Help with my pallet jack problem ??

[twocik]

Ok got my mill the other day and must say it's alot bigger than expected. Everything was packed very nice, some stuff got scratched a little bit and a few bad gashes, but nothing a little paint won't solve.

Only problem was that the bottom of the pallet is spaced weird and my pallet jack doesn't fit thru the center. I've got the jack set at an offset (forks to the heavier side) and noticed I've got a big problem. My pallet jack doesn't go high enough to get the shop crane forks underneath the wooden pallet. So I need a few suggestions on what to do ?

** I was thinking about add a few pieces of 2 - 3" aluminum flat stock on top of the pallet jack forks to add height.



One other thing, when you guys installed the iron feet to the bottom of the stand, afterwards did you completely extend the iron feet to make room for the shop crane or should I keep them right on the cast iron spacer ?

[Cairns]

With regards to getting your shop crane under the base: I put several 10"x10"x2" pieces of lumber under each foot of the stand so it had the clearance needed to get my engine hoist under it. Then once the mill was on board I used a scissor jack to alternately lift the the base from the left side and then the right, removing a height of wood from each side until they were all out. The jack wouldn't fit under the stand when there was only one stack of wood remaining but I was surprised at how easily I could lift one side using a short piece of 2x4 as a lever.

[compunerdy]

I just cut away the parts of the pallet not under the machine like the video showed so the hoist would fit.

[MichaelHenry]

There are some pictures and description here of how my wife and I moved ours that may give you some ideas:

http://memweb.newsguy.com/~mphenry/tormach_cnc_mill.htm

Mike

[300sniper]

i took care of mine the same way i always move something heavy, i bbq'd a bunch of tri-tip.

[zephyr9900]

And I missed the invite list...

Randy (only 100 miles away!)

[twocik]

WOW took three of us to get this thing on the stand and found that the pallet jack I borrowed was on it's last leg. Using bricks, wood and just about anything I could find. Scratched some of the pieces but not bad, just little scratches.

Now just left with putting the rest of the stand together. I see some using clear silicone to seal the leafs to the stand. I was thinking of using a thin piece of rubber to use as a removal seal, but wasn't sure if this would cause any thing to move funny, etc..

Any thoughts ?

[Cairns]

Originally Posted by twocik Any thoughts ?

As long as you've got the silicon out, make sure you put some between the front table edge and the piece of stainless that bolts to it. That'll keep coolant off of your X axis limit switch and prevent it from failing.

[BlueFin]

Originally Posted by Cairns As long as you've got the silicon out, make sure you put some between the front table edge and the piece of stainless that bolts to it. That'll keep coolant off of your X axis limit switch and prevent it from failing.

Yeah, cause it will cost you $15 bucks in about 2 months if you don't. And always keep your hand near the stop button when you REF ALL.

[300sniper]

Originally Posted by BlueFin Yeah, cause it will cost you $15 bucks in about 2 months if you don't. And always keep your hand near the stop button when you REF ALL.

i haven't replaced mine yet although it has not registered the x axis limit switch a few times when it was wet/dirty. i always have my hand hovering over the estop when the x axis is referencing. if it fails, i just blow it off with compressed air and it is good to go again. now that i know it's a problem, i keep that area clear of swarf.

[twocik]

Cairns Thank you for the heads up, got it all done. I will say I had the hardest time putting the chip trays together, some really tight spaces. Took me a few minutes to figure what screw went where (doesn't really say in the manual, well says it, but I think more pictures would help for first timers like myself) and then finally got sick of it and broke out my own hardware.




"Yeah, cause it will cost you $15 bucks in about 2 months if you don't. And always keep your hand near the stop button when you REF ALL."

Not sure I follow you here, REF ALL ?




BTW Some parts of my machine were a little roughed up on paint. My chip tray was scratched to the bare metal and some parts of the bottom of the machine. I'm guessing I'm definitely going to need some paint before I let any coolant hit that right ?




Can the programs be installed on more than one computer or will it lock up and ask for another license that I'd need to purchase ?


.

[justgary]

My experience shows that you need a good grade of silicone for any parts that will have continuous contact with coolant. The tube of sealer will state if it is not rated for submerged use. Most silicone sealers are *not* rated for submerged use.

The big chip pans on the stand are no big deal, but the stainless guard on the front of the table and the Y way cover at the rear of the table both need a bead of high-quality goop, because they will get continuously soaked with coolant.

As for the X limit switch, mine failed, and in removing it I noticed that the factory goop is not good enough. It had gotten waterlogged and was relatively easy to pull away from the switch. I let the switch dry out for a few weeks and then tried it again. It still works fine. I still plan to retrofit my home-side limit switches with something a little more precise, but I haven't stopped to think about it long enough. Anyway, you probably won't have to buy a new limit switch, especially if you goop between the table and the guard.

My chip pan came all scratched up also. Tormach sent me a small jar of paint (but it is not the same kind of paint that the factory uses). Personally, I think they should just toss a small touchup can in every machine order. As long as you use a decent coolant, the scratches probably won't rust anytime soon even without paint. Besides, the paint on the cast iron parts seems to blister off wherever the coolant flows like a waterfall.

Once you get it covered in chips, you can't see the missing paint anyway...

Regards,

- Just Gary