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- Jul 31, 2020
- Messages
- 765
Good choice PCMaker. Remember when lifting the mill, the first rule of hang gliders.... never be any higher from the ground, than you are willing to fall.
Great to hear. So, you lifted it with the eyebolt, without any straps? It also appears you bought an ungraded eyebolt. Did you use that?They delivered my mill yesterday. I just cut the front and the sides of the pallet so I could fit it in between the legs of my hoist. Lined up the lift with the eyebolt, lifted up the mill just enough so I could pull the pallet from underneath.
Oh, and which weight position did you use on the boom? I assume the 1.5 ton position?Great to hear. So, you lifted it with the eyebolt, without any straps? It also appears you bought an ungraded eyebolt. Did you use that?
This hits very close to home and below was what I posted at the time. Before you read it though, I'm puzzled that your mill supposedly weighs 2000 lbs. The trucking company said that my 935 was 1676 lbs, so there's some sort of disconnect going on somewhere, unless they gained 400 lbs since I got mine two years ago... Anyway:... So, as I read the OP’s comments, it was déjà vu all over again. I felt like I had somehow typed the words myself, since they so closely parallel my very recent concerns and experience. I just bought a PM 935 as well, along with a new 12x36 PM lathe... According to the PM website, the lathe was supposed to be 1000 lbs. and the mill 1400 lbs., but the bill of lading said 3600 lbs. total. How could that be? Well, PM finally admitted that the 3600 lbs. number was the actual weight, as the two packages were weighed when they left the PM facilities...
So the mill arrived, with some heart-stopping drama.
Things started out well enough, with the truck arriving on time. The first thing to note is that for some reason, someone decided to sit the enormous 1,676-pound crate (with its integral pallet) on top of a weak and partly collapsed second pallet. That made it tough for the driver to get the pallet jack under it. Then there was that he parked the truck pointing uphill, so once on the pallet jack, the crate wanted very badly to roll toward the rear of the truck. I asked if he’d like to turn the truck around, but he said no problem. Okay…
The only thing stopping the entire affair from rolling out the back was him dropping the floor jack and letting the pallet skid to a stop, and we haven’t gotten to the fun part yet.
So as he’s nearing the lift gate, I said that the pallet looked longer than the lift gate. Again, “no problem”, but I wasn’t buying it. As he rolled the heavy pallet onto the lift gate, it sagged, further increasing the downward angle, making the whole thing try even harder to roll off the end. At this point, he had the controlling wheel of the pallet jack about 12″ from the rear of the lift gate, yet there was about 13″ of pallet still in the truck bed. I was sure that we were either stuck, or that it would end up in the street. So at this point, he (now having to stand to one side) had to raise the pallet jack just enough to let it roll a bit more, yet stop it before the pallet jack wheel rolling off the end of the lift gate. He did, stopping it—I kid you not—1/4″ short of disaster. Of course, that meant that there was still 1.25″ of pallet in the truck bed, which was a big problem. The truck facing uphill, the lift gate bending downward, and the pallet still not fully on the lift gate. At this point, he couldn’t let go of the pallet jack handle because it would have swung down, likely causing the entire thing to end up in the street. So then he asked me to lower the lift gate a little. I asked “are you sure?” “Sure.” Ugh, okay, so I lowered it about an inch, and as feared, the front edge caught, causing the entire crate to tip even further towards disaster. He said, “drop it another inch.” Sheeze, okay…. (in hindsight, who’s fault would it be if it fell off? Hmm.)
With a crack and a thump, the 1,676-pound load broke off the leading edge of the bottom weak pallet, and it was finally entirely on the lift gate, and safely lowered to street level—I could breath again. It really was that close to disaster.
Once at street level, there was then the task of pushing it up the driveway, and it took all of our combined strength to get it there, but finally it was in the garage...
Oh, and which weight position did you use on the boom? I assume the 1.5 ton position?
A hair raising story, for sure! I'm glad I didn't read it before my machines arrived. Honestly, who knows what they weigh, but it certainly is not the 1430# on the PM website. I did have power feeds installed, but those would not be 350#. Did yours have the VFD? I think there's 100# difference there.This hits very close to home and below was what I posted at the time. Before you read it though, I'm puzzled that your mill supposedly weighs 2000 lbs. The trucking company said that my 935 was 1676 lbs, so there's some sort of disconnect going on somewhere, unless they gained 400 lbs since I got mine two years ago... Anyway: