Engine crane

I collected a milling machine today, after a long wait for a good one to turn up reasonably locally. At the moment it is lying in the back of my van, and my hope of borrowing an engine hoist from a relative has come to nothing.

So, I'm wondering if there is anyone in the RH19 area (close to Gatwick and East Grinstead) willing to lend, hire or ,,even better, sell me something suitable? We put it in the van with one of the typical 2 ton models (Clarks, Machine Mart etc). The mill itself weighs around ½ tonne according to the lathes.co.uk site, though it has had the table and head taken off for transport.

I paid about £80 for one on the auction site. They're a bit unwieldy but did the business for the lathe and mill during my last house move.

Would it not be simpler to just hire one for the job?,one day would do the whole thing including putting the whole machine together again. Dont waste your time fooling around.

I got one from a local hire shop and took it back a couple of hours later so quite cheap.

I bought one a couple of years ago and like a lot of equipment previously considered a luxury of limited use, I use it a lot. The convenience of not having to drive down to the hire shop, worrying about how long you had it, taking it back before they closed or early the following day as they opened means I can do a job in ten minutes that previously would've taken several hours and some inconvenient logistics, assuming you had a vehicle you could load it into.

Likewise,

When I was in work, we dealt with a local hire service, they dropped off and collected an engine crane.....cost me £15....that got me Chester Eagle 30 in position with no bother....

When I got my SPG lathe, I decide to buy a crane on one of MM's vat free days....got me my lathe lifted in place.

Then when I got my 626 mill, out it came again, and again when I sold the Eagle....

If I sold it on, I'm sure I'd get a fair chunk of cash back...

Steve, you have a PM.

... When I got my SPG lathe, I decide to buy a crane on one of MM's vat free days....got me my lathe lifted in place...

​similar here when I got my WM250V-F lathe & WM 16 mill, set up both onto their respective stands quite easily & then used it to lift my CL500 into a buyers van. it's now tucked away in the corner of my garage /workshop conversion awaiting next call to duty.

George.

I decide to buy a crane on one of MM's vat free days....

No such thing! Many believe the advertising and think it is VAT free. It is simply a 20% discount on the catalogue price.

HM 'customer and exercise' mob would be down on them like a tonne of bricks if VAT was being avoided!

More likely that the catalogue prices are all set too high!

Just to round this thread off, the machine is now in the workshop and re-assembled (we took the table and vertical head off for transport). It's a Centec 2C, which I'm told are not so common as the other Centecs in the range. Seems to be in good condition, and certainly ran very quietly and smoothly when I went to buy it. I still have to get hold of an inverter to connect it up.

Many thanks to everyone who responded, NDIY with several bits of useful advice, and especially to Clive Foster for helping me out with the tricky problem of getting it from the horizontal to the vertical (and for letting me have a look in his fantastic workshop!).

As a direct result of this move I have now invested in my own engine crane - I have since moved several other machines around to free up some workshop space and it makes life so much easier. I have also bought some 1" BSW eyebolts which are the recommended accessories when moving Centec 2C's around - later in the year when phase 99 of the workshop rearrangement and extension plan comes to fruition they will be very handy!

I owned a 2 ton rated engine hoist for several years. It is the kind with the fold-up legs. I couldn't live without it. I have taken it apart and loaded it in my pickup truck many times when picking up equipment. I am getting old, 79+, and decrepit and I can barely get it into the truck on a good day. I found an alternative for getting loads into my truck that eliminates the need to load and unload the engine hoist. I can handle this one in smaller pieces. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200672544_200672544

And you can pluck the concrete bases of rotted or broken fenceposts like pulling teeth.

Most Centecs (2, 2A, 2B) had a MT2 taper. Yours looks to be INT 30?

Not sure whether that will make any difference when buying tools/toolholders, but likely a more robust option.

PM should be with you re VFD.

Yes, INT 30, that and the fine feed on the quill were two features I particularly wanted. Got the pm thanks, and replied!