moving a mill and a lathe

[brncofan]

hi guys need some advice as how to lift a bridgeport mill my friend has a excavator to lift them and put on a trailer where should i place straps on mill to lift safly thank you never done this b4 appreciate any pics of how you did it Mark my buddy is very good and safe no worries there just dont want to damage mill lol Mark

 

[Kala Taki]

I would turn the head upside down after removing the drawbar before picking it up.

 

[brncofan]

View attachment 412854
I would turn the head upside down after removing the drawbar before picking it up.

thanks appreciate it

 

[Bill D]

Moving Bridgeport Mill

Is it possible to move a Bridgeport mill with a F 350 pickup? What if the motor was removed? I will have riggers load it, or should I use my trailer? Stan

www.practicalmachinist.com

Interesting trailer tie down for Bridgeport style mill... (pic)

I sold this last week and was surprised at the elaborate blocking the buyer did... :scratchchin:

www.practicalmachinist.com

 

[amaranth]

Be really careful with that lathe; they can get very tippy without warning. I got my 10ee really cheap because it had been tipped over onto the front when it was being moved. Make sure the center of gravity is BELOW your lifting point and protect the lead screw and carriage drive from possible damage.

When i moved my lathes, I bolted some skates to 4 ft long pieces of U channel and strapped them to the lathe. The skates can't slip, the channels won't move and the lathe won't tip. I rolled them onto a drop deck trailer and rolled them off at the new location. A completely boring move.

I had riggers drop one of my lathes when they were delivering it. The straps slipped and it dropped about 2 feet onto an asphalt drive, luckily no damage. A couple minutes earlier it had been 8 feet up in the air. After that I try to avoid having lathes more than a couple inches off the ground.

 

[Superbowl]

Definitely bolt something to the bottom of the lathe so it can't tip over. I like a pressure treated 4x6 because it will put the machine just high enough to get a pallet jack under it. Get an eight footer at Home Depot and cut it in half so you have a four foot long piece for each end of the lathe. I keep my 10ee on the 4x6's permanently as the wood dampens vibrations and I can easily move it any time.

 

[Bill D]

No one said it because it is so obvious. those skids being bolted to the lathe run front to back. Equal length front and rear.
Bill D

 

[Rob F.]

And to just be extra extra clear to what Bill just said, front of lathe is where you stand to run it. Not front of the trailer you will put it on. That would be sideways or lengthwise on the lathe itself.

Also be sure to lock down all the table & knee locks on the mill and lathe if it can be locked. That will help keep stress off the screws if something does want to move. Some even like to lower the knee on the mill down onto a 4x4 block of wood, Lay it flat under the back, behind the screw. This also lowers the CG and also takes all stress off that screw if it has a bumpy ride. Locking the knee locks will also do most of that job....

 

[john.k]

The people I sold out to moved my 3 ton lathe free ,but the driver was winching down the chain so tight that I had to stop him before he broke the cast iron base ..............truck had a Hardox tray ,and the damn keyholes in the tray mangled my gr 80 chains.

 

[Overland]

When I move a lathe I like to put straps around the webs in the bed casting. I drop the straps down between the ways around a web, then back up between the ways again. This way the lathe cannot topple and will always stay upright. I use this method even when using a forklift - very safe way to do it.
Move tailstock and cariage to the right for balance, and lock then down.
Bob

 

[Garwood]

You guys are overkill to the max. These machines can both be loaded with a small excavator or forklift with zero prep and a couple straps. It's not a big deal.

Making and attaching skids is pretty insane. That's a lot of money and time and for what purpose?

I suggest just thinking before you act. Use some common sense.

Riggers don't put skids on machines or flip the head on a BP. Most rigger grunts doing this stuff professionally are not engineers. Far from it.

 

[triumph406]

Making and attaching skids is pretty insane. That's a lot of money and time and for what purpose?

If you don't move machines for a living then I can't see why adding skids for peace of mind isn't a bad thing.

And people who do move machines for a living tip lathes over, not unknown, so even the 'experts' can f'up.

I've moved plenty of manual lathes, and is my least fun thing to do.

 

[Garwood]

If you don't move machines for a living then I can't see why adding skids for peace of mind isn't a bad thing.

And people who do move machines for a living tip lathes over, not unknown, so even the 'experts' can f'up.

I've moved plenty of manual lathes, and is my least fun thing to do.

Riggers wreck stuff. I'd say 30% of the riggers I've worked with are incompetent. You'd be better off doing it yourself if you're capable.

I've never seen a used machine moved on skids and it's frequently brought up here as the preferred way to do it.

I'm just saying I don't think that's reality. I'm not spending a day to measure up and make a skid, then adding the hassle of getting the machine on and off the skid just to make sure I don't do something really stupid.

I just try extra hard not to do anything really stupid.

My advice is figure out the center of mass. Safety first. Test your pick points slowly. Have a spotter. If you're using a little excavator to load don't do something really stupid like pick with the blade down then swing to the side. Basically just spend extra time thinking every step through instead of spending a lot of time and money making a skid.