Moving a Lathe

[stupoty]

So is this the correct thread for foolish people lifting 13inch leblonds into basements?

i seem to have just become one of them.

Stuart

 

[cuseguy]

If it helps, many of us have been there. Before I finally got a beautiful new outbuilding shop, I was in the basement with my Hardinge HLVH, Bridgeport mill and a South Bend Heavy 10! No other way down than a 36" wide conventional staircase. With big curves at both ends of course. Best thing is to always strip a machine down to its essentials to cut as much weight and hopefully some dimension also. Oh and inviting some unsuspecting friends!
Good luck...better you than me

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

 

[Wobbles]

I too have used both wooden and steel dowel rods to move heavy items like gun safes across a flat floor, but they have flat bottoms and lend themselves to that.

My current Logan lathe was delivered by a guy in a drop-door trailer. When we got it down the ramp and onto the floor, I left it jacked up when he removed his piano dollies. I then ran to Lowes and bought 4 casters and fitted those. They are only rated for 500#, but I only need to move it once a year to sweep behind and check wiring. They'll do fine with that kind of light duty.

 

[cuseguy]

As if I needed another lathe, a beautiful Leblond 15 fell into my lap for very cheap recently. I could have never taken the 3000lb beast if I was still in my basement shop. So the op's Leblond 13 will certainly be a challenge!

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[stupoty]

Ive managed to get it nearly in place, i ended up using a mixture of everything. Made an a frame on a work bench and used a steel gate to suport a chain hoist to lift the head back on.

Still got to level it and wire it up.

verry hevey

Skates with very hefty castors on would have been very helpfull.

Stuart

 

[stupoty]

Somone has done an edit on the ways at some point, luckily only the part the tail stock runs on.

mostly seems very tidy. 3 jaw comes down very evenly and low runout, now to unscrew it ,humm

one slight brakage during moving , very anoying will tell you about it when its fixed, at lest its a very simple one

stuart

 

[Surprman]

I got my lathe downstairs with the help of a shop crane and some pulleys. The hardest part was actually moving the shop crane down the stairs once the lathe was in the house upstairs. Those shop cranes don't slide down stairs very easily. I used some carpet remnants and sliders to move the lathe over to the stairs. Three pulleys triple the mechanical advantage so it was only like holding about 90 lbs.

Rick

 

[cuseguy]

Yeah breakage of any kind is always a bummer, but it sounds fairly minor at least. Smart to break it down and remove the headstock

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[bollie7]

Here in Australia we dont have many houses with basements like you have in the USA. We have lots of places with garages underneath and workshops/storage though. I'm living in one at the moment. My question is, over there what sort of head room would be average in your basements?
I have a BP clone which is currently stored (unusable atm unfortunately) in the garage. I have a 2010mm (6'6" approx) height from the floor to the underside of the bearer for the floor above. Bearers are around 200mm high. Even if the mill was positioned with the quill under the space between the bearers there still wouldn't be enough head height to remove the drawbar without nodding the head over. Somehow I dont think my wife would be terribly impressed if I put a small trapdoor in the floor.
Do you have that sort of problem over there? I understand that there is probably a large range of different heights in different houses but I'm still curious.

bollie7

 

[stupoty]

Yeah spliting the headstock and bed made moving it much easier, it would have been very top heavey with it on.

as it was the sadle realy made lifting the bed more of a thinker than it at first seemed.

Brakage is the gear shifter that sticks out a lot on the quick change box, luckily its a simple 3 holes on a bar (he says) although i need a new tap for the thread on it bahhh , vfd arrives during the week , so should be doing some testing soon


I moved a hacksaw down the stairs on a wooden skid with a rope holding it back that was quite fun

I havnt got the pics of it apart to hand hear it is getting out of the van






stuart

- - - Updated - - -

I cant fit the engin hoists in the basment :-( wont fit

stuart