Help me spend my money! It’s mill-shoppin’ time...

[mikey]

Yeah, my Sherline 5400, complete with all the mods and tooling plate in place, weighs 45# soaking wet. It weighs less than a 6" Kurt vise, I think. It's amazing what little mill can do.

I tried to tell him, Brino, but he wouldn't listen!

 

[nnam]

Agreed, Mark.
If only I had the vertical clearance for the 835S. So I do have a question for you: if you were in my shoes, would you cut a big slice off the base of that machine to make it (sorta) fit?

I have also considered cutting a hole in the basement slab, excavating a bit, and pouring a new footing.

+1 on this.

 

[luxige]

+1 on this.

Thanks for the input. To be clear, do you mean +1 to cutting down the machine base? Or the floor?

I did email Matt this morning to ask about how the warranty would be affected.

 

[nnam]

Thanks for the input. To be clear, do you mean +1 to cutting down the machine base? Or the floor?

I did email Matt this morning to ask about how the warranty would be affected.

I would cut the floor. It is rather cheap and easy to do if you can find the right helper.

The saw can be rented. Just make sure to locate it correctly before doing it and make it big enough.

Many people pour the extra footing for their heavy equipment, so this is even a normal thing to do.

One thing though, moving to a basement is extremely hard and dangerous. I think way harder then cutting and pouring the floor.

I think you have some soul searching to do on which mill to get.

 

[luxige]

I would cut the floor. It is rather cheap and easy to do if you can find the right helper.

The saw can be rented. Just make sure to locate it correctly before doing it and make it big enough.

Many people pour the extra footing for their heavy equipment, so this is even a normal thing to do.

One thing though, moving to a basement is extremely hard and dangerous. I think way harder then cutting and pouring the floor.

I think you have some soul searching to do on which mill to get.

Soul searching, that's a good description! I'd say this thread is the final part of that process.

Moving downstairs will be doable; the machine will go down in kit form and be reassembled. I moved 1600+ pounds of lathe down by myself, except the bed which I'll need a hand with. It's still in parts at the moment. I have already discussed with Matt which units to break the mill into. You're right about the potential danger - always something to keep in mind.

 

[nnam]

Also, if I cut my basement floor, I would make sure to make it looks nice enough, that if I sell the house, that part will look natural. Meaning I wouldn't just cut a small square part, or cut it big enough to fit, but small enough to be easily filled it up, or cover it up somehow.

Watch out for plumbing/sewage pipe, but they can definitely be routed to the perimeter of the cut.

 

[luxige]

Also, if I cut my basement floor, I would make sure to make it looks nice enough, that if I sell the house, that part will look natural. Meaning I wouldn't just cut a small square part, or cut it big enough to fit, but small enough to be easily filled it up, or cover it up somehow.

Watch out for plumbing/sewage pipe, but they can definitely be routed to the perimeter of the cut.

Good points

 

[Aaron_W]

If you really do dig down, I'd look into having somebody who knows what they are doing and understands water flow involved.
When I was a kid we lived in a house where the basement had notched into the hillside a bit, and the floor in that one part always got wet in heavy rains, it was quite some distance from an exterior wall too, so just something about how the moisture traveled underground. Looking at it I would never think there would be a water issue to worry about there.

 

[derfatdutchman]

I have a Grizzly G0678, 3 phase with VFD, I love it no changing gears or belts. Its only 67" tall, even sitting on 4 machine feet its just shy of 70". I disassembled it using an engine hoist, and moved it in the basement by myself. The only hard part was moving the column and base down the steps, I left them together, but they can be taken apart. Good luck with what every machine you decide on!

 

[luxige]

If you really do dig down, I'd look into having somebody who knows what they are doing and understands water flow involved.
When I was a kid we lived in a house where the basement had notched into the hillside a bit, and the floor in that one part always got wet in heavy rains, it was quite some distance from an exterior wall too, so just something about how the moisture traveled underground. Looking at it I would never think there would be a water issue to worry about there.

Thanks, Aaron. That's really the main reason why I'm even considering butchering the machine itself. This basement has had some water mitigation done - French drains around about half the perimeter leading to a sump - and they did a good job. This is the driest basement I've ever owned. (I do run a small dehumidifier as well, though). I don't want to interfere with a system that's working well.
Another risk is that the lowered 'compartment' could be prone to frost heaving, which would jack up and break the main slab. That's also a drainage issue, though.