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Thread: Moving a mill
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7th Jul 2017, 07:46 AM #1future machinist
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Moving a mill
I just picked this hartford mill up for my shed in sydney. I need to move it should i put it on my 8x5 box trailer or pay $400 for a hiab. I am not sure yet as i have never moved a top heavy turet mill.
BETTER TO HAVE TOOLS YOU DON'T NEED THAN TO NEED TOOLS YOU DON'T HAVE
Andre
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7th Jul 2017, 08:33 AM #2Diamond Member
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If you are going to dismantle the mill and lay it down in the box trailer I can't see a problem apart from maybe overloading the trailer. If you intend to stand it up I would say no way.
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7th Jul 2017, 08:58 AM #3Most Valued Member
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pay the 400..they should be insured
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7th Jul 2017, 09:58 AM #4
I'm with eskimo.
If possibile I would be there when they go to pick it up. Keeping an eye on placement of lifting straps when they crane it onto the truck, and of course tying it down.
Driver might get a bit shi*tty, but hey, ultimately its your unit, and you want it home in the best possible condition.
Just my 2 bobs.Frisky wife, happy life. Then I woke up. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".
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7th Jul 2017, 10:06 AM #5Most Valued Member
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I have never had a driver/operator/rigger get annoyed the 6 or 7 times ive moved machines and i am always there. Trust me just pay for the hiab, saves a day of pain. You may save yourself some $$$ by going and getting it ready to roll. They will sling it under the ram unless it has its eye bolts.
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7th Jul 2017, 10:16 AM #6Most Valued Member
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Hi Andre.
Paying the $400 may be the easiest way but TBH i just moved a turret mill from Sydney to Melbourne with a Bunnings trailer and took my own fold up gantry as they had no means to lift it. The mill weighs about 1200kg and is about 2.2M tall with the extra 200mm riser block.
To get the right lifting height the gantry had to be about 3.6m tall! I made the legs telescoping and lock in place with bolts. It was bloody awkward to ass assemble but once in place it was rock solid and did it easy.
Once in the trailer I just made sure i used lots of straps and included fore and aft straps to the ram. Took it nice and easy all the way home and stopped regularly to check the tension on the straps.
On the way up to Sydney i noticed the trailer was not sitting right and closer inspection showed that the front leaf springs had come out of the slipper. I had to remove the axle and front leaf spring eye bolt to fix. Did this at a truck stop with an hour of daylight left.
When i got back i complained to Bunnings and they refunded the trailer hire. Got it for free! They didnt know it went to sydney and back though!
Cheers & good luck.
PS. Nice score BTW
Simon
Sent from my SM-G900I using TapatalkGirl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.
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7th Jul 2017, 01:11 PM #7Most Valued Member
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Also as for lifting. It has a dedicated lifting eye on the ram same as most of thesd turret type mills. You may have to slide the ram in or out to get it balanced when lifting. Make sure you re-tighten the ram adjustment bolts though otherwise the mill can slide off the ram and thats not good!
Simon
Sent from my SM-G900I using TapatalkGirl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.
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7th Jul 2017, 04:38 PM #8Pink 10EE owner
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I would rotate the head over so the motor is pointing down. That is how my mill arrived.
Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.
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7th Jul 2017, 04:50 PM #9On the way up to Sydney i noticed the trailer was not sitting right and closer inspection showed that the front leaf springs had come out of the slipper. I had to remove the axle and front leaf spring eye bolt to fix.Frisky wife, happy life. Then I woke up. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".
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7th Jul 2017, 06:50 PM #10Most Valued Member
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Wasn't happy at the time but it only took me about 30 minutes and I got the $120 trailer hire for free.
SimonGirl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.
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7th Jul 2017, 07:29 PM #11Golden Member
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It all depends on how well made and strong the trailer is ? Some trailers can take extra weight and some can't. Some are rusted out junk with weak floors and springs .
