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Brown & Sharpe Micromaster 618 Surface grinder or what did i get into?

dcsipo

Diamond
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Location
Baldwin, MD/USA
Ok call me nuts, i bough the damned thing it runs, but...


List of things:

The table drive timing belt is disconnected, The ways are damaged, did not look at them yet, but i can push the table by hand bot direction to the end without huge resistance or noise, i think that is a fairly good sign, The thing is huge and weighs 2500 Lbs, looking for a rigging company. I wil post pictures once i have it in the garage and have a chance to take inventory of everything. I think i got myself a project...

Oh yeah, did i say i bought it for 100 bucks?

00s0s_ax2gXHK5Gp9_1200x900.jpg

dee
;-D
 
I posted this in an other thread: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...monium-md-baltimore-north-suburb-area-327602/

I am still looking for someone to move this grinder.

It is around 2500 Lb. Needs to be picked up at a light industrial location and moved to my garage in a residential area. They have a forklift and loading dock at the pickup. Level driveway and garage at the drop off, one could do it with a lift gate and a pallet jack. Total distance is 18 miles door to door. Any recommendations for a local company to do this?

Appreciate any help.


dee
;-D
 
I have moved machines that size by myself with 2 and 4 wheel trainers but would not recommend you to do that. You can rent a truck with a lift gate but doing so you have to pinch the machine onto the lift .. *You must open the down valve as slow as you can move the handle to bleed the system very slow or the machine will stat the fall so fast it could tip and fall off the gate. Tow vehicle should be rated for the load.
*Local auction house likely knows a mover who will move it for $300.
A MillWright could tie and unload the machine but with not having experience best to have a mover.

Machine sales and re builder shop often have a mover guy in house or on call.
Lock the table lock at center, drop the wheel onto a wood block so the Up/down handle feels free, check guards and whole machine for anything loose the might fall off. wrap it tight in a tarp so dust stays out and anything loose will be caught in the tarp., drive like you have a hot coffee setting on the dash, have a co pilot to watch traffic. Closed in a van it can just fall out through the side wall of not secured.
 
I have an older unit. The good news is the head is a bit more firmly attached than many grinders. The bad news is that it's still pretty top-heavy and tippy. I'd second the recommendation to go with a pro. When you get it home, I'd be curious to know what kind of oil metering valves it uses.

GsT
 
I have one of these. I don't believe there is a belt on the feed. I can't remember tho.
Nice grinder but the control is kinda goofy on how it works.
 
I have moved machines that size by myself with 2 and 4 wheel trainers but would not recommend you to do that. You can rent a truck with a lift gate but doing so you have to pinch the machine onto the lift .. *You must open the down valve as slow as you can move the handle to bleed the system very slow or the machine will stat the fall so fast it could tip and fall off the gate. Tow vehicle should be rated for the load.
*Local auction house likely knows a mover who will move it for $300.
A MillWright could tie and unload the machine but with not having experience best to have a mover.

Machine sales and re builder shop often have a mover guy in house or on call.
Lock the table lock at center, drop the wheel onto a wood block so the Up/down handle feels free, check guards and whole machine for anything loose the might fall off. wrap it tight in a tarp so dust stays out and anything loose will be caught in the tarp., drive like you have a hot coffee setting on the dash, have a co pilot to watch traffic. Closed in a van it can just fall out through the side wall of not secured.

I like your ideas the best so far :). I will also call around all the links provided in the thread.

dee
;-D
 
You may to pay a bit more to have an insured pro. As I said in the email, check around to companies that move printing presses who are used to moving small units in small rooms. Call around to some local machine shops an ask who they use.

Machinery Movers in Baltimore, Maryland with Reviews & Ratings - YP.com

Millwrights in Baltimore, Maryland with Reviews & Ratings - YP.com

Yup i got the same searches...It is kinda hard to pick them without any references, of course Paulo volunteered right away, offered all kinds of useful tips, and help in exchange of nothing, which i cannot just accepts, I am leaning toward the pro route, if i can find experienced movers who would do it for like $300 that is the winner :). At the pickup it is a no brainer, Rick can drive it on with the forklift.....If the guys know how to handle it on a flat access, we have it made.

