Wooden Gantry to Lift & Assemble VN Milling Machine

[HMF]

My VN #12 milling machine lies in pieces in the tiny shop area of my basement. People are starting to talk. Didn't I hand the board over to Tony to get some work done in the basement? Yesterday was 100 degrees in the basement. But today, only 90. So off I go, to Home Depot with the plans I drew up, to buy some wood and hardware. They don't sell 4x4 pine, so I change my plan, and buy all 2x4 studs, 2-2x10s, some 4" and 7" long 1\2" hex bolts, and 4 right angle joist hangers that take 1/2" bolts, and matching 1/2" washers and nuts. I'm gonna built a temp. wood gantry just big enough to lift the pieces and assemble them together.

Now, you may recall, a previous hair-brain scheme to double the house joists and put in a pipe to attach a come-along to. Didn't like that after all, too many heating and water pipes. Who needs to bust one of those? Or mess with the house joists? So a gantry it is. Self supporting.

Why not just buy the HF gantry? Three reasons- too expensive ($700), too big, and I don't weld. With wood I can scale it down to 5' long, just enough to surround the mill area. Shorter distance, the sturdier it is. The whole materials list was about $50, perhaps a bit more. The maximum load needed to lift is the 500 pound base and column pieces.

Two 2x4s are the posts. They can be made whatever height you want. I kept well clear of water pipes. Want em longer? Make 2 more and bolt those in instead. The design is very flexible.
The sway braces on the sides are not yet attached, but I tried to get some pix on my iphone.



The bridge is made of 2x8s with 2x4 spacers bolted and desk-screwed in. The two posts get bolted into the sides of the bridge.



The posts are attached the the bases with the right angle joist hangers and 1/2" bolts. The sway braces will reinforce this.


On the top, there will be a steel pipe that the come along attaches to. The come-along cable goes down through the bridge to hoist the load. By using two come-alongs, in tandem, one on each side of the pipe, the pipe can be slowly rolled across the bridge to position the load sideways. There is a piece of all-thread that will go through the pipe, and two pieces of 2x8 squares will serve the function of keeping the cables from slipping off the pipe and allow me to roll the pipe more easily.

The side sway braces need to be applied next- that will be tomorrow's job after work.




:tiphat:Nelson :beerdrinkers:

 

[Tony Wells]

Certainly looks up to the job. At 500 lbs per chunk, you'll be fine. Just watch your fingers! Triangular plywood pieces work well for gussets too. Probably a good idea to have the wife within earshot to holler to for some help if you get in a bind. Just take your time, think every move through a few times, and you won't have to back up because you missed something. And, as always, take a few pictures along the way, but don't lose your train of thought to do it.

 

[pineyfolks]

I hope you don't run out of height, you'll lose quite a bit after you add the come-a-long. Be careful working in tight places with no place to run. Hope it works out for you.

 

[HMF]

I did something similar to this. I had a 24" x 36" x 4" granite surface plate to place onto a stand. It weighs around 400#. I built an "A" frame and lifted it with a come-a-long. I also put it on casters so I could reposition the plate. I bought the ones with studs on the top, just drilled holes in the legs and plugged in the casters.

You really need to add some substantial gussets or diagonal braces to the base of your unit. There is no way those joist hangers will support your uprights. When you add weight to the come-a-longs, the uprights will fold up. If you add casters to yours, you could also do it with only one come-a-long, too. If you do it this way, move the piece, not the stand. In other words, hold on to the heavy part, not the wooden frame. You will get less swing and have more control this way.

Whatever you do, make sure there is someone around with a phone to call 911 in case something goes catastrophically wrong. The person can also maneuver the stand while you are guiding the part.

Be careful.

I intend to add some sway braces from the posts down to the bases, just didn't get to it yet. They will be 2x4 from under the bridge down to the base, end cut at 45 degree angles, bolted and screwed. The bases are 4' wide each, doubled 2x4's. I could add blocks to the base to make it even harder for the braces to move. I think I will cut some plywood triangles for gussets across the braces for extra stability. The only other thing that would stabilize it is to bolt it to a joist above.

