# Moving a mill



## Maplehead (Aug 5, 2020)

Hi All
I apologize in advance for all the extra info.
Next month I am biting the bullet on a mill upgrade. I've been using a Little Machine Shop micro mill that comes in around 110 pounds. I am going to upgrade to my "final" mill. For a while I was considering the PM-727 or the higher quality 728. However, my end-all-mill needs to be beefier than those mills. I would love to get a PM-835 but I don't have the headroom for it. I believe I am settling on the Grizzly G0678 smaller knee mill. It looks like a nice beefy mill for my needs.
However, it's just under 1000 pounds. The mill will be going into my basement. It's not an easy access basement as the back basement door into my little shop is on a lower level than the driveway. I would have to go down 8 pressure treated wooden stairs to get there, onto dirt. Inside via the kitchen/basement door is out of the question. So I am curious, can this G0678 mill be easily disassembled/re-assembled? If so, what would you guesstimate the heaviest component weight to be?


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## 7milesup (Aug 5, 2020)

I have no specifics at all on how much each piece would weigh but it is certainly possible to completely disassemble the mill and move it to your basement.  It is just nuts and bolts.  Putting it back together would take some time, especially since you need to verify tramming, etc (which you should do anyhow.)
Just a thought here... have you looked at the Precision Matthews 833TV?  It has a larger working area than the Grizzly, and PM's customer service is incredible.  I believe it would be about the same price BUT the 833 is made in Taiwan, which is better than China (the tariffs are pushing the prices up of Chinese machines vs the higher quality Taiwan machines). 
Just a thought..


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## Flyinfool (Aug 5, 2020)

It has a swivel and tilt head that means that it is not hard to take the head off. This will also help a lot with the top heaviness.
It also should not be difficult to remove the table, and possibly also the Y axis. That should get it down to a weight that 2 strong guys and a dolly can move down the steps. Have the knee as low as it will go while moving it.

My mill is 3400 lbs and once I removed the head, the ram and the X and Y axis got it down to around 1800 lbs, that went down my basement steps bolted to a homemade cart with 4 swivel casters and a ramp made of two 2x12s covered with 3/4 ply. and supports under that to each of the wood steps to spread out the load. I made the ramp a much shallower angle than the steps. I used my P/U truck as an anchor to lower it slowly down the ramp. It was a nice uneventful move. If you have access to the back of the wood steps you can add some posts under there to help if you are worried about the steps holding.

My 1400 lb surface grinder was split in half for the move. My 1100 lb lathe came down just as it shipped. both were bolted to that same cart and went down that same ramp with the same truck as an anchor. 

When going down a ramp, pay very close attention to the center of gravity so it does not tip forward on the way down. Make sure the heavy side goes down last. do not attach the lowering line at the base. attach it at your best guess of the vertical center of gravity. Hitting it exact is not at all critical.

Shipping weight on your mill is 966 lbs it will be less when unpacked. That is the weight of 4 adults my size. once you take it apart I would have no worries about the structure of the house holding up.


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## machPete99 (Aug 5, 2020)

That  G0678 looks similar to my Rockwell mill, which I disassembled for transport. The heaviest piece is the column which might be around 200-250#.
Next heaviest piece is the knee casting but its mostly bulky, 1 man lift.


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## Maplehead (Aug 5, 2020)

I have looked at the 833tv but it's 89" tall. The bottom of my 2x8 joists are at 79".
It's good to know the move can be done. I'll let you guys know when the mill arrives so you can assist. I'll have the beers cold and ready.


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## BGHansen (Aug 5, 2020)

I have a Jet JVM-830 which is a clone of yours.  Had mine in my basement back in the day.  I pulled the head at the column, used an engine hoist with straps to lift it off the column.  Lifted the rest with the engine hoist using a chain through the column which was looped through a steel round at the bottom.  The round bridged the bottom hole in the column.  I have 3 10' length of roller conveyor which were used to position the mill at the top of the basement stairs.  Slid it down from there with a come-a-long on a couple of 2 x 12's cleated together.  I braced the bottom of the stair stringers with a couple of 4 x 4's from below.