The manual says strap the head. If i just strap it with ratchet straps is that enough or do i beed to construct something more serious? Also since this bugger is hydraulic....Nowhere in the manual says need to drain all fluids....got 22 gallons of oil!!!! Ah de joys of cheap old iron.

dee
;-D

dee
;-D
 
I have an older unit. The good news is the head is a bit more firmly attached than many grinders. The bad news is that it's still pretty top-heavy and tippy. I'd second the recommendation to go with a pro. When you get it home, I'd be curious to know what kind of oil metering valves it uses.

GsT

Speaking of the head attachment...I will need to remove it for reconditioning. Have ever done that to yours?

dee
;-D
 
Yesrs back I knew a guy who moved small machines in the back of a pick-up truck... I bought and sent a Bridgeport 300 miles from Mt Clemens to Cheboygan Mi.. In a pick-up. no, not recommending you doing that.. likely you would get pulled over and ticketed.
Likely that would be a good side business to have the likes of a car hauler and set of machine trucks.. or a drop trailer tho move machines perhaps to 5,000lb or so.
 
Dee,
Definitely, if you go with the pros, make sure that they're insured and check the references they provide.
Looking at Buck's manual, I find really annoying the lack of specific data (e.g. unless I'm blind, I do not see any dimensions for the machine, minimum length of the forks on the lift, preferred path for chains, slings, dimensions for the block to lock the spindle, etc.

With the right forklifts and level ground, loading and unloading should be a breeze.

I don't know how the final resting place is organized and which kind of flooring you have. Knowing you, I don't think that resting permanently the grinder on a sturdy wooden platform would be convenient (unless you build a second platform for the operator).
But, except in the case the ground is a sturdy concrete slab, an hardwood platform (movable with a pallet jack) is extremely convenient, insulates most of the vibrations, it acts as thermal insulator and, in the case of relatively small machines, it is almost as rigid as the original floor and allows you to better distribute the weight on a larger area.

Paolo
 
I've moved one in a 3/4 ton pickup, I'll not do it again.
Done it with a drop trailer and pallet jack. The on and off is a bit scary if you are not used to moving machines but it worked ok.
They move around the shop on a pallet jack from the side if the head is cranked fully forward. You need to shim the back side where the jack goes through the notches 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch with wood or pieces of steel.
Bring the head forward and strap it down to the machine before blocking the table. Yes I use ratchet straps.
If you don't when blocking you can lift the head off its ways and bend the in/out screw.
I only have 6 now and we move them around the shop a lot. By far my favorite 6x18 grinder. Only one bad thing being the gear reduction on the table feed handwheel.
Mine were all manuals when they came in and your left arm gets a workout as it takes many more turns to cover a part than say a Harrig, or Boyer.
Some shippers won't transport full of oil. It As noted even a manual one takes a lot of oil to refill the sump.
They are sensitive to level front to back or the ways wear funny. The spindle is adjustable for alignment via the plate on the nose and you may want to check this if you block the table in shipping.
After removing or detaching the in/out screw, splined elevation drive, front and rear way covers, and oil lines you can pull the head with an engine hoist but a forklift or overhead gantry trolley is easier.
I remove the spindle when doing this but that means you will have to realign it in both planes when done.
Fairly simple machines to work on. Yours may or may not have a oil return filter cartridge or sump can located behind a panel on the right side below the head. Make sure it gets cleaned.

Even with some work needed I think you got a screaming deal on a great grinder and they are easy to work on.
Bob
 
QT bob: [Mine were all manuals] .. I started out running Reid manual 618s, the old oil ways machines often 10 hours a day.. Glad it not take long to get promoted to short run specials. Yes I started out with also cleaning the johns ans pulling out the Blanchard sludge. We kept the diamond sludge out back in a 55Gal drum and one day it disappeared.
I think the B&S Micromaster one of the best grinders.
 
Bob,
Thanks for the great info.
I do have a couple of questions. First, what is the spacing between the slots for the forks? Second, moving the table to the right as much as possible, how long the forks of a fork lift should be?

What I was proposing Dee is to rent a fork lift at his place and I could help out with a 12x7ft trailer (5000lb load capacity) belonging to another of Tuckahoe Machine Shop Museum volunteers: all it would have costed Dee would be a few hours of volunteer work at the Museum and the rental of the fork lift (~$250 with delivery).
But, if he can get trustworthy professional help for roughly $300, I'd day it's a smoking deal.

Paolo
 
[But, if he can get trustworthy professional help for roughly $300, I'd day it's a smoking deal.]
Don't know itf that a current price just figured 100 to load, 100 to haul 25 miles and 100 to unload would be fare. IMHO.
 








 
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