Moving a Bridgeport

I am picking up a new (to me) Series 1 Bridgeport this weekend. Although the vendor can load for me, once I get it back I will need to move it with a pallet truck. To do this I'm going to bolt it to a custom made pallet. Given its shape I wondering if it would be most stable lifting it from the front, back or side? I intend to rotate the head down and perhaps position the table to try and balance it. Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks Colin

Hi Colin. A mill is a nightmare to move due to its CoG being so high. You need to reduce has much weight as you can. The answer to your question all depends on what equipment you have. Along with bolting to the pallet I would also strap the belt down each side to keep the mill more sable, if it starts to go you will never hold the weight. You need to keep the weight on the bed so front or rear to the truck handle not side to side. It would be better with two people one pulling the pallet truck and one pushing to counter any movement during a turn etc. Remember pallet trucks need a good flat floor and can become a pain on uneven floors. Just take care and your time.

Funny, just watched a YouTube video by Dominic Chinea moving a Bridgeport, worth a watch to give some idea of mass involved, although his lift looked a little hairy.

From what Iv'e seen on the net, lower the table right down & rotate the head as far round as possible to get |C of G down & be careful.

Tony

Took mine in bits to get it up a 7" step and through a 3' wide door. Much use of 3 strong men and scaffold pole as rollers/prybars. Once the column and knee were in the shed/ workshop I rebuilt it with the use of an engine crane and got necessary spare parts from Hendrix in the USA. Good luck with your move !

H.

I saw it as well. Just wished I had a fella with a HIAB

Yes definately invert head and lower table. I made a frame with wheels to widen. Bpt bolted down (you can see the 4 holes) When in place the wheels were removed and replaced with screw down mounts to level machine.

Next pic shows "crane" used to lift head (still inverted) to fit raising block.

Edited By KWIL on 10/01/2022 14:07:25

That is the rolls Royce of solutions!! Thanks for sharing

Is the mill lacking in height?

The fundamental problem with a pallet jack is that the narrow track of the steered wheels makes it, for all practical purposes, a three wheeled vehicle. Hence the area of stability is much smaller than it appears at first sight so any sideways movement of the load C of G in a generally towards the steered wheels direction will cause it to tip.Because you are pulling via the steered wheels any attempt to turn tends to try and pull the front out from under the load. Especially if an obstruction such as a small stone or even expansion joint is hit.

A Bridgeport falling off a pallet truck makes a very impressive bang! 20 ft away was quite close enough to watch the disaster unfold from thank you.

I have a monster castor dolly that moved my Bridgeport in a satisfactory, not too scary, manner. Frame is 3" by 1" aluminium bar of similar size to the Bridgeport base with a top made form the waterproof chipboard underflooring sheets. The slightly rough surface is very good at reducing slip. The four castors have small diameter wide wheels maybe 4" by 2 1/2" diameter and load capacity over 2 tons.

I took the head right off and removed the turret which usefully reduced weight and tippyness.

Having a 90° off camber right angle bend to negotiate round the side of the house I arranged rectangular 2 x 2 timer frames towards the outside ends of the table and dropped the knee to give an inch or so of ground clearance to minimise any tipping. One frame did settle onto the ground when negotiating the off camber bend but the machine sat there nice and stable whilst we figured out our next move. There were a couple of other undramatic touches too but all resolved by carefully applied anti-tip pressure in the right places. Due to the small angles involved I guess the actual tipping force was probably only about 20 lb or so.

An engine crane does fine for re-fitting turret and ram but best way to re-mount the head is to set it on an R8 taper spigot affixed to the table via a decent size foot. Manipulating the table and knee screws makes it easy to align the head with the ram fixings.

When tilting the head for the first time on a new to you machine its prudent to arrange extra support for the head so it cannot fall should there be issues with the tilt rotation worm and wheel. Failure is not unheard of and significant wear quite common. Mine wasn't in the first flush of youth. The upper part of the wheel showing significant wear so I'm rather glad I didn't try to invert the head. I've no reason to expect that it wouldn't ahve been OK in practice but ..... To me the worm and wheel seem quite small for the loads involved.

Clive

Colin,

I just needed extra "daylight" for what I wanted to machine. Hence the raising block added an extra 6"

scaffold tubes and a long crowbar are good if you have a flat surface. i moved my bridge port which weighs nearly 2 ton into my shed in no time no need to take it to bits, also saved the hassle of getting it off a pallet gary

There is an eye bolt hole in the top of the slidebehind the head with a 3/4 inch Whitworth  thread it is made to lift the whole machine with a crane with the table round down and head inverted. You can use an engine hoist with sufficient capacity.

David

Edited By David George 1 on 10/01/2022 16:47:36

Collin check your messages. I have sent information on a handbook.

David

If planning to use scaffold tubes or similar rollers remember that a Bridgeport will slide nearly as well along them when laid rail fashion as it will rolling.

Which can be handy if you don't have a straight smooth run. The relatively short base of a Bridgeport makes for a lot of running around swopping rollers too. About every foot. Alternative is to leave two rollers under it and alternately pry bar the ends up so the rollers can be moved forwards for another bite.

I've found that 6 ft scaffold pole with about 6 inches of the end flattened off invaluable when machine moving. Whether for easing up, applying a bit of extra ooph to keep it moving or simply holding it at the right angle so things stay put whilst your minions rush around sorting things out. The long pole gives plenty of leverage so no sweat'n strain. Lifting the pole is generally most of the work.

Clive

Having found myself trapped under a small shaper, though luckily not hurt and also having a bridgeport all I can say is FOR GODS SAKE be very careful. When being moved it is inherently unstable and VERY heavy, if it starts to go, just save yourself. Pallet trucks on anyyhing but very smooth concrete will invite disaster. The machine will weigh just under 1.25 tons, so even dismantling will still leave you with very heavy bits. How do you intend to get it off the trailer, van or truck ? It's to heavy for most engine cranes ! Do you have the manual for the machine ? Good Luck. Noel.

Thanks for this. Ivece.ailed you.

I have hired a bobtailed plant trailer. It has a full width ramp that's only 13 degrees. I intend to roll it down the ramp on the pallet truck controlled by a chain block.