Wish I could do steel, but I don't weld, and drilling holes in steel for bolts is tough.

I'm afraid to add casters- if the gantry moves, greater chance of it folding up.

The area is tight, very hard to get away if something goes bad, but, the pieces are only going up a few feet.


Nelson

 

[Tony Wells]

Nelson, one is not obvious to me, and that is how you propose to shift the pieces over to the base once you get them in the air. You said no casters, right? So if you have the base where you want it, you will need to move the frame over to a point above the base to lower it into position. Or is it your plan to hoist the piece, then move the base under the lifted piece? Perhaps on rollers/pipes, etc? Then once the whole thing is assembled, roll it into its final resting place.?

 

[rickard]

Good Luck Nelson, that's more than I'd Try alone, go down to 53rd and 3rd and get you a young man to help you Seriously good luck and be careful

 

[HMF]

Nelson, one is not obvious to me, and that is how you propose to shift the pieces over to the base once you get them in the air. You said no casters, right? So if you have the base where you want it, you will need to move the frame over to a point above the base to lower it into position. Or is it your plan to hoist the piece, then move the base under the lifted piece? Perhaps on rollers/pipes, etc? Then once the whole thing is assembled, roll it into its final resting place.?

Best way: I really want to buy the Zambus/Carrymaster casters first, put them on the base, then simply roll the base under the column of the VN Mill as it is lifted. Then once the column is on, I can move the mill column and base under the ram, which is next. The problem is that the casters are darn expensive, about $275 for four. I really need to wait till I can afford them. But, if I don't have them, I will move the base first and put it on some blocks of wood (4x4) so that I can add the casters later. Then the column will be lifted over the base. Everything is stacked very close together. It doesn't have to be moved to the side much. I can shift the base slightly with a pry bar if need be. The column is VERY tricky to get on. There are two steel indexing pins on the base that have to be lined up with the column exactly. (I broke one, and have some steel rod to replace it with). Then there are 8 bolts that need to be screwed in inside the base. The only access is through a cover plate that allows your arm in the base. It was a real PITA separating them. They had to be separated to get it down the basement.

Alternate: The other way is to use two come alongs in tandem hooked around the steel pipe on top of the bridge, slowly clicking each one till the piece is raised sufficiently. Then carefully move the steel pipe across the bridge to the side and line it up. That is very tricky. Should it shift, all heck will break loose. I am not happy with this method and will likely go with method 1.

Nelson

 

[Tony Wells]

That sounds workable. As long as you don't need to pull anything from too far off the side, you should be safe. You might could put some pipes to roll on in case you find it difficult to swing the chunks over. You could move the mill, as it is assembled, out of the way, then back under the gantry. With pipes under it, you still could put casters on later, plus move it around now pretty easily.

 

[bcall2043]

Best way: I really want to buy the Zambus/Carrymaster casters first, put them on the base, then simply roll the base under the column of the VN Mill as it is lifted. Then once the column is on, I can move the mill column and base under the ram, which is next. The problem is that the casters are darn expensive, about $275 for four. I really need to wait till I can afford them..........
Nelson

Nelson,
Not sure what casters you have specified or what your VN weights but if these are to stay under the machine and do not see lots and lots of movement around the basement some cheap HF, Northern Tool, or Tractor Supply casters (steel not the plastic ones) should work fine and probably cost a lot less.

Benny

 

[ScubaSteve]

Great idea, Nelson. Reminds me of what this guy did: http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/bighoist01.html

It's actually pretty clever, considering that it's portable and works perfectly with a pickup truck. But you don't have much headroom in your basement. Why not assemble the base and column on it's side, then tip it up? I did that very thing with the help of my neighbor and the knee and gearbox were still on. You wouldn't actually be handling the full ~1,000 lbs, because the bottom of the mill will act like a fulcrum. You could possibly bolt/weld up a rolling stand and put it under the mill as you set it upright...which is sort of what I plan to do. :thinking: