My PM-728VT

[xyz]

Thank you so much! Hugely helpful. Most importantly I do see the larger "bottom" pallet is in fact just shy of 34" wide. Also extremely helpful to see these pics and I now know that getting the mill off the upper pallet and onto the stand will require more than a standard 2.5 ton engine hoist. That's what I had planned to use. Maybe I could add additional supports inside the lower pallet and then trim it to match the width of the upper pallet? Or is even that smaller pallet too wide for the standard hoist? Pic attached. Again...many thanks!

The mill is at 45 degrees to the pallet. Furthermore, when you lift it via a single point (or just one loop), then the mill tilts. You have to lift more than you might originally think because of the tilt. From experience, I know that as the feet come off the pallet, when just one is touching, the whole load will rotate. There is not that much room between the fork legs of the engine hoist. That's why they say it's a two man job: one person makes sure that the mill does not touch the hoist. (But he better do it from a distance: never from under a load!)

Even with the gantry, I added two additional straps, directly to the height adjustment bolts, to adjust for the tilt.

How thy delivered my machine is quite different than other pictures that I saw on the internet.

Any cutting of the pallet is not a good idea until the load is secure: You would not have a chance to change your mind in case you end up in a box canyon.

Pictures might help yet the next hobbyist.

Good luck.

 

[addertooth]

Yep, I hoisted mine up today with the smaller 1 ton harbor freight engine hoist. It was a pain on many levels. I welded up an oversize
table with a 3/8th inch steel plate in the middle The blue chip tray was a great drilling templet for the bolt holes. Under the 3/8 plate
there was also angle iron braces on the table, which were drilled through as well. So all total, the mill has a half inch of steel the bolts
run through to secure the mill.

 

[xyz]

Rough lumber cut and fit for a platform to make work on the 728VT mobile and comfortable for me. When the jointer returns fixed, I will make it water and oil tight.