Bruce


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## Aaron_W (Aug 5, 2020)

Maplehead said:


> I have looked at the 833tv but it's 89" tall. The bottom of my 2x8 joists are at 79".
> It's good to know the move can be done. I'll let you guys know when the mill arrives so you can assist. I'll have the beers cold and ready.



I have a 78" ceiling, so very familiar with your issue. Not a lot of choices for the ceiling impaired. Grizzly has 2 sizes in that style, HF has one like the smaller Grizzly. Jet, Enco and others started selling a similar mill in the 80s. Then for vintage mills you have the Rockwell 21-100 and Clausing 8520/30. The PM30 bench mill will just fit at 76" tall.

I found a Clausing 8520 which I believe these mills were inspired by. I broke it down to the stand, column / knee, table, head, and motor. The column / knee was the heaviest, 2 of us loaded it by hand into my truck, and I used an engine hoist and heavy duty cart to move it into place when I got home. I was able to hand carry everything else. I think the Clausing weighs about 750lbs if this is the 8x30 version it weighs about 200lbs more, but I don't know how the extra weight is divided. If you remove the knee you can substantially reduce the weight of the column for moving.


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## 7milesup (Aug 5, 2020)

Maplehead said:


> I have looked at the 833tv but it's 89" tall. The bottom of my 2x8 joists are at 79".
> It's good to know the move can be done. I'll let you guys know when the mill arrives so you can assist. I'll have the beers cold and ready.



Super!  I will give you all the advice you need for a simple payment of cold beer.


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## pontiac428 (Aug 5, 2020)

Sometimes, you gotta think outside the box!


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## ACHiPo (Aug 5, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> Sometimes, you gotta think outside the box!


Ok so that makes me laugh.  Your picture immediately reminded me of a book my Mom used to read to me when I was a wee one about a steam shovel that dug a big hole for a skyscraper.  When he (yeah, the steam shovel was a he with eyes and everything--think of the movie "Cars"), but couldn't get out so became the steam boiler for the building.


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## derfatdutchman (Aug 5, 2020)

I purchased a G0678 last October to replace my RF-30 mill. It is a nice machine and I am impressed with how well it functions. I moved mine into my basement by myself. My helpers were a rented pallet jack, an engine hoist, a hand truck, a rented refrigerator hand truck, a hand cranked boat winch with a snatch block and lots of ratchet straps. I took the machine almost fully Apart. I first removed the motor, I took off the head and ram as one piece.  I built a wood sled from 2 x 4’s that I strapped it to and slid it down the using the winch to lower it slowly down the steps. I pulled the table and the knee, these went down stapped to the hand truck. This left the column and base, these do unbolt, both went down strapped to the refrigerator hand truck, lowered using the winch. Once all the parts were downstairs revered the process and put her back together. Take lots of photos and make notes! Label parts like the gibs so you know which one is which. It seems like a big job but take it one piece it a time and it goes fast.


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## DavidR8 (Aug 5, 2020)

ACHiPo said:


> Ok so that makes me laugh. Your picture immediately reminded me of a book my Mom used to read to me when I was a wee one about a steam shovel that dug a big hole for a skyscraper. When he (yeah, the steam shovel was a he with eyes and everything--think of the movie "Cars"), but couldn't get out so became the steam boiler for the building.



I loved that book!







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## machPete99 (Aug 5, 2020)

If you disassemble the mill you can then fully inspect and decide if there are any improvements you want to make.
It looks like the G0678 includes Angular Contact bearings in the lower spindle, which is a good sign.

You can do similar for one side on each of the axis dials to remove a lot of the slop. It typically involves minor lathe work on the lead screws and/or housings.


