This is probably old hat for you guys, but need advice on how to move my new mill

[Bob Korves]

How about asking friends and neighbors for help?

 

[Aaron_W]

I'm having trouble picturing your stair situation. It sounds like you have an engine hoist which is something I've found invaluable for moving machines. My other go to tools are a flat moving dolly and a heavy duty garden cart with pneumatic tires, neither was very expensive. The moving dolly is like your hydraulic cart without the lift, but the tires on the garden cart is great for softer ground and dealing with a few steps. You can use ratchet straps to secure the load if that is a concern.

I have this garden cart from Tractor Supply rated for 800lbs, they have beefier ones rated for up to 1400lbs. I'd take the ratings with a grain of salt but I have moved 400lbs of concrete sacks on mine without an issue, just remember to check the tire pressure first.



https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/groundwork-800-lb-capacity-steel-garden-cart

 

[RJSakowski]

@RJSakowski
Thanks for your reply! I was wondering how to do the rollers and turn corners. The pallet bottom isn't flat, how do you avoid getting stuck in between the boards?

Big 3' pallet looks like
| ___________________________________ |
|______| |_______| about 1/2" thick board

28" Crate bottom is more like
| _________ ____________ |
|____| |____| |_____| about 1.5" thick height

The forum is not preserving spacing of my ascii art.

Guess one needs to fab a flat base. Have some 3/4" plywood for a base.

For the 2x8's you plank the whole run? Or?

I'll check on the come-along that's floating about in the garage. No idea how long it is. Err, not there. Probably in storage. Have to make a visit today.

Thanks for the practical suggestions! A boat winch sounds interesting as well.

Maybe I'll figure out a way to pull the doorway. It's so close...

The plywood sounds like a good idea. you will want to secure it to the crate or pallet so it stays under the load. If it is larger than the base, screw a coupl3e of cleats to the plywood and screw the cleats to the crate.. I just use the planks on the stairs.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Well, the nice man dropped off the pallet at the top of the driveway, exactly where I told him to. I thought I'd be able to move it. Turns out, my strength isn't what it used to be. It's possible to lift up the crate onto either a hydraulic lift cart or a hand truck using my engine hoist.

You should be able to lift it off the ground with the engine hoist and stick a moving dolly under it ($10 at Harbor Freight)

I was able to use a engine hoist to move my G0730 through a 26" wide door--although it did take 2 hours.......of careful maneuvering, with 2 helpers.

 

[rock_breaker]

Habor freight has 2 sizes of furniture movers at reasonable prices and ab elevating jack so I am told. Could you either dismantle it

Hit the wrong keys sorry

 

[rock_breaker]

Harbor Freight sells two sizes of furniture movers and so I understand an elevating cart. Would it be possible to put the mill on planks on an elevating cart after moving it on a furniture mover to the steps. If the planks were long enough you may be able use them as a bridge from the elevating cart to the porch. THE KEY HERE IS STABILITY AT ALL TIMES. I THINK HELP IS A MUST! By cutting a cardboard template you can determine if it the carton can go down stairs. Dis-assembly may be the better way to go, Lifting things in the basement can be done by building an a frame from timber or steel. Many good suggestions have been put forth and I am sure you can find a good combination. Again safety for yourself, helpers if you have them and the machine is paramount.
I am not sure about this but you might try grinding six flats on larger bolts then use your socket set or whatever.
Have a good day
Ray
P S I put the family piano in the basement by planking the stairs and a 4 X 4 across a door way. That 4X4 was kept as low as possible. Your comment about an older home may preclude this idea.

 

[derfatdutchman]

Its old school but I have move most of my machines using sleds. Using 2 x 4s or 4 x 4s for runners with a nice radius cut on both ends. Platform made of 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 with machine bolted fast. Once its on the sled you can use pipe roller on hard surfaces. On soft surfaces like grass it as long as the ground is dry it can be sledded across using a variety of power (winch, come a long, lawn tractor) The sled removes the need for planks on stairs as it spans several steps at one time. I done it with both lathes and mills.

 

[WobblyHand]

Thanks for everyone's ideas! Through a combination of hard work, some dumb luck, a few compound levers made of lumber, I managed to lift the box off the pallet onto a dolly I made. I had some 5" casters and bolted them to some plywood. The engine hoist easily lifted the box, but the boom wasn't long enough and neither the dolly nor the crate fit between the legs of the hoist. I struggled a few hours with this and found the magic combination after a few tries. It was kind of a comedy of errors, but fortunately nothing was broken, nor any body parts harmed.

Finally after flailing about a bit, (the dolly had gone over the hoist legs and jammed there) the dolly was freed with some levers. About this time, my neighbor came by and asked, do you need some help? So he got to be a bit of a good guy and helped me with the easy part of moving the now freed dolly to the front steps. He made the error of saying, if you need help just let me know... He went back to his house.

Once the crate was closer to the front door, the box was broken down to reveal the contents. All the extras were removed and put in a safe place. The column was removed from the table and found I wasn't able to lift it myself, but was able to disconnect it and lower it to the base of the crate. I kind of found myself stuck there, basically just balancing the head. My wife happened to notice me. I asked her to go next door and ask for some help. In a short while my neighbor came over and helped me carry the head onto the porch. We then did the table. That was heavy too!

So the goal of the day is done. Get the crate out of the driveway and the parts on the porch. The porch is covered, so it's now out of the elements. Tomorrow the pieces can go down into the basement. I'll have someone help me with that. Whew! I'm a little weary.

I have to say, that I'm quite impressed with HM members and their abilities to move much larger machines. Given the opportunity again, I'd use a different hoist. I wasted a lot of time with that engine hoist, it really wasn't the right tool for the job. Some time I'm going to use the ramps, they look like a great idea.

 

[DavidR8]

Glad that you’re partway there and all body parts are intact!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Aaron_W]

It was kind of a comedy of errors, but fortunately nothing was broken, nor any body parts harmed.

That is a good description for how moving most of the machines into my shop went. As long as you still have all your fingers and toes and the machine didn't get broken, SUCCESS!!!