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Keep it from tipping when moving
- Thread starter jareese
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- Oct 13, 2014
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- 6,752
Tipping over was my biggest fear when I moved my lathe into my shop. When I went to pick it up, I bolted 4x6 skids to the bottom, before putting it in the truck. I only used a J-Bar, Pinch Bar and some pipe sections to move it into place, once it was in the basement.
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Lathe Delivery, Backhoe Required
Hi All, Back in mid March, I found the lathe I'd been looking for on eBay, a 13" Clausing Colchester. The lathe looked pretty good in the pictures and the description sounded accurate from what could see. The price was around the usual for that machine. I took a chance and put in a lowball...
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- Dec 28, 2022
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Should have been here. It was enlightening....
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- Jan 31, 2016
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As I told you , the exact thing happened to my first lathe . Taking it off the dolly , the machine shifted and did a face plant on the basement floor . This was a 17"x 60" Voest . Luckily I only broke every handle on the machine and did not kill the cat or hurt the wife nor myself . I did find out that once a lathe is tipping , I can't hold it up ! 
I now use a large Johnson bar and pipes when needed around the house .
I saw a 50HP Warner Swassey CNC torrit lathe fall off the truck when being delivered to a former company . Talk about an expensive mess up .
Hope you get that lathe up and running soon as it is a very nice machine .
I now use a large Johnson bar and pipes when needed around the house .I saw a 50HP Warner Swassey CNC torrit lathe fall off the truck when being delivered to a former company . Talk about an expensive mess up .
Hope you get that lathe up and running soon as it is a very nice machine .
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- Dec 24, 2020
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Ouch...that's hard to look at. I killed a lathe using skates where the machine wasn't strapped to the skates...hit a crack like you did, the skate stopped and the lathe kept going...cracked the headstock casting, dented an overhead door, chipped the concrete and wounded my pride. I was able to part it out and help a bunch of other folks fix their lathes, so it wasn't a total loss, but it was not a pleasant experience.
Now I build a cradle with 6" wheels for the headstock end and a bracket with heavy caster wheels for the tailstock end and can roll a lathe around with one hand and zero chance it will fall. I use a shop crane to lift each end a fraction of an inch, remove the wheels and then lower to the ground....pretty painless. I just brought home another lathe and I'm getting ready to make a cradle and caster bracket so I can move it into my shop from the storage side of my barn....I'll have to take some pictures and document it in case it helps someone else avoid this sort of problem.
Fingers crossed the new parts aren't terribly expensive. Hopefully they'll show some mercy on you since it's a new purchase!
Now I build a cradle with 6" wheels for the headstock end and a bracket with heavy caster wheels for the tailstock end and can roll a lathe around with one hand and zero chance it will fall. I use a shop crane to lift each end a fraction of an inch, remove the wheels and then lower to the ground....pretty painless. I just brought home another lathe and I'm getting ready to make a cradle and caster bracket so I can move it into my shop from the storage side of my barn....I'll have to take some pictures and document it in case it helps someone else avoid this sort of problem.
Fingers crossed the new parts aren't terribly expensive. Hopefully they'll show some mercy on you since it's a new purchase!
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- Dec 28, 2022
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I didn’t have it listed as I just took possession of it. I also have a high deductible.
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JB Weld is not going to fix that unfortunate wreck. I did manage to fix a larger lathe that did a similar face plant (that I had no part in tipping over) the dial casting was bent, got it straight, ditto the cross feed shaft, it's not perfect but is usable.
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- Aug 13, 2020
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It isn't going to buff out either.
My first lathe, and Atlas/Craftsman to a faceplant moving it in the door.
I now move all heavy stuff with an engine lift attached. Not to pick it up. Just to catch it before it reaches that tipping point. I don't have a pinch bar, so everything gets inched around with a standard crowbar.
My first lathe, and Atlas/Craftsman to a faceplant moving it in the door.
I now move all heavy stuff with an engine lift attached. Not to pick it up. Just to catch it before it reaches that tipping point. I don't have a pinch bar, so everything gets inched around with a standard crowbar.
Too late for rigging advise, but for others, I keep some 4x4's ( just a little shorter than the height of my skates) under the lathe pedestals when I'm moving. I also use 'tank track' style skates, which don't even notice cracks or seams in concrete. Also, I always put a bit of wood between the skate and the tool. I like soft pine as it crushes and creates a conforming surface. All that done, I'm still nervous and vigilant when moving a tool - lots of short moves and re-checking skates.
I hope you're able to get the replacement parts you need and that that's the extent of the damage.
GsT
I hope you're able to get the replacement parts you need and that that's the extent of the damage.
GsT