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30th Jul 2021, 02:54 AM #1
Affordable Way to Lift, Move, Transfer Heavy Rotary Tables & Vises
I don't know if something like this is available in your location, but hopefully this will be of some interest.
I didn't want to assemble my engine hoist every time I wanted to transfer my rotary table and/or Kurt vise to my mill. Since I lacked the space to store a large lift table, I found this alternative:
I purchased a 16 1/2" x 13 3/4" Durhand scissors lift table with a height range of 14" to 36" and a 300 lb. capacity. I added a 7" booster block out of 2x6s and plywood as shown in the photos. Six coats of polyurethane on the top helps items slide easily. A small rectangular piece screwed to the bottom of the block registers in a matching hole in the table top to keep it from sliding around.
Table cost around $175 U.S. at: https://www.aosom.com/item/durhand-3...s~C30-009.html
To prevent the possibility of the lift table moving away from the mill during the transfer, I Installed two 3/8" diameter lag bolts with flat washers as shown. When the surfaces of the lift table and mill table are even, the lag bolt heads align with the .400" wide slot across the front of the Bridgeport table, and slide in place. They don't have to be tight -- they still hold the lift table securely in place.
I reduce the table height when moving a load to lower the center of gravity.
IMG_9310.jpg IMG_9304.jpg IMG_9307.jpg IMG_9336.jpg IMG_9337.JPG IMG_9340.jpg IMG_9339.jpg
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31st Jul 2021, 10:25 AM #2Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2020
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 76
I thought of using the same solution myself, but I couldn't find a decent scissor lift at a reasonable price, so what I did was make some shorter extension legs for my engine crane. I used 70mm x 70mm DAR pine from Bunnings, which fitted perfectly. I also added a handle on the back and used a piece of plastic conduit for the pump handle so I could access it from either side.
With the shorter legs the crane has more than enough capacity for things like rotary tables, even with the boom right out, and it doesn't really take up a lot more space than with the original legs folded up. Plus it only takes a couple of minutes to change back to the longer legs when I need to lift something heavy.
Shop-crane.jpg
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31st Jul 2021, 11:32 AM #3Diamond Member
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- N.W.Tasmania
- Posts
- 1,407
That is probably just fine Alex, but when you mentioned pine and Bunnings in the same breath, I felt a sudden uneasiness. I would much rather you used good hardwood rather than that pine, or another idea would be to use some builders strap and wrap the bottom and ends of your pine legs to give some added strength. You could probably pick up a metre or two from most building sites for the asking, but I'm glad none the less that your idea has worked well for you so far despite any concerns of mine
Last edited by Ropetangler; 1st Aug 2021 at 12:58 AM. Reason: spelling
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1st Aug 2021, 02:29 AM #4
I have one of those motorcycle scissor lift, best thing to have to move around heavy rotary table and milling machine vices and other items like a milling table. I think i will change the wheels to some bigger ones, i find the small wheels a bit hard to move around the workshop.
Resize of IMG_6800.jpg
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1st Aug 2021, 04:04 AM #5
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1st Aug 2021, 12:53 PM #6
Yeah i needed a bit more height so made up a block just like you did. I first use my engine crane to set the table on the knee and use the scissor lift for support. The rambaudi mill weight ~ 1.4 tons, just about every component i remove from the mill had to use the engine crane.
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