OT: How do you move heavy equipment around your shop?

This weekend I relocated one of my drill presses, A Buffalo #15, from my shop to my home garage to have it handy. It looked like I could carry it. I did - but boy, was I sorry that I did. My back was telling me a story later that night.

What do you all use to move stuff around? I'm looking at getting a engine hoist to save my back.


My next project is a SouthBend 14" floor model drill press for "restoration"
That I will need to pull the head off of.



Thanks,

Walt

I start with just brut force. Then if it is to heavy for that I progress to a hand truck. Even heavier I move to my engine hoist. For stuff like the lathe, I went old school this time around and moved by lifting and putting it up on pieces of tube and then just pushed it around. If I am really lazy it is time for the skid steer with forks or the track hoe.

move heavy stuff..

a 2 ton engine hoist......

Jack it . . .

I palletize anything I can and use a pallet jack. These are good for 5,000# and are available used for reasonable prices at auctions. Even new prices are coming down at places like Northern Tool. Because the lift is parallel to the floor, even top-heavy loads are not bad if you move slowly and have a smooth (clean!) floor. For example, I have my turret mill on a pallet and use it that way.

Hand truck, 4 wheel plywood dollies, pipe rollers, comealong, prybars, you name it.

But mostly I use my forklift-

20 years or so ago, I built a rolling A frame- I copied the design from wallace gantry-
Wallace Thrifty Steel Crane (Adjustable)

It is adjustable for height, so I have always been able to fit it in all of my different shops, and you can hang a chainfall, an electric hoist, or just a comealong on it. It will roll over other tools, so its easily maneuverable in crowded shops. Mine is set up with a 1 ton chainfall most of the time, and it has come in very handy on multiple occasions.
I built most of it from stuff that was laying around- the casters were the biggest expense.
It knocks down for storage, and fits in the back of a pickup- I have taken it to other people's places, to load up purchases.
Unlike an engine hoist, it doesnt have to go UNDER your load- which is much handier- lots of times, and engine hoist would not have fit where I wanted, and they roll very poorly, as most have steel casters that dont swivel.

With these two shop built skates I've moved B/P's, DoAll 8x24 surf. grinder, 8000lb. Amer. lathe and various other crap. By my lonesome! They're made from 5x5x3/8 angle with all casters swiveling. You can pin two of them if you need to. Moving a mill is a piece of cake. The width between caster angles is 32'' and sits 3/4'' from the floor. Plus they're cheap to build.

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt333/rbehner/shop pics/skt2.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt333/rbehner/shop pics/skt1.jpg

Oh, oops. Forgot to downsize. Thanks Paula

Ries, thanks for the memory jog. I do have a electric chain hoist that was used exactly like what you have set up. The crane part didn't make it in the move down to NC so the hoist is still in a box somewhere. I do like the idea of making it portable to take on-site.

Walt

Drill press I moved by 'walking' it tilted onto one corner of the base at a time. It's slow but as long you go carefully you can maintain the balance and let the floor do most of the hard work (it's bolted down now).

The lathe was delivered into the doorway of my garage by the PO with his crane truck, I then stripped off the tailstock and a lot of the cabinet cover etc and used timbers under the legs to pry and push it around.

I appreciate that I may be younger (and crazier) than a lot of readers

At the same time as the lathe and drill press I picked up a rolling A-frame, it had been slightly bent at one end and was a little too tall for my garage so I repaired and cut it down - it no longer rolls but is positioned near the headstock should I need it to manhandle anything to or from the lathe. It is not really in the ideal position since it is actually being used to prop up the centre of the poorly conceived flat roof at present, but I haven't got round to lifting anything with it. I will mainly use it for lifting my dinghies to work on whenever I recover them from my parents. And yes, I also picked up an electric hoist, but haven't rigged it yet. The PO was closing his shop and keen to take sensible offers rather than having to store or dump stuff.

When I stop playing with the lathe and make the necessary alterations to the house to bring the spare furniture in from the back of the garage and then rebuild the garage (don't ask about the machines, I'll probably build a shed within as a temporary refuge for them when I take the existing one apart), well when all that is complete and I don't need the A-frame to support the garage roof - I will make it roll again! And I will get my boats back, and I'll buy a mill, and.....

Presto-lift. 1000 lb capacity. Best 200 bucks I ever spent!

Ray Behner said:

With these two shop built skates I've moved B/P's, DoAll 8x24 surf. grinder, 8000lb. Amer. lathe and various other crap. By my lonesome! They're made from 5x5x3/8 angle with all casters swiveling. You can pin two of them if you need to. Moving a mill is a piece of cake. The width between caster angles is 32'' and sits 3/4'' from the floor. Plus they're cheap to build.

