Moving my J-head!

[Chuck Pressure]

Hey everybody!
Love the site and all the good advise here! I have a question....first off, my shop is nearing completion in the next month or so and I have to to start thinking about how I'm going to get the mill and lathe off pallets....anybody got firsthand experiance here?? I think I can engine hoist the lathe (13x40) off but not sure about bp.......The local rental shop charges a fortune for forklift rental!

any help appreciated!
Chuck

[mxtras]

The typical J-head machine with a long table is about 2050 pounds so the engine hoist might just do it. It would be a straight vertical lift.

You can use an eye bolt in the tapped hole in the ram - you may have to adjust the position of the ram and the saddle/table to balance it out. You can use lengths of pipe to roll it into position Egyptian pyramid style, then use pry bars and wood blocks to get it off the pipes. It's not all that hard - just take your time. Keep the knee low and the saddle back. You can tilt the head all the way forward to help lower the center of gravity also - just clean the gear on the knuckle before you crank on it.

Good luck - keep us posted!

Scott

[Chuck Pressure]

Thanks Scott!
Sounds like a good plan, I'll buy a good quality eye bolt for this.....I can't wait to get my shop going but moving day will be a pain!

[machintek]

I have used a tow truck to lift a BPT EZTRAK out of a truck and onto a floor as far as possible into a garage. Then the above methods were put into use.
My mill came home in a uhaul trailer. I used my 1000 pound capacity engine hoist to lift the head, ram and turret off the base. Then the base was lifted by the hoist with a sling around the "spyder." All parts were placed using same and assembled.
My south bend lathe was carried in by myself and a friend.

George

[Chuck Pressure]

Thanks George!!
Not only getting it off the pallet is going to be my only problem here, I have a good bit of incline and tilt to the driveway into the shop! Soooo, I'm thinking pallet jack, truck wench/tow straps with an extra come along to keep mr bp upright! then the fiasco above!!!! Man this home shop stuff is fun huh????