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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,628

    Default How do you move machinery at home?

    After having some difficulty today I really started to ponder how some of you guys move what you do. When you bring home that new acquisition what lifting gear to do have at home to unload and get the machine where you want it??

    Some of your machines must be over 1000kg. A small Bridgeport in basic configuration weighs 997kg.

    A piece of mill table I had to move today weighed over 350kg on it's own……No wonder I couldn't lift it even though I ate my weeties!!
    …..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    One of these would be nice!
    …..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    St Georges Basin
    Posts
    121

    Default

    Yes, a clean floor makes a big difference!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Washington State, USA
    Posts
    4

    Default

    I have one of these. I have unloaded, set up, moved all sorts of heavy item with it.

    crane.jpg

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Somerset, UK
    Posts
    60

    Default

    As long as any HSE officers are a long way away -
    Scaffold pole rollers, Acro-Prop 'A' frames & chain blocks, it also helps if you can find a couple of RU Front Row Forwards.

    Mark
    What you say & what people hear are not always the same thing.
    http://www.remark.me.uk/

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Tas
    Age
    66
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Engine crane, lengths of gal pipe (for rollers), crow bar and chain pull.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Sydney, NSW
    Posts
    1,249

    Default

    Hi,

    For the last couple of years I've used a engine crane and my muscles. Last Xmas I nearly lost my index finger, so before I move again I'm hoping to my a small gantry crane contraption. Something that will lift my lathe, mill and douglas shaper. That can be made bigger and smaller for whatever sized car garage/car trailer or truck bed I use.

    Ben

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Canley Heights, NSW
    Age
    67
    Posts
    529

    Default

    An Engine Crane and the wife.
    Shane

    Got the square peg in the round hole, now can't get it out !!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    I really used to struggle with this. Then about 3 years ago I made an engine crane out of material I had lying around. Pretty much just had to buy the hydraulic ram and wheels. I use it to lift my lathe, mill, welding table and just recently used it to unload my 900Kg shaper. Couldn't live without it! I also have an assortment of 2000Kg lifting slings and about 5M of tape rope I bought from Anaconda.

    Edit: A pallet jack would also be handy!

    Cheers,

    Simon
    Girl, 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.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Lower Lakes SA
    Age
    58
    Posts
    2,607

    Default

    I use an oversized engine crane for lifting and a pallet jack for rolling. The first time I tried to move a load with the crane the crappy casters collapsed. I replaced them with better ones but it's still hard to steer. The pallet jack rolls and steers easier and gives much better control. Which means safety.

    A mobile gantry would have some advantages for lifting, but I wouldn't want to move a heavy load with one. Imagine hitting a pebble on the floor with a ton plus swinging in the breeze. I suppose you could lower it onto some bearers across the base for moving. But I've come to see lifting and moving as separate tasks. Unless you have a forklift.

    This was an anxious moment, just after I drove the trailer away. The lathe is about 1250kg. The Chinese crane is rated for 3T, but the boom had to be in the 1.5T position for reach.



    The problem is the damned feet always get in the way.


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    Seems like an engine crane is the most popular. Do these come in various sizes? I saw a milling machine the other day was specified to be moved from an eye bot in the top so it would have to be quite a tall engine crane.
    …..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Australia east coast
    Age
    71
    Posts
    2,713

    Default

    Pallet jack, gantry crane, machinery skates, pipe rollers. All depends on what I'm moving.

    Heaviest piece of equipment is around 6.5 tonnes and I can move that by myself.

    PDW

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PDW View Post
    Pallet jack, gantry crane, machinery skates, pipe rollers. All depends on what I'm moving.

    Heaviest piece of equipment is around 6.5 tonnes and I can move that by myself.

    PDW
    Got any photos of your gantry crane, machinery skates?



    This looks interesting
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDOM7FaEx54
    …..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Mornington Peninsula
    Posts
    97

    Default

    Forklift (I'm spoilt )

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Western NSW
    Posts
    543

    Default

    I live on a farm in a pretty isolated area so moving machinery that weighs more than a tonne or more was always a major problem. But time and ingenuity can overcome most situations. I once unloaded a 10 tonne Kearns horizontal borer off the back of a semi trailer with 4 20T jacks and blocks. When it was jacked off the trailer and I drove the trailer away it was suspended 5 feet in the air! It was too scary to take a photo in case the wife saw it. Eventually got it back on the ground and moved it into place with rollers and a crowbar. Now I have a 4 tonne forklift and a Hiab crane which deals with most situations. Not that I am allowed to buy any more machines!!

    Mark

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