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## Aaron_W (Aug 5, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> I loved that book!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think that book helped to inspire my love of steam powered gizmos.


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## ACHiPo (Aug 5, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> I loved that book!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's the one!

Now back to the OP's thread.  Sorry for the sidetrack!


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## Mtnmac (Aug 5, 2020)

I bought a similar mill about a year ago.  Found it down the road at an estate sale, $400.00.  And I got a Hardinge dividing head and a 12 x18 surface plate to sweeten the deal.  The dividing head is worth more than the mill.  Anyway... I didn't have to move it down a flight of stairs, but I did have to move it down the road.   When I removed the mill, I disassembled it in this order:  motor, head, table and finally saddle.  I left the knee on the column, as weight wasn't my concern, just the center of gravity.  I wanted the weight lower.  I winched it up on a drop deck trailer and put all the other components in the bed of the truck.  The motor, head, table and saddle were all able to be lifted in a truck bed by two people.  I used a engine hoist to remove everything from the truck myself and left the base and column on the trailer.  It sat like that in my yard for a few months while I completed my shop.  I used the engine hoist to reassemble everything by myself, no problem.  I don't have any weight estimates for the pieces.  I would google moving machinery into a basement and see how others have done it.  Since you have outdoor access i would consider getting a small electric winch, attaching it to your truck and slowly lower it down the stairs after building a track to match a skid you strap the machine to.  I recently moved a hot tub up stairs to a 2nd story deck using a similar method, tying off to a large tree and pulling it up the stairs.  Used a $70.00 Harbor Freight winch, and had to lower it once when it started to come off the skid, so I know it works well lowering a load too. 
Good luck!



	

		
			
		

		
	
 Found a picture of the mill when it was loaded on the trailer.


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## Maplehead (Aug 5, 2020)

Mtnmac said:


> I bought a similar mill about a year ago.  Found it down the road at an estate sale, $400.00.  And I got a Hardinge dividing head and a 12 x18 surface plate to sweeten the deal.  The dividing head is worth more than the mill.  Anyway... I didn't have to move it down a flight of stairs, but I did have to move it down the road.   When I removed the mill, I disassembled it in this order:  motor, head, table and finally saddle.  I left the knee on the column, as weight wasn't my concern, just the center of gravity.  I wanted the weight lower.  I winched it up on a drop deck trailer and put all the other components in the bed of the truck.  The motor, head, table and saddle were all able to be lifted in a truck bed by two people.  I used a engine hoist to remove everything from the truck myself and left the base and column on the trailer.  It sat like that in my yard for a few months while I completed my shop.  I used the engine hoist to reassemble everything by myself, no problem.  I don't have any weight estimates for the pieces.  I would google moving machinery into a basement and see how others have done it.  Since you have outdoor access i would consider getting a small electric winch, attaching it to your truck and slowly lower it down the stairs after building a track to match a skid you strap the machine to.  I recently moved a hot tub up stairs to a 2nd story deck using a similar method, tying off to a large tree and pulling it up the stairs.  Used a $70.00 Harbor Freight winch, and had to lower it once when it started to come off the skid, so I know it works well lowering a load too.
> Good luck!
> 
> View attachment 332583
> ...


Hi Mountain Mac, What's the poster hanging in the back? It looks like one with good conversion info for fractions and decimals and all that stuff. And two, why the PA set up?


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## Mtnmac (Aug 5, 2020)

Maplehead said:


> Hi Mountain Mac, What's the poster hanging in the back? It looks like one with good conversion info for fractions and decimals and all that stuff. And two, why the PA set up?


The poster is a SPI Decimal Equivalent chart, and it is one of the better ones.  The photo in the back yard was taken not long after our annual party.  The PA speakers are left over from that, the stage for the band has already been taken down.  Sometimes I leave the speakers out there with a old stereo receiver till Fall, it doesn’t rain here in the summer.  Sadly, the stage, PA and other party stuff stayed in storage this year.


