Ok so i bit the bullet.. Just waiting on delivery. Ive got my shop wired up for 240 and air etc all ready for the tormach.
Ive watched various youtube install vids etc. Just looking for any more first hand tips when installing.
Will this 1 ton cherry picker do the job? My neighbor has one already. Or is it too short?
■Boom extends from 36-1/4" to 50-1/4"
■Crane height adjusts from 70-3/4" to 82-3/4"
Engine Hoist / Shop Crane - 1 Ton
any other first hand tips would be great!
Thanks in advance
Jesse
Originally Posted by s2jesse
Others will chime in with their experience, but I believe the "V" shaped legs are a problem. I also seem to recall the HarborFreight being marginal.
I personally rented a "Bluebird" that has a wider stance and the legs at 90 degrees to that base. I also used the Tormach lifting kit. Not mandatory, but it worked well.
I just moved my new-to-me mill this week. I used the smaller of my rental place's tow-behind engine hoists. I'm pretty sure the tip of the crane was above the height of my 7' garage door when putting the mill onto the stand. So, it might well be taller that the HF unit can handle.
(running out to garage to check...)
OK, the top of the mill where at the lifting eye is 69". The lifting bar and shackles adds 15" to that. So, at least 84", but you need another 4-6" to account for the tilt that will happen when you lift the mill.
Hope this helps.
Dave
I used a 2Ton Harbor Freight Shop Crane Hoist and the Tormach Lifting Kit.
The vee legs are an issue. I cut down the crate base per the Tormach pictures and was able to lift the machine off after some manipulation. The legs will not go under the stand and the angle between the legs is to narrow to allow the legs to wrap around the base leveling feet. I ended up elevating the base by placing placing four solid pavers stacked so that they were two side by side and two high under each leveling foot. The legs would then go under the base and allow the machine to be set on the pads.
After bolting the machine into place, the hoist was removed and the base was lowered one paver at a time using the foot tab of a railroad jack. I placed a length of 2" x 2" x 3/8" angle between the foot tab and the base to avoid bending the edge of the base with the point load.
My $0.02USD worth, invoice will follow via snail mail.
nitewatchman
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ok thanks a ton guys sounds like that smaller one wont quite cut it.
Jesse
NYCCNC.com did a series of installation videos that may be helpful to you. I know the helped me a great deal. Here is a link to one of them:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=4oYDB3V42jw>
I bought the 4 wheel version on the HF hoist you pointed to. It did not roll with the mill on it. It had to be coaxed with levers. The six wheel version may be better. I did, eventually get my mill put together using that hoist. If I had to do it again, I would look for something better.
The 2Ton six wheel version is really tough to roll with the mill also. Mine actually still only rolls on four wheels. The center two are lifted off the ground when the legs are folded down and locked.
nitewatchman
No trees were destroyed in sending this message but a large number of electrons were severely inconvenienced.
My experience is exactly that of nitewatchman’s. I used the HF 2 ton 6 wheel lift. It had to be forced along with heavy bars. I blocked the stand up and let it down one side at a time with a floor jack. I had to leave ¾ inch plywood under each foot as the floor jack wouldn’t clear all the way to the floor.
Kind of a pain that should be disclosed by Tormach.
Mayby the rest of us could start a cottage industry selling feet spacers for our new recruits!
I ended up taking the wheels off of the engine hoist I used and sliding it along on teflon furniture moving strips. It worked and I did it by myself (which was stupid) but two years later I ended up putting Aluminum blocks under the feet to tilt the machine so that the coolant would drain. If you can I would extend the feet before you put it together sooner or later you are going to want to move it.
You will probably need full extension on the boom for that engine hoist, which reduces the capacity to less than the weight of the mill. I'd be inclined to derate the capacity of HF products by half anyway.
Here is a narrative and pictures of how my wife and I set up the Series I PCNC 1100 in the basement of our townhome:
Tormach PCNC 1100 CNC Mill
That may give you some ideas. We used a 2-ton engine hoist from Pep Boys that was on sale for $120 or so. The fold up legs are great for storage in our smallish 2-car garage.
Another relatively cheap product that might prove useful is the 3000-lb racing jack that HF has on sale for $80 or so:
Aluminum Floor Jack - 1.5 Ton Aluminum Racing Jack
You can use that to lift a corner (or side if you are careful) of the mill. That allows you to put blocks of wood under each corner to raise the base enough to provide clearance for the hoist legs.
The mill is most easily moved with a pallet jack, but if you don't have one, or the room to store one, you can move the mill over short distances by putting sheets of HDPE or UHMWPE under each corner and sliding the mill around. The jack comes in handy to raise the corners and is easy to store.
Mike
So far so good...
I rented a good hoist from a rental company. Thought i was golden because it didnt have the v legs etc. Thought my life was gonna be easy
Turns out its about 5 inches short as well.so retuned it then hit autozone which had the same one harbor freight sells as well. Jacked up the stand set it on without problem!. Thanks for all the tips..
One more q. i dont see any pre drilled / tapped holes for the manualu oiler. Am i missing them somewhere or do i need to drill and tap them. No biggie just checking first.
There are no holes in the casting on the left of the base. Where it apears in pictures.
Thanks again guys.
Jesse
Last edited by s2jesse; 11-10-2011 at 02:01 AM.
Mine came mounted in place.
nitewatchman
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