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt333/rbehner/shop pics/skt2.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt333/rbehner/shop pics/skt1.jpg

Oh, oops. Forgot to downsize. Thanks Paula

Click to expand...

Ray I sure like this idea. I'm adding this to my must make list.
Clay

Clay,
Here's some more stuff on an old post.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/how-i-move-machinery-204802/?highlight=machinery+skates

For engines and the like, I installed an overhead rail, with an electric hoist on trucks, that services the rear 16' of my shop, with a 7' lift. I can lift a motor with it, roll it back to an engine stand or sit it on a work bench. For other stuff, I have a 2-ton shop crane, and I also use those wheel dollies (1000 lb. capacity each) if I want to roll heavy things around from place to place. Also works on cars, too, of course. Handy to be able to push a car sideways into a small space, with one hand.

I have been doing this a lot lately with building the new shop. Typically I use 1 inch round stock as rollers with a come-a-long pulling. Chains, straps and have even used my Jeep quite a bit when possible. When I poured the concrete slab I stuck a nice big eye bolt in the far corner and have a heavy strap secured to it. That was one of my better ideas and has been a blessing.

bigearl67 said:

When I poured the concrete slab I stuck a nice big eye bolt in the far corner and have a heavy strap secured to it. That was one of my better ideas and has been a blessing.

Click to expand...

Do you have a load rating for it?
If not I will just say, be careful!

In the shipyards they have metal earthing bars cast into the concrete floor for connecting units to for welding. I recall an incident, not in my yard but another one in our group, not that many years ago, where to load test a crane someone had the great idea to weld a padeye to one of the earth bars and connect the crane via a tensile load link to pull against it until they got the required load.

They pulled the floor up and killed someone.

Not the same as if you are just shear loading the eyebolt by connecting the strap low on the item to be pulled, the concrete should be quite strong for that, but be wary of pulling up on the bolt unless you designed the reinforcement to do that.

Jim

Jim, Thanks for the info and the concern. I am always carefull whenever I move stuff aroud, just nervous. The most I have pulled with t so far (and likely) has only been about 4400 lbs and it holds up fine. I did put a threaded rod thru it to give it more bit in the concrete.

I like long bars, blocks of wood, pipes, wedges, engine cranes, (the occasional forklift) -- anything to obtain a mechanical advantage .... but, my number one rule is if you have to strain, it's time to stop, reevaluate, and find another way. If what you're doing is causing you to break a sweat, when the SHTF, you're going to be too exhausted and too close to do anything about the object which is about to crush you.

Steel Casters:

The last time I move my 10L I bought 4 ChiCom steel casters, attached them to 2 pieces of a 2" stud and was able to push the machine anywhere I wanted to push it EASILY. When I finally decided where I wanted it to reside I took the casters off using a Hi-Lift jack to lower it to the floor and I was HOME.

Back whern I worked for rebuilders we used rolls; either pipe or steel rolls they work slick as long as there is enough base surface of a machine to utlize them effectively

Here is a picture of my Adcock and Shipley Horizontal mill sitting on a set of skates I built about 20 years ago. They will handle 10,000 with no problem. We have moved tons of equipment on two of these skates. I moved my Mill lathe and gear head drill press into my home shop all by myself using only my overhead lift to get the machine off the trailer and these skates to move them into position. Its a trick to get them out from under a mill by your self but if your tricky with a little twine or wire you can do it. I also use a 4000 pound capacity lift bar with wheels on it.

Turk

Those are nice Dennis

Dennis Turk said:

Here is a picture of my Adcock and Shipley Horizontal mill sitting on a set of skates I built about 20 years ago. They will handle 10,000 with no problem. We have moved tons of equipment on two of these skates. I moved my Mill lathe and gear head drill press into my home shop all by myself using only my overhead lift to get the machine off the trailer and these skates to move them into position. Its a trick to get them out from under a mill by your self but if your tricky with a little twine or wire you can do it. I also use a 4000 pound capacity lift bar with wheels on it.

Turk

Click to expand...

Often simplicity is the best solution, eh?

Who was it who said - - -

Dennis Turk said:

Here is a picture of my Adcock and Shipley Horizontal mill sitting on a set of skates I built about 20 years ago. They will handle 10,000 with no problem. We have moved tons of equipment on two of these skates. I moved my Mill lathe and gear head drill press into my home shop all by myself using only my overhead lift to get the machine off the trailer and these skates to move them into position. Its a trick to get them out from under a mill by your self but if your tricky with a little twine or wire you can do it. I also use a 4000 pound capacity lift bar with wheels on it.

Turk

Click to expand...

With long enough bar and a fulcrum, one could move the earth?