That is if the wrecker will fit.

  13. Leo Says:

    Be sure and rent one with forks. You know you want to.

  14. Steve H. Says:

    The freight people will be using a pallet jack with forks inserted through the pallet, so they can’t lift the lathe in a way that would let the pallet fall free. Really a bummer.

  15. jdunmyer Says:

    First of all, be aware that a lathe is very top-heavy and is pretty easy to upset if you’re ham-handed and don’t think things out.

    My initial thinking, which might change if I was on-site:

    Get a decent pinch bar, one that’s 5′ long or so. Also obtain a bunch of small pieces of either metal or hard wood, about 3/8″ or 1/2″ thick. If you work at it, it’s pretty easy (if a bit tedious) to pry the machine up, get it on a stack of these little blocks, then walk it back down to the floor. You never lift it more than 3/8″ at a time, and the pinch bar makes it effortless. Having an assistant would be a huge help.

    You need a lot of those blocks, as you need them under the pinch bar’s fulcrum point in addition to under the lathe.

    Once the lathe is on the floor, it’s simple to walk it around to where you want it by prying it up with the bar, then swinging the bar to move the machine sideways. I’m assuming that it’s close to where it has to be, as a trip across the entire garage would be quite tedious; you only move one end of the machine about 3/4″ at a time.

    If there’s no place to lift an end of the lathe with the pinch bar, get a couple of pieces of 1/2″ X 3″ flat stock that are as long as the lathe is deep (width front-to-back) and bolt them to the ends of the cabinet. They should be installed about 1/2″ off the floor, and 2, 1/4″ or 5/16″ bolts on each end will be plenty sufficient to carry the load. Use a couple of flat washers under each nut inside the cabinet.

    Lift one end, then the other, keeping the stacks of blocks even front-to-back, so the lathe never tips.

    I’ve lifted and moved a screw machine with this method, and it weighed several tons. Remember that the lathe is top-heavy!

  16. Aaron's cc: Says:

    Is there some law I’m not aware of that it’s sacrilege to use a tool you don’t own? Is it possible to rent a forklift for a couple of hours from Home Depot or does that irreparably taint the tool?

  17. Virgil Says:

    Get a Helicopter…or there’s always some Workmate attachment which can do the job.

  18. Virgil Says:

    seriously…get the delivery guys to park it in the garage on the pallet parallel to the wall where you want it to live full time, take the Genie lift and lift one end vertically off the pallet slightly. Then use your Sawzall to cut the pallet in half or at least cut part of it out of the way, then set that end down on the floor.

    Then move the Genie over and lift the other end of the Lathe and slide the pallet out of the way.

    Finally, you can “walk” the lathe back to it’s final position by alternating ends.

    Be sure and not put it too close to the wall so you can get back there to clean up the chips with the shop vac.

  19. Steve H. Says:

    You wrote all that just to see if you could get me to buy a Sawzall.

  20. Virgil Says:

    Sawzalls RULE. I have Milaukee corded two speed unit and a battery powered one that works well on home improvement projects and my Shrubs FEAR when it has a demolition blade attached.

  21. Steve H. Says:

    I’m not listening!

  22. Steve H. Says:

    So Milwaukee makes nice ones?

  23. Virgil Says:

    Milwaukee makes a two speed or a variable speed (trigger like a drill) one which comes in a nice red steel carrying case with room for the cord and blades and stuff. I picked mine up on impulse in a pawn shop ten years ago and have rennovated a number of investment properties using it as a powered sledge hammer i.e. you just install a long course toothed demolition blade, turn off the gas and electricity and start cutting doors and windows in 2×4 and 2×6 walls where you want them to be.

    The battery powered ones are neat also but I have a crappy Craftsman one that came in a set I received as a gift and the batterys only last about twenty minutes under any kind of load. As I said, it’s handy out in the yard to cut small branches off trees and shrubs or jump up on the roof to make a few cuts when you don’t want to drag a power cord along.

  24. jdunmyer Says:

    Steve,
    I can’t believe that you don’t have a SawZall. Mine is a Milwaukee, and I believe they own the SawZall trademark.

    In my treatise above, it’s assumed that you lift the lathe off the skid, one end at a time, then cut up the pallet/skid with a SawZall. Of course, if it works out, you might be able to slide the pallet out from under it once it’s blocked up. But then, you have no excuse to buy the SawZall. 🙁

  25. Leo Says:

    Milwaukee sawzalls are the benchmark of sawzalls.
    ,
    In a couple of years everybody who glances into the back of your ’69 three-quarter ton pickup and sees that red Milwuakee sawzall box will instantly know how studly you are. Of course, the Bobcat on the trailer behind the pickup won’t hurt anything in that regard either¡

  26. wormathan Says:

    You could always use your torch to burn the pallet away, just watch out for the thing tipping over. Seriously, it all comes down to how much work you want to do, and how much $ you want to spend on rental equipment.

    Virgil is right about the saw…

  27. Steve_in_CA Says:

    Of course all modern tool knights joust, using bobcats as their sturdy mounts and sawzalls as lances. It’s the latest thing.