Thread: Moving Query

In a few more years I want to retire and move down to a more civilised place, I have been thinking about how to move the equipment in my shed.
Because where my shed is I cannot get a trailer or forklift near it, I was thinking about how to lift a 350- 400 lathe and move it down a narrow path. I was wondering if one of the the engine hoist would go?


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I can reccomend the portable aluminium gantrys that you can rent from kennards and similar. They are the best option I know of and are assemblable by one man.

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It might be worth your while to find a local with a dingo with a set of forks, load him up and get him to move all your gear out to your truck or trailer.

I thought I was going to have to move a lathe into a situation like this. I was going to buy 4 cheap wheelbarrow wheels. My lathe is on a welded stand. I was going to drill four holes in the stand and bolt the wheels on. I would have used a trolley jack one corner at a time and to assist with going around a corner.

Steve

This is my dilemma is a 1.1m path I cant get a pallet down it.


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PS It does rain here once in a blue moon.

Mark, your attachment comes up as an invalid attachment.
One way to get around your problem, would be to make a platform with some H/D castors on the outer edge. Make the platform so that where the machinery will sit, is as LOW as possible. Keeps the Centre of Gravity low. Have attached a pic of something that is WAY over done for what you want, but it's to give you an idea, your equipment would sit on the flats which would be connected to all the wheels.
What is the longest piece of equipment you have to move?
Will catch up with you when you're down this way soon about it.
Kryn
furniture-mover.jpg

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Hope this comes through.

Once I get it through here on to the veranda and on a pallet I can use a pallet jack.

Originally Posted by wm460

This is my dilemma is a 1.1m path I cant get a pallet down it.


DSC_3058.JPG

PS It does rain here once in a blue moon.

Hi Chris,

A Euro pallet is 1 metre square. If you pin a sheet of ply on the bottom you could use rollers under it to get your stuff out to where it is more accessible.

I'm in a similar situation where the pathway is only slightly wider than yours at 1.25 metres wide with a kink in it.
Fortunately my mill came in a 1 metre square plywood box, and the delivery man kindly used his pallet truck to get it to the workshop door.

At least you've got concrete, not gravel! Something like this might work for you? Made this up inspired by a similar unit I saw somewhere on the interwebs, to move my Bridgeport from one end of the shop to the other when I extended and rearranged some years back. Ignore the chicken excrement welds, I didn't have a MIG at the time and didn't fancy tigging it, so I used arc, which at the time I was very non-proficient in. I'll probably touch them up before using them again.

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The advantage to this arrangement of course is that it can be setup for any length you need. Although for something heavy you'd want thicker wall tube than I used (Think it was 40x40x2mm). For a 400kg lathe 3mm would likely be fine though. I did have a ratchet strap around the skate parts to keep them from sliding apart, but in reality they actually weren't going anywhere. Locking bolts could be added if desired, although I tend to think ratchet straps might actually be a better idea especially if going over multiple joins in the concrete (seems a slight potential for the bumping to creep the tube out of the sleeve even with a locking bolt).

For further 'food for thought', I'm likely going to build some 6 inch riser platforms for the Graziano out of some serious channel I've had kicking around for years waiting for a suitable job (keeps ending up just a bit too short!). If I do that, I'll likely drill and tap two or three holes each in the change gear side and the tailstock side, and drill matching holes in the skates at a suitable height that allows me to lift the lathe with the jacking screws, bolt the skates direct to the riser platforms, and then wind the jack screws back up in order to roll away. Planning for possible future moves, you see.

As far as moving it that distance with an engine hoist goes - forget it, unless you've got one with very good castors. Just moving the AL335 4m from one side of the shop to the other was painful enough with my cheapo unit (the 40mm tube for the sled arrangement may have been.... repurposed over the years, lol).

Originally Posted by Jekyll and Hyde

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I'd go with something like this.

A Euro pallet is 1 metre square.

Good point, got some smaller than 1200 square, heavy plastic pallets sitting at work. Can only guess they were prob designed with the Euro market in mind. Place I get em from is happy to offload em to me for zip, cause no one seems to want ones that arent the "usual" 1200 square.

Wouldnt offer up the other ones ones here (1400 odd x 11..), as dont think they would handle point loads near as well. Quite good when I was exporting longer items to NZ, as didnt cop the crap about exporting timber ones.

Whilst on the subject... if anyone within cooee wants some........ I can always get some more if the need arises.

Have you considered a pallet jack? It will be useful at the other end when you unload too.


Pete

Steel pipes?

I use a home made A frame that knocks down to three parts for transport for lifting. I seperate the machines from their stands and then place the machines onto a homemade removal dolly that’s built from 40mm SHS and 100mm castors. The once exception to this my guillotine, I jack that up and install castors on plates into the holes I’ve just removed the levelling feet from.

I have in the past used an engine crane to lift stuff, they are best left for taking engines out, and are not suitable for rolling machines down a path like that. The rollers are small enough that they will get bogged in the cut ins of the concrete and then set the load swinging and fall over.

Travelling your machines to the front of the house if best done as close to ground as possible, as stable as possible, not swing in the breeze on the lifting equipment.

Also consider what you will need to sling and lift and start acquiring that between now and retiring. I use a 1000kg chain hoist as my main lift generally but have two 250kg lever blocks that I use for levelling the lift (picture attached from when I moved my Hercus out of storage). I find the 22kN fall arrest slings more versatile than lifting ones most of the time, particularly for levelling. I use steel screw gate carabiners a lot too, they fit multiple slings inside more easily than shackles.

Some food for thought, hope it helps.

If you want a dimensioned drawing of the A frame feel free to message me.

The seller of my 1,500kg lathe moved it from a rear shed, across a gravel patch, down a path and out to the front of a house on home made wheeled dollies. The wheeled were around about 100mm diameter and one person moved it. I suspect the above ideas on dollies is your best bet until you can get it up on the pallet jack. Low to the ground, easily maneuverable and safe. 8 wheels and 2 pieces of heavy plywood.