How do you lift big stuff in your shop?

At work we have 2 Monarch lathes about 8 feet apart. We have a heavy steel table that sits between the headstocks. We use a 1x8 board about 6 ft long, to change the chucks. These are 16 in swing lathes so the chucks are pretty heavy. But its very easy with the leverage you get from the long board to change the chucks. Then we just use the same board to rolll the chucks onto the table. We have a overhead crane but its easier to just use the board believe it or not. :allgood:
 
i bought my bench mill right after i sold my engine hoist.lol:nuts:

anyway down to the dollies from my truck was easy with the pulleys i had ...back up to the bench was a not easy, had both kids out there pulling rope with me. then rolled table under.

should have bought a chain hoist then...
 
Engine hoist for now. Some day when I move and get more space I will hang the trolley and chain hoist that now sets gathering dust waiting for the day.
 
I use my engine hoist. I'm still scraping up stuff for a gantry crane. I have a small lift table for vises and things on the mill and a large 4' x 4' 1500 lb. cap. lift table/welding table I use to unload my truck. Plus a 6'4 265lb 23yr old son!
 
Gantry to get heavy things down.
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Engine hoist and dollies once in the shop.
Also utilize one the two I- beams in the shop with a 1/2T chain hoist/trolley. I planned the machinery location such that I could use it to get heavy things on the mill table. The canvas bag works great to keep excess chain from flopping all over and dinging things up. 9' ceilings really helps too.
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Works for now but someday one of those rolling lift tables would be nice.
 
Fork lift for almost everything. It is a bit of over kill for moving the vise around though

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i use a lot of different methods of moving heavy things, it kinda depends what mood i'm in.:thinking:
10 ton PortaPower
numerous bottle jacks from 4 to 20 tons
Vintage Rail Road Jack 15 ton
Wooden 4x4 Gantry with 1/2 Ton Chain Hoist
Wooden 4x4 Gantry with 4 ton Come along
2 Ton Engine Hoist
Wedges
Screw Jacks
4 wheel dollies
Hand Truck
3/4" Black iron Pipe for rollers
1/2" solid stainless steel rollers
Multiple Sleever Bars
Wire Rope Slings and Chokers
3 1/2 Ton Nylon lifting Slings
Rail Road Ties
Multiple Chains 3/8" and 5/16"

i'm still lacking one more piece of recycled steel tube to finish the construction of my Heavy Gantry.
i already have the i beam and one leg, with base, worth of material on hand.
i gotta get back over to the recycler to get more material.
The gantry, when completed will be 10' tall x 7 ' wide. the plan is for a trolley and a 3 ton Chain Hoist.

i have yet to buy some rigger dollies and i'm very, jealous of Old Machinist's set up... That Guy has some tools!!!
(Don, you suck, meant in the unoffensive idiom:lmao:)
 
I use a combination of pulley block, come along, and two car jacks- hydraulic lift style, and quite old crank/screw/style.

Here are both being used at once:

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This jack is almost like the lever-bumper style from the 60's-70's, but is a crank and thread instead of lever/tooth:

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Bernie
 
I use a lot of hoists and jacks and levers inside, and a small payloader with forks and a 404 IH with loader outside.--One item I will describe to all so you can be searching for something very handy and inexpensive is this--an older hospital bed table that was wide enough to span across the bed with a crank on each end and wheels on both sides--they had a fold up mirror in the center portion and could crank up easily,and slide over the end of the bed. I can raise it up to the height I need and pull a heavy object on it and then lower it to wheel it elsewhere. it has been a very handy table and I have several of the newer style that only has a crank on one side and the wheeled frame slides under the bed--they can't hold as much weight but still are handy, and have nice threaded rods and gears that can be used for other projects.--hospital beds also have a lot of nice mechanical parts . Dave :thinking:
 
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