Also that mill is not that top heavy most of the weight is in the body base and knee . Drop the knee all the way down and if you can spin the head around until the motor is pointing down or as far down as possible and it can be transported easy standing up on it's base which is the best way to do it for strapping down.
make sure you strap it in a way it can't move at the base either side ways or back and forth and straps over the knee and top . Protect the straps from sharp edges and pull them down tight real tight . If the trailer has weak tie down points it's a waste of time as the tie down rails could just break . One way you can increase a trailers tie down capacity is to make some extra tie down pints with chains and heavy D shackles around each spring eye mounting bracket and both draw bars if guards don't get in the way . This way you can have six extra tie down points that are much stronger than most trailer tie down rails . If you have trouble you can also run chains all the way under and around the trailer box to create the new points . You need to asses your trailers strength and your ability to lift and strap it correctly and take it out again and if not totally sure you can do it , pay the $400 .The volume of a pizza of thickness 'a' and radius 'z' is given by pi z z a.
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7th Jul 2017, 08:12 PM #12Golden Member
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You have to think of the whole journey when considering how to move a mill like this. How do I get the mill out to the trailer/truck, how to I lift the mill onto the trailer/truck, how do I secure the mill safely for the journey, how do I get it off and finally how do I move it into its final position. On a cement floor they can be moved fairly safely with rollers/pallet jacks/skates. Moving them over rough ground is a completely different matter. No matter how you configure it they are still top heavy and when they start to tip over it is hard to stop. They are designed to be lifted from above. If in doubt go with the offer of $400 to shift. That is cheap compared to dropping it or hurting yourself or someone else in trying to move it without the proper gear.
PS Nice mill
Mark
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7th Jul 2017, 11:27 PM #13Senior Member
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What distance is the move ?
What access do you have where you are picking it up ?
What is the access like for loading in the home shop ?
What is the load rating on your 8x5 trailer ? if your thinking of moving it in one piece I'm hoping it's a dual axle...
What is your time worth / how hard is $400 to come by ?
Are you planning on stripping it down and rebuilding it or planning to just plug it in and use it ?
If the Hiab is just going to pick it up from the driveway and drop it off in the driveway and it's not easy to get it into the shop then it's alot of money to only overcome part of the problem.
I stripped and rebuilt my Bridgeport clone when I got it so was interesting to work out weights on most things. For me, and I'm quite tall and would consider myself reasonable strong I would strip the mill, load it in parts and do the reverse at the end. Would be a full days work tho and you would need a second person at least.
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7th Jul 2017, 11:29 PM #14Most Valued Member
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The Bunnings tandem trailer I hired had an ATM of 2000kg. So assuming the actual trailer is less than 800kg, taking a 1200Kg mill is going to be safe and legal.
SimonGirl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.
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7th Jul 2017, 11:36 PM #15Diamond Member
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The only thing I would add to the advice on moving your mill that you have already received, is to block the base of the mill with 2x4s or even better 4x4s. In other words, surround the base with timbers, or bolt the base directly to timbers which run the full length and width of the trailer, assuming that it has sides and ends to restrain any movement of your timbers. You can bolt the timbers where they cross using some ten mm allthread or larger, and that will stop the base moving in the trailer. Then you need to run your rigging to as high as you can on the mill, back to the tie down rails, assuming that they are up to scratch for the job. MOST IMPORTANT. You must have opposing slings, in other words, don't just run a sling from one side up over the mill to the opposite side, but have a sling running from the top of your mill to the LH rail, and another sling running from as close as possible to the first sling at the high point of the mill, but run this one to the RH tie down rail. That way you won't have the mill just roll over within the slings. Do the same for fixing it fore and aft, and providing the trailer is adequate and the anchor points likewise, all should be good. If you don't already have them, borrow enough chain blocks or come a longs to tension your slings, I would not rely on truckies hitches in rope to keep it all shipshape.
Just remember that it won't have to get much of a lean to fall over, if any of the terrain you have to traverse is sloping or just soft under foot, that mill could fall over in an instant, if you have flat concrete all the way, you should be able to handle it safely, if you have any doubts or are unsure, the hiab looks good from here.
I almost forgot, when unloading and if all you have is an engine crane, or other marginal lifting arrangement, just lift it enough to drive out from under it, then lower to ground level (or just above if you plan to mobile it into place), but remember engine cranes are not very stable, so be extra careful. Good luck.
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