Thread: Advice about second hand lathe... and moving it!

Marty,
here is some photos of my first lathe that the seller delivered for me,at the time i did not have a engine crane so we took of the wheels from the trailer to get it as low as possible and winch it off with a ply sheet under the lathe.

Cheers,
Mark.
Photo006.jpgPhoto004.jpgPhoto003.jpgPhoto005.jpg

Hi Marty,

Firstly I would strongly agree with the other posters who said don't give up on this lathe - You will like using it a lot more than a smaller lathe, which as correctly pointed out, will be just as difficult to move. I know this a I have had both a 600mm lathe and a 14 x 40 lathe which is my current machine and is similar in size to what you bought.

Secondly, its hard to give accurate advice on your lift without knowing the actual site where the lathe has to go, however I can offer the following:

1) Look to see if there are little 'peep holes' in the cabinet that the lathe sits on. If there are two of these on each end of the cabinet they are designed for you to put a piece of heavy walled pipe through to lift off. I usually move mine this way now, although slinging through the bed is also useful.
2) My lathe has most often been moved my mates 3.5 tonne excavator. These are great because unlike a hiab on a truck you might be able to get the operator to go down your driveway and swing the lathe right into your garage.
3) If you cant find a digger to do the job, you might also consider a 'manitou' or similar telescopic forklift. I used one of these recently to move a 2150 kilogram mill, and its the only way I could have done the job. They are more expensive than excavators though - I paid $400 for the lift at 8pm on a Friday night - would have cost $300 if I were able to organize it during business hours.