Machine moving recommendations.

Hi all,

I'm struggling to find someone to move my workshop machines from the Manchester to London areas (approx), and wondered if anyone had suggestions / recommendations for someone to do the work? Landylift (who moved me up here in the first place, and I would use again in a heartbeat) isn't able to help on this occasion, and a couple of quotes from large commercial machinery movers have been positively eye-watering...

I'm reluctant to put them on pallets and ship like that, as I've had a lathe fall-over in exactly that situation previously.

Any recommendations *very* gratefully received.

Youra.

Some idea of the machinery would help, locally we can hire 'Man and Van'. If you drive you can hire pickups or flatbeds with cranes to make lifting easier. When my son bought a clapped out TR6 we just hired a car trailer with winch and towed it behind my car as I had a towball on it.

There is a firm in West Yorkshire called Landylift who do this sort of thing. They advertise on the homeworksho.org.uk site. [email protected] I've never used them, so unable to advise further.

ANDY

LandyLift would be my first choice - Steve moved these machines for me when I moved some years ago, but he's unable to help on this occasion.

There are two lathes on underdrive cabinets - a Viceroy 250 and another of about the same general size and a Warco A2-F knee mill - range of ~400kgs to roughly 550kgs each.

Less confident somehow about hoisting them up onto a flat-bed by myself.....

I have moved machines previously on a trailer, using either an engine hoist or chain block to load and unload. Lifting chains and web slings are used assist.

Last machine I moved like that was a 1.2t, 18" Alba Shaper.

I the next couple of months I will, be hiring a 3t trailer to move the lathe, shaper and what else I can fit on the trailer, without overloading it, 1800km.

1.5" pipes make wonderful things to move machines on a concrete floor, in conjunction with a br.

The lathes are of course top heavy and unstable so not pallet friendly. However their stands are a framework. I would put each on 6x2 flat bearers each end about 4ft long with 4x2 ties and instantly you have something stable that if necessary a fork lift can get under.The stand provides the longitudinal strength and stability.
If you put castors on the corners (hence suggested 2x6 instead of 2x4) you have a stable movable unit that you can winch up planks into a transit van.

The mill you can do the same but I would take the turret off with an engine crane

There is another machine mover who advertises on eBay, if you do a search for lathes their listing will come up. I have never used them.

When I moved house a few years ago moving the workshop machines and the house contents on the same day was a headache as there was just too much to do - and that was less than 1 mile away. So if you can do them on separate days I would recommend it and I would recommend paying someone to do it. The cost of moving house is so high and is so stressful that an extra few hundred £ is a drop in the ocean - at least that was my reasoning.

Hi Youra

I sold my Boxford earlier in the year and it had to be moved from Folkestone to Halifax, the buyer arranged transport with Matt Smith of 1 tonne services, don't know the cost but he said he was very reasonable as he tries to combine trips to keep prices competitive.

I was very impressed with the care he took loading the machine, removing the splashguard to avoid damage, lifting the correct way with rods through the base, he rang me the night before to ensure he bought the right lifting and access equipment.

So although not a customer as such, I feel I can thoroughly recommend him, I used Landylift in the past both for my home workshop and at work, and feel that Matt takes the same care as Steve did.

His phone number is 07957 333097 and website WWW.1tonne.com hope this is helpful.

Dave

Been there with the machine moving dilemma on a number of occasions.

Pricing includes getting to you, and getting back to base, plus the extra mileage if they are not close to you.

If you are employing someone with a HIAB, you have the choice of a 3.5 ton vehicle, or 7.5 ton upwards.

Firstly, if you have 3 x 500 kg machines, that would probably put you over the weight carrying capacity of a 3.5 ton vehicle - 3.5 ton is the gross all up weight, on average they will probably carry a payload of around 1,000 kg/1 ton max.

With a 7.5 ton upwards vehicle, all of the costs are more because of the larger vehicle.

Truth is, if you employ someone to do it for you, nobody is cheap - it is a day out for them, a probably 350 mile round trip Manchester/London/Manchester, fuel costs, wear and tear on the vehicle, having to make a profit etc.

A commercial mover will also have the costs of employee salary, employee overheads, premises etc.

I recently used a company called K. M. Jackson Machinery Removals and Installation. They are based in Lichfield Staffs. I have just spoken to Paul who moved my machines. They would do a move like that but it would depend on where in London as he can be hit with an additional charge of £200. He estimated somewhere between £850 and £950. His number is 07894 541002 if interested.

My move was quite short pickup new Bridgeport clone from Burntwood and deliver to near LIchfield and then drop two machines back in Burntwood. He was on-site with me at 06:15 in morning and left inside an hour later.

Cost would depend on whether he had to uninstall and reinstall. I had my machines which were being removed both on pallet trucks ready for him to pick up with HIAB as soon as they were pushed outside. His HIAB is a 4 ton.

Colin

What I did to move the smaller items in my workshop was to hire 20 stackable crocodile crates. Stuff like chucks and vices are too heavy for the cardboard boxes supplied by the removal company. They also hold any oil leaks. The removal guys did moan about the weight of them though which they hadn't really factored in when quoting.

Hi Youra,

I used Matt Smith of 1 tonne a month ago. He did a good job, took a great deal of care and kept me informed throughout the process. He’s a nice chap as well. Only limitation is his 1 tonne load capacity.

Thanks everyone

I have a couple of quotes now from Jackson Machinery and Matt Smith - not especially different from each other, and availability / dates is the most likely deciding factor.

The stackable plastic crates are a good idea - I do have a few I bought for my last move, but I didn't realise you could hire them too - I'll look into it.

Cheers

Youra.

As an aside, when a company I worked for many years ago bought a used Lathe I was expecting a lorry to turn up with the machine. Instead it arrived on the back of a pickup truck also carrying an engine hoist. The two guys lifted of the hoist then used it to lift the Lathe off the pickup and onto a couple of dollies. They made it all look very easy.

I have moved my two machines (400Kg and 500Kg) several times myself with the help of a few friends. My technique is to lift them off the floor with an engine hoist and bolt heavy-duty castors to the feet. I then roll them out to the drive. I hire a small lorry with a tail lift and roll the machine onto the tail lift. The tail lift has a 500Kg weight limit and lifts the machines no problem. Roll machine into back of lorry and lash down. Reverse procedure at destination. Works for me. You obviously do have to be careful that they don't fall over, especially on the tail lift which often tilts a little. Total cost is just the hire of the vehicle and cases of beer for my assistants. Have done this three times now without mishap.