Thoughts on moving a JVM-830F milling machine into the basement?

[matthewsx]

Do you have a shop at your current house? Enough property to build one?

Basement shops are nice but having tools in a separate building is even nicer, how does your significant other feel about it? If relocation is in the cards you could look for a place with a shop already on it or space to build.

Since your use is fairly low now you do have the option of figuring out what you really want to do, many of us are certifiable nuts on the hobby and would be gunning for a 30 x 40 shop with all the tools we could fit if we were in your shoes....

John

 

[nnam]

I'd be guessing at 700 lbs. Naturally, the more you take it apart, the easier the job moving it. If you pulled the table, the base/column/knee would be pretty manageable. You may want to lay some 2x10s flat on the floor to save any carpet or vinyl.

I would say doing like you did, put a couple 2x6x12ft or whatever and slide it out with controlled cables, let it go slowly wrapping around a strong stick, and also have a second backup cable just in case. I don't know how strong each step is, but doing this would make sure it distribute the weight out. Also, going down is easy. So let it slide down in a controlled way is easiest.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Basement shops are nice but having tools in a separate building is even nicer, how does your significant other feel about it? If relocation is in the cards you could look for a place with a shop already on it or space to build.

I support this notion:: build yourself a garage shop (if the property size allows it.)

Secondly, once you have used a Bridgeport sized mill (of which Jet JVM830F is) you won't really be happy with less.
So, get some safe movers to analyze the issues faced, and see what they say about how far to disassemble the mill.

 

[vintageiron]

Building a shop is not an option, I've tried in the past and can't get the zoning approval. Not to mention how much it would raise my property taxes. I'm actually planning trying to lose the storage shed because of taxes, they hit me for $2100 a year for a shed here. I can't imagine what they would want for a garage. Then on top of that, the electrical utility here requires a separate and commercial electric service for an 'out building'.
It would ad another $75 per month. The garage idea was refused 9 years ago due to a proximity ordnance. It seems that there's a minimum distance of 1,200 ft required between garages here and the properties are only 75ft wide. They put that in place after a fire burned up a couple houses many years ago and the fire company couldn't get back to the garage that was burning. If you do ad a garage, it cannot be behind a fence, it has to have street access, and you need 15ft to the property line on the side and rear, it can't be taller than the house, and it has to be at least 25 ft from any other structures. It all pretty much makes a shop both a legal hurdle and tax issue here. I'm already paying over $7k in property taxes here and $4k a year in electric.
The basement works better in a few ways, one is that it doesn't need to be heated or cooled separately, its cooler in the summer and already warm in the winter. Its space not being used for much else other than my washer and dryer and a some wood working tools right now.

I've used the larger machine and its certainly a lot nicer but getting that thing into the basement will be a lot more work and it still may not even fit height wise. The Astro is 89" tall at the head, and that's without any pads or the power draw bar set up in place.
The small mill will fit and suit my needs just fine. The main advantage I see is speed and time with the larger mill for what I'm doing, the mill isn't something I use very often, which I why I'm still contemplating what to do.

 

[matthewsx]

Building a shop is not an option, I've tried in the past and can't get the zoning approval. Not to mention how much it would raise my property taxes. I'm actually planning trying to lose the storage shed because of taxes, they hit me for $2100 a year for a shed here. I can't imagine what they would want for a garage. Then on top of that, the electrical utility here requires a separate and commercial electric service for an 'out building'.
It would ad another $75 per month. The garage idea was refused 9 years ago due to a proximity ordnance. It seems that there's a minimum distance of 1,200 ft required between garages here and the properties are only 75ft wide. They put that in place after a fire burned up a couple houses many years ago and the fire company couldn't get back to the garage that was burning. If you do ad a garage, it cannot be behind a fence, it has to have street access, and you need 15ft to the property line on the side and rear, it can't be taller than the house, and it has to be at least 25 ft from any other structures. It all pretty much makes a shop both a legal hurdle and tax issue here. I'm already paying over $7k in property taxes here and $4k a year in electric.
The basement works better in a few ways, one is that it doesn't need to be heated or cooled separately, its cooler in the summer and already warm in the winter. Its space not being used for much else other than my washer and dryer and a some wood working tools right now.

