I've always liked Fridays but this one is one of my fav's!

[Tipton1965]

Wow, that looks fantastic.
As an obvious thread hijack, based on the checkerplate walls and the tidy machine base I'd love to see the rest of your shop.

Thanks! I'll try and gather some pics of the shop.

 

[Tipton1965]

I did some measuring and I don't think an engine hoist is going to work to get my mill up on to the stand. Since the stand will be bolted to the concrete base it's basically permanent in it's location. I think the lower legs on an engine hoist will hit the wall behind the stand before the mill is in position over the stand to lower it. Not only that but I think the legs will interfere with the concrete base as well. I'd use my Bobcat front end loader but it won't fit through the door way into the room where the mill will be. I may have to break the mill down into three or four manageable pieces and reassemble on the stand. Any other ideas?

 

[tjb]

I did some measuring and I don't think an engine hoist is going to work to get my mill up on to the stand. Since the stand will be bolted to the concrete base it's basically permanent in it's location. I think the lower legs on an engine hoist will hit the wall behind the stand before the mill is in position over the stand to lower it. Not only that but I think the legs will interfere with the concrete base as well. I'd use my Bobcat front end loader but it won't fit through the door way into the room where the mill will be. I may have to break the mill down into three or four manageable pieces and reassemble on the stand. Any other ideas?

Rent a gantry crane?

 

[BladesIIB]

If you can’t get a Gantry crane, I had a similar issue with my mill and ended up having my two boys on the back of the engine hoist as counter balance so I could pull the legs in and make it work. My mill was 700lbs and I had it out in front of the legs and it worked for me.

 

[Tipton1965]

I may run into the same problem with a gantry crane. That is not being able to get the machine centered over the stand because the spread on the legs might be too far apart and hit the wall. Not sure if there would be enough room to come at it from the side.

 

[Just for fun]

I would go with Blades idea.... but my engine hoist does not have retractable legs and they are also narrow so may not fit around your stand. But maybe a rental unit will work.

 

[Tipton1965]

I would go with Blades idea.... but my engine hoist does not have retractable legs and they are also narrow so may not fit around your stand. But maybe a rental unit will work.

I did call the local rental store and they have an engine hoist with parallel legs 36" apart. That would for sure straddle the base just fine. I will drive over and look at it.

 

[Tipton1965]

Well, productive day. I rented the lift that I mentioned above and it worked perfectly. Good thing to because it didn't have any adjustments on the lower legs or the upper boom......one size fits all. The lower feet cleared the back wall by 6". Best $35.00 I ever spent.

 

[BladesIIB]

Looks great! Needs some chips and oil on it now.

 

[Tipton1965]

Looks great! Needs some chips and oil on it now.

Getting close. I need to add the power feeds and wire the plug and a few other odds and ends.

I'm super happy with the table height since I'm 6' 4" tall.