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## gbritnell (Aug 6, 2020)

I have the same mill. I took mine completely apart, ram, turret, motor, head, table, column and base. Used a heavy duty appliance dolly with motorcycycle tie down straps. The reason I purchased this machine was that it could be disassembled and moved. I could have bought a Bridgeport for about the same price but the weight and motor configuration didn't work.
When I got it reassembled everything was checked out. Tram in Y was a tiny bit off so I had to shim the front end of the turret .001. I have many hours on mine and am quite happy with it. I put DRO Pros glass scales on it. If you would like pictures just let me know. Another thing I did was to put a threaded dowel pin into the joint face between the head and ram. It trammed the head to dead 0 in an 12" sweep then drilled and reamed the interface for the pin. The reason being I was doing a job and the part came loose which caused the cutter to grab and stall the motor.  The head only has 2 studs holding it to the ram and it knocked it out of tram. If I want to tilt the head I just pull the pin.
gbritnell


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## Mtnmac (Aug 6, 2020)

gbritnell said:


> I have the same mill. I took mine completely apart, ram, turret, motor, head, table, column and base. Used a heavy duty appliance dolly with motorcycycle tie down straps. The reason I purchased this machine was that it could be disassembled and moved. I could have bought a Bridgeport for about the same price but the weight and motor configuration didn't work.
> When I got it reassembled everything was checked out. Tram in Y was a tiny bit off so I had to shim the front end of the turret .001. I have many hours on mine and am quite happy with it. I put DRO Pros glass scales on it. If you would like pictures just let me know. Another thing I did was to put a threaded dowel pin into the joint face between the head and ram. It trammed the head to dead 0 in an 12" sweep then drilled and reamed the interface for the pin. The reason being I was doing a job and the part came loose which caused the cutter to grab and stall the motor.  The head only has 2 studs holding it to the ram and it knocked it out of tram. If I want to tilt the head I just pull the pin.
> gbritnell


I looked at the Grizzly mill, it does appear the base is separate.  I don’t know who made mine, but the base is one piece cast iron with a sheet metal drip pan around the edge.  That should make it much easier to separate the base.  

I have DRO Pros magnetic scales on mine, have been very happy with them.  No problem with the head moving.  The thing I hate about mine is it won’t reverse, forward only.  I will eventually convert it to a 3 phase motor with VFD, which will give me reverse and eliminate moving the belt to change speeds.


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## gbritnell (Aug 6, 2020)

This model mill has a Yaskawa VFD converter. It has variable speed with reverse. So nice for tapping!


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## Mitch Alsup (Aug 6, 2020)

Maplehead said:


> I believe I am settling on the Grizzly G0678 smaller knee mill. It looks like a nice beefy mill for my needs.
> However, it's just under 1000 pounds. The mill will be going into my basement. It's not an easy access basement as the back basement door into my little shop is on a lower level than the driveway. I would have to go down 8 pressure treated wooden stairs to get there, onto dirt. Inside via the kitchen/basement door is out of the question. So I am curious, can this G0678 mill be easily disassembled/re-assembled? If so, what would you guesstimate the heaviest component weight to be?



I have a G0730. I considered the smaller brethren when I bought the G0730 and figured the extra nose height was at lest as important as the extra weight.
a) the top comes off easily but an engine hoist is still recommended to lift it safely. 2 people can carry this down the stairs. But secure it with tackle for everyone's safety.
b) the x-axis and y-axis come off not very difficult--just don't for get the travel limiters. Heavy but 2 personable. But secure it with tackle for everyone's safety.
c) this should be over 1/2 of the weight and what is left (500-odd pounds) should not be that difficult to engine hoist (at least 1 ton) through the door, lay on its back (about 45º) to slide down a couple of wooden stair protectors to the basement using tackle to slide is slowly and under complete control.

Oh, and BTW, I enjoy this mill immensely.


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