I've used the larger machine and its certainly a lot nicer but getting that thing into the basement will be a lot more work and it still may not even fit height wise. The Astro is 89" tall at the head, and that's without any pads or the power draw bar set up in place.
The small mill will fit and suit my needs just fine. The main advantage I see is speed and time with the larger mill for what I'm doing, the mill isn't something I use very often, which I why I'm still contemplating what to do.

If a drill press will suit your needs then I think you have the answer.

Slather the mill in cosmoline when you store it and ship it south when you get your place in the sun.

Or, sell it to someone with space. The person who said it’s only worth $1k may have been trying to get a deal. You can list it for what you want and put it in storage if you don’t get it.

Sounds like a measuring tape will give you the answer about your basement but if there’s any chance you’ll move soon why bother.

I had to let a Gorton 1-22 Mastermill go that I didn’t think would fit in my garage. I now realize I could have gotten it in there but selling it was the right thing to do at the time.

John

 

[Ischgl99]

Would adding a Bilco access door to your basement be possible? All the houses where I live have these and it makes getting things in and out very easy. I brought my Burke mill and PM-1236T, as well as all my woodworking equipment, in through the access door. I have enough room in my backyard that a flatbed wrecker was able to maneuver in front of the door and tilt the bed to lower the heavier equipment down the stairs.

 

[nnam]

I think taken it apart and bringing it down is doable. However, I would consider the bringing it back up. If bringing down is a problem, the reverse can be a huge issue. The moment it's down there, the resale value may go down dramatically, unless it's easy to be brought back up.

For awhile, I store my milling machine in a room, with promise that I move it. It lasted several months. I had to wrap it in plastic. But if you have a room, can convince your spouse, and thinking of moving, maybe that's an option.

I would get out of that place with that much tax on a shed.

 

[BGHansen]

My pre-marriage basement shop was moved pretty painlessly. Of course, I was 31 at the time. I tied two 2 x 12 x 16' together which perfectly fit on the stairs. The top of the ramp had a couple of pieces of angle iron with a steel roller. This extended just above the floor. I borrowed a buddies 12V winch which was bolted through the floor into 2x4's below the subfloor. I made a cart from 2 x 6's and 3/4" ply for the hauling up the stairs. The winch cable went over the steel roller at the top of the ramp. I had 3 pieces of 10' roller conveyor too. Once stuff was winched up the stairs, the cart straddled the conveyor and was worked out of the dining room into the garage.

I had the Jet JVM-830, a Grizzly round column mill, Atlas 12 x 36 lathe, and a Rockwell 10 x 36 lathe. Had a plethora or woodworking stuff too, but it was all Craftsman stuff, nothing really beefy like a Delta Unisaw or Powermatic.

I did have a safety cable tied to the >500 lbs. stuff through a come along. Fortunately didn't have to test my rigging.

Bruce

 

[mmcmdl]

I graded my first house's yard and knocked out 8 ft of concrete block and bricks and installed an 8 ft sliding door . Rented a Baker York AT forklift and loaded my equipment in less than an hour . Came out just as easy when I moved two houses up the street . Machines are now in the garage which sucks . There is no way I would ever attempt to put heavy equipment into a/my basement with no entrance . I know a lot of people personally that have , and they tell me the new owners of the house will have to deal with it . The equipment will go with the house .

I still own the first house and use it as my storage building while my son is in there . One day I'll get the shop back in the basement .

 

[vintageiron]

Bilco doors are not an option, I thought about it, had a few others look at the layout of the house and there's just no way to do it.
The only option would to put them on the front lawn, and that's not going to happen.

