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Moving a lathe

Moving a Harrison M300 lathe!

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Ian Abbott27/11/2011 19:41:21
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279 forum posts
21 photos
When I need to move stuff up to about a ton and a half, we pick it up with a three ton chain hoist under sheer legs or gin poles and drop it (not literally) into either an open pickup or trailer. Taking it out, just the reverse, pick it up, drive away, then lower it onto rollers. Use the same chain hoist to drag it into the shop if it's not steep enough to stand back and watch.
 
I think Machine mart have chain hoists for not too much mulah.
 
I never trust pickup eyes, I've seen them fail too often. Lots of chain with backups, just in case.
 
Many, many years a go, I used to lift a ton of hard nose from the front of tractors, in the middle of a field, the same way.
 
One caveat, whichever way you do it, don't stand anywhere near to where it might make a big hole on the driveway.
 
Ian
 
alan frost27/11/2011 19:48:09
137 forum posts
3 photos
Last thought. Professional movers go home with part of your regimental funds that is better spent on pints of muscle relaxant. Your engine crane won't go home with bags of your gold and will be there as a friend when you find you've installed the lathe in slightly the wrong place.(inevitable in my experience)
As you age your trusty engine crane will lift for you machine vices, dividing heads and heavier workpieces that you once casually tossed into position one handed. Don't tell health and safety but with the addition of a mast (two scaffold tubes if you are particularly safety conscious one if not ) and a few bits of welded steel your new friend will transform itself into a safe, stable hydraulic platform at up to eaves height.
When I'm buried I shall request that my engine crane and bandsaw are interred with me to face with me whatever awaits in the next world.
Matthew Chapman 105/12/2011 18:26:40
7 forum posts
 Thanks all for your help, i carried out the operation on Saturday!

It all went well. I used a Leyland DAF HGV with 1000Kg tail lift and a simple palletiser. As I said before i could use the gantry crane where i bought the lathe from to lift it onto a pallet. Ratchet strapping the lathe to the pallet worked really well and increased stabilty.

Loading the lathe on the truck was a breeze with just two of us. Took some thinking of how to get the (suprisingly heavy) palletiser on the truck ahead of the lathe mind, as they wouldnt both fit on the tail lift together!

Getting the lathe out my end was the only nervous part of the operation. It took a bit of a push to get the palletiser + lathe over a small lip and onto the tail lift - the obvious danger being the momentum would take it over the edge! I used a couple of ropes around the lathe secured to the truck as fail safes.

The lathe is now in position in my garage... on a pallet! The M300 instruction manual says that the lips of the collant tray are also lifting points (with strops) so i will borrow some bottle jacks from work to act on the four corners to release the pallet and lower the lathe but am in no rush at the moment. Needs a good clean first!

Thanks again

Matt

David Littlewood05/12/2011 22:21:00
533 forum posts
Matt,
 
Coming late to this; glad you managed the move OK. Just a thought about what you do when you come to put the lathe in its final place.
 
I bought an M300 from Home & Workshop 3 years ago; they delivered it on a tail lift and put it in place with a little lifting trolley. The lead guy (one of the brothers who own the business, forgotten his name, might be Andy - and he is not a big guy) actually lifted the heavy end into place, on his own, by hand! I put jacking screw feet in the 4 threaded holes while it was still on the trolley, and then rested the feet on two timber baulks running front to back. These allow me to move the whole thing a little as they slide across the floor - takes a strong force, but can be done by one person.
 
The jacking screws are important as there is, surprisingly, enough flex in the seemingly rigid stand to affect the alignment of the bed, I was able to remove a trace of winding by adjusting them with a spanner.
 
Hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I think I must have spent nearly as much again on tooling for mine.
 
David
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