7000lb Monarch In Cleveland Ohio

I once met a captain in the Army who told me about a great deal he made for his unit one time. He was at Fort Knox and learned that they were getting rid of their full sized tank turret simulator for the M60A3 tank. Since his National Guard unit still had M60A3s, he took the initiative to have ownership of it transferred to his unit. I don't recall what state he was from but it wasn't near Kentucky.

State headquarters were horrified but finally agreed to pay the shipping costs. There was an additional large expense to unload it and place it in the armory. Once it was set down the floor basically disintegrated under the 30 ton weight. Fortunately there was no basement.

Of course it had to be moved out so the floor could be fixed. They decided to just get rid of the thing. Unfortunately the Army wouldn't permit that. And they couldn't just store it outside until the fire control computers and other sensitive items were removed by somebody who was authorized to perform such functions. Another large expense.

It didn't cost anything to get that simulator but it was very far from free.
 
While my Monarch CW16 doesn't weigh 7,000lbs it is a heavy son of a gun. I don't have any toe jacks and didn't have time to modify any jacks that I have on-hand or the funds to purchase any $$$'s toe jacks. So the first thing was how to lift the lathe onto some LARGE skids without damaging the lathe or injuring anyone. A 4x4 was notched to allow relief for the lead screw, the 4x was placed under the bed. Then a large hunk of steel was placed under the 4x, using a 20 ton air/hydraulic jack on the back side and hand pumping a jack on the front, the jacking was kept level front to back, the tail stock was moved along the bed to keep the lathe level Headstock/tailstock wise. Lag-bolt the runners to the lathe. Since I was only moving the lathe about 20-25 miles I hired a roll back wrecker to move the machine. In your case, rent one of those 10,000lb drop deck trailers that Jim Dawson mentioned, using machinery skates or steel pipes to winch it onto the trailer.
You wont often find a better machine than a Monarch, mine has a 5hp motor allowing spindle speeds of 17 to 700 rpm. So far, I haven't found lack of speed a problem. It is fun to peal 1/4" of steel per pass
Have you seen any photos of the headstock gears? If any are damaged, the cost of a new gear will be extremely expensive.
Along the lines of how to power the lathe, you will need a RPC (rotary phase converter) to convert single phase 220v power to 3-phase.

I do have some photos of jacking the lathe up when I moved it around the garage, let me know if you would like them posted.

good luck

Mike
 
An old Jet 12 x 36 belt drive lathe is the machine I see in gunsmith shops most often, not expensive, belt drive for fine finish on part, easy to move relative to heavy iron and more than capable of doing general work. I love big old Iron, that is what I learned on, but its a ***** to do small work on a big lathe, you have to mount a small chuck inside the jaws of your big chuck, the leaning over to see the small work which is tough on your low back. Big motor , you might need a 10 or 15 hp rotary phase converter, I have one, its damn loud, you need to mount it in another room with sound proofing or it will drive you nuts. Lathes come and go all the time, take your time figure out what you want to make, talk to people who make the same stuff and get their opinions. A 7000 lb slow speed huge lathe is not the tool for gunsmithing. I would much rather have an old SB 13" even though its not in same class as the lathe you are considering, but they are cheap, have a small headstock which is handy for gunsmithing.

cheers
michael
 
homefactory said:
Hello, I just put a bid on a 1944 26"X40" 7000lb lathe.

I am brand new to machining and have definitely never moved something of this magnitude.

I need advice and definitely will need experienced help to move this from Cleveland to North Canton Ohio and get it in its final position as it will never move again LOL.

Thank you all for any advice or help you can offer.
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HGR will load for free on anyone with a reasonable truck or trailer.
I am from this area and have been a HGR customer since they opened.
Steve Crano from Special Industrial Services
330 352 9567 his company is in North Canton.
I have used Steve for Rigging and transport for probably 25 to 30 years.
He has done many small garage shops besides his big machine industrial size.
I trusted him to wharehouse and move mine in to my garage shop.
STEVE is down to earth about price and knows the pit falls.
I highly recommend you call him and tell him Creighton Trimble suggested you call him.
 
I see the lathe at HGR sold. Did you get it?
Let me know and I will come and help you level it. North Canton is not to far.
 
sdelivery said:
HGR will load for free on anyone with a reasonable truck or trailer.
I am from this area and have been a HGR customer since they opened.
Steve Crano from Special Industrial Services
330 352 9567 his company is in North Canton.
I have used Steve for Rigging and transport for probably 25 to 30 years.
He has done many small garage shops besides his big machine industrial size.
I trusted him to wharehouse and move mine in to my garage shop.
STEVE is down to earth about price and knows the pit falls.
I highly recommend you call him and tell him Creighton Trimble suggested you call him.
Click to expand...
Good info for future reference.
 
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