The current septic drains run around the one side of the house starting out at the front kitchen, wrapping around and making their way down the one side and more than half way across the back to about 3ft off the basement floor where it all goes through the wall and out to the septic tank and four cesspools in the back yard. The septic system also means that 3/4 of the rear yard is taken up by the septic system. The electric service, and all major plumbing is also along the same side. The only open corner is where the furnace and oil tank sits in the basement, and the whole other side is too close to the property line, plus the chimney, oil fill and a TV antenna tower are on that side.

If the mill goes down the basement, its there to stay, I wouldn't bother to remove it. It would become part of the house.
I figure that if I move far enough south to avoid winter, the new house likely won't have a basement, and will likely have a garage attached.

Once I sell the place where the mill sits now, I won't have any place to store it or 'save it for later'. I'm not paying to keep it in some storage facility, it would be cheaper to just keep the current place and pay the taxes and other expenses. The last I checked they wanted $400/mo for a 10x20 storage locker at one of those storage places. It would be cheaper to just scrap it and buy a new one once I move. In a year I'd have paid for another mill.

I had a guy show up yesterday who drove here from NC, he came prepared with an enclosed trailer, and his two grown sons and a rolling gantry crane. I left with the larger MSC, and the Astro, plus both the vertical and horizontal band saws. They were in and out in two hours. He showed up with an extra tall 3 axle enclosed trailer about 32ft long complete with a winch, and dozens of floor tie downs and lots of etrack on the walls.
I asked him what he felt the smaller mill was worth and he said its of no value to him, its too small. He told me to scrap it or see what I could get on CL. He paid 12k for the two mills and $800 for the vertical band saw. The Astro was the best of the lot, but I see them selling for $5500 to 6500 locally, and the MSC was okay, but it was a cheaper mill. The DRO set ups added a lot of value too. The gantry he had was self powered, it had a built in power winch on one side and the cable hung from the top beam. He threaded a bolt into each mill, and lifted it up, slid two brackets in place on each side and a few planks, and set the mill down lightly on the planks. They then just drive the mill out to the trailer parked at the door and winched it up the ramp. He set each one down and strapped it in place whole.
He told me that the Astro is the same as a larger Jet, its no relation to the current Astro brand from India.
He said that would be around $11k to $12k brand new. The MSC he said would be around $6500 to $7k new today.
I was glad to have that space empty and to not have to move them myself. The buyer said he's setting up to build racing components and needed two manual mills for simple operations that don't justify setting up a CNC machine.
He got my number from a real estate agent I was talking to down that way a few weeks ago.

The two main pieces left to move are the smaller mill and the lathe. I'll move the lathe in a few weeks then likely decide on whether or not to sell the smaller mill or not.
If the lower section is going to be 700 lbs, I don't see that as doable here. There's no real way to use a winch, the basement doors face a wall in the hallway, behind that wall is the shower so i can't just punch a hole in the plaster to find something to attach too. Putting it in the floor, would be in the way of getting the mill to the doorway. The hallway is only 36" wide there, just wide enough for the door to open. The only way to do it is if it can get strapped to a handtruck and slowly wheeled down the steps with two guys.

Its sounding like that's going to be more trouble than its worth.
Between getting it down the steps and then making room for it and rearranging the whole basement for it, I think it just may have to get sold.
I did consider converting my side porch to a work shop, but it would mean a big tax increase here. If i enclose the porch, it then adds roughly 100 square feet to the size of the house. If the shed I'm taking out is costing me $800 a year, I'd assume the porch would be as much or more.
Its bad enough that I pay as much as I paid for the house in taxes every six years here. Putting the mill on the porch would also mean having to climate control that area as well, and it would have to be made pretty well insulated, something its not now. Noise would also be a problem there. It would be more convenient but I think the neighbors would complain if I were running it at night and it would be pretty much an eyesore right there where you walk into the kitchen. I don't think I even like that idea. I'd also have to run electric there for it.