Bringing a PM-1054TV-3PH into my Garage

erikmannie

erikmannie

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The good news is that I was able to cash out all of my remaining vacation weeks to be able to afford a big new milling machine. The bad news is that I have no time off except for half-day Saturdays & all day Sundays to get the new machine set up.

I am using a rigging company, Precision Crane in Windsor, CA. I used them for my PM-1660TL delivery. Their service was impeccable, & it cost me about $1,650. I had the 4,000 pound lathe sent directly to Precision Crane.

Precision Matthews will once again send the new machine directly to Precision Crane.
 
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I need to figure out:

(1) The footprint of a PM-1054TV. It will have an x-axis power feed. Obviously, I want to allow the table to travel it’s full length.

(2) How much space between the left side of the table & the garage wall? Once the riggers leave, I will not be able to move the 3,300 pound milling machine.

(3) How much workspace between machines? Both of the machines (lathe & mill) face the street; I like to watch the people pass by on the sidewalk while I am standing at a machine. The lathe is nearest to the street. Is 36” a good amount of workspace for a lathe operator? The *rear* of the mill will be *behind* the operator of the lathe.

(4) I will need the rigging company to move my lathe out of the way to get the milling machine into position. I don’t have a question here. I just wonder if there will be any issue here. I imagine that they will do this with a pallet jack. When they put the lathe in place, they used a forklift; if they used a forklift again, they would probably have to take the lathe down the driveway and temporarily set it on the street while they put the mill in place. Just what I want: my lathe sitting in the street for an hour or so.

(5) Once the milling machine is in position, I need to rotate the head up; this is because the head is rotated all the way down (during shipping) to minimize the height of the pallet. Is this something that I can do by hand?
 
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I don’t understand how the rigging company is going to move the milling machine from setting on the pallet to it’s position on the garage floor. The only way that I can see them doing this is with a lowboy forklift or an engine hoist.

At this point, do they lift the milling machine by the table (as with a lowboy forklift)? Or did they wrap a strap around the top (as with an engine hoist)?
 
Anything else I need to know about bringing in a big new milling machine? E.g. spindle oil, perils & pitfalls?

I already have a 220V, 3-phase 10HP RPC with a dedicated 20A circuit breaker for the milling machine power cord. The circuit breaker for that outlet is 40A. This is the circuit that I use for the 5HP lathe (the lathe has a dedicated 30A circuit breaker in the RPC).
 
Best to discuss these questions with your rigging company since any suggestions, even from experienced folks online isn't likely to be helpful for them.
 
My experience with my 9 X 50 was the machine was put in place where I wanted it, and I had to get it off of the pallet. While they had it on the pallet jack to move it, I trimmed the pallet to it's smallest size, and once in place I was responsible to get it on the ground. I will add that on the ground is too short for me and I will have to raise it 6" to be comfortable. You might want to get it placed correctly with the riggers, and if they can levitate the mill to set your height also, or leave it on the pallet so it's easier to transfer the risers in. I got mine on the ground, now I have to get it 6-7" up again to put the leveling feet, and 6 X 6 under it.
 
Aukai said:
My experience with my 9 X 50 was the machine was put in place where I wanted it, and I had to get it off of the pallet. While they had it on the pallet jack to move it, I trimmed the pallet to it's smallest size, and once in place I was responsible to get it on the ground. I will add that on the ground is too short for me and I will have to raise it 6" to be comfortable. You might want to get it placed correctly with the riggers, and if they can levitate the mill to set your height also, or leave it on the pallet so it's easier to transfer the risers in. I got mine on the ground, now I have to get it 6-7" up again to put the leveling feet, and 6 X 6 under it.
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I am surprised that the machine needs to be raised. Are you particularly tall?
 
Erik, you might want to look into some skates. I built a set of four. I use them on my lathe, 3300 pounds, and my mill, 3000 pounds. Using skates and a toe jack (+/- $80 on ebay) moving the machines around is doable. For a fabricator such as yourself, both skates and a toe jack are worthwhile projects.
 
For the mill, you could just rent an engine hoist from any rental place near you. Shouldn't cost more than about $100 a day, max I'd guess. Or find a friend with one and kick him over a 6-pack.

I've no problem moving my Bridgeport around by myself with the help of an engine hoist. There's a threaded hole right in the middle of the ram, into which I screw in an eye bolt. Hook it up to the hoist there and roll it wherever you need.

Only need to lift it an inch or so off the ground to move it, so there's no real risk in dropping it or anything like that.
 
I’ve moved my mill by using a pet bar to get it up on some pipe pieces as rollers, at which point it’s very easy to move around.

I would not lift a mill by its table.
 
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