Moving a Powermatic 1150 VS

I have to move a Powermatic 1150 Variable speed (~430 lbs.)with the help of my lovely wife. She's pretty strong (for a girl) but I'm a bit worried about getting in the back of my pickup truck. I've read other forums about people just getting to the tail gate. put the drill press table about bed height and just flipping it in. Then lift the base into the bed and sliding the DP forward. I've tried doing it this way with my old step pulley DP (~ 230 lbs.) and did it by myself. I plan on taking an engine cranes with me to lift it, set it on the lifts front rails, and roll it out to the truck.

Any thoughts on my game plan would be appreciated

BTW I didn't put this in the rigging sub forum because I was afraid it wouldn't get the traffic there.

I would use a pulling device attached between the head of the drill press and the front of your truck bed to tip it over and pull it into the bed. You may need protection for your tailgate and bed, and for the machine when dragging it in.

I have a Little Mule 1000 lb. electric chain hoist that is ideal for the job and have used it to pull a lathe up wood ramps attached to the tailgate and bumper. But that hoist was expensive and may not even be made any more, so I have other pullers that I have used and can recommend.

A manual lever chain hoist/cable come-along will also work, as will a 2" ratchet strap. The strap will have limited travel, but you may find that, once the machine is tipped over as far as the strap can be wound up, the base of the machine can be manually shoved in the rest of the way. Those ratchet straps are also great for securing a load in the truck if your bed came with attaching loops.

Another approach is to take the thing apart before loading it. It is usually simple to remove the head, table and base from the column. The head will still be heavy, so the motor can also be removed, probably after disconnecting some wiring.

Larry

If you have an engine hoist there already, strap the head to the hoist so that the head will be held above the truck bed. Slide the table up near the head. Position the hoist to that you can lift the BASE into the truck. It's probably a lot lighter than the head, table, and motor. Then pull the base into the truck as your significant other pushes on the engine hoist. It ends up with the head on the back end of the truck, but the truck shouldn't care.

I would take a slightly different route than those mentioned above. I believe the head is secured to the column by a clamp mechanism. There are a couple bolts on the rear side of the head just in front of the motor. I would place a large block of wood on the table and raise the it as far as possible to support the head. Then loosen the clamp bolts on the head enough to allow it to slide down the column. Lower the table and head assembly as far as possible using the table elevating crank. Then resecure the head clamp bolts.

Now you have a compact machine with a low center of gravity. You can raise the whole assembly into the back of the truck with your engine hoist. I used this method to load and unload the drill press in the pictures below. This one weighs 750 lbs.




I have no idea why, but the software decided to change the orientation of the attached pictures. They were both downloaded and appear in the file management section correctly. When uploaded to the site they are turned at 90*

When I bought my Powermatic 1200, I had planned on lowering the head and transporting it upright. It absolutely refused to budge, despite being in nearly new condition with no rust at all. We even supported it by the head and tried to tap down the column to break it loose. Not a chance on mine, but maybe on yours. Best laid plans, and all that.

There have been many threads on moving these and similar DP's. One proven technique is to ratchet strap a couple of 2x4's to the side of the DP, full length. Then you can tip it into the bed of the truck quite easily, even solo. You will want to pad between the wood and DP with floor or welcome mats (dollar store is a good source). A used tire is also handy.

I do not recommend rolling it around with an engine hoist. Those are for lifting, not moving stuff. They are extremely tippy even with a low slung load. But with a top heavy DP resting on the legs? Maybe on a glass smooth floor, or other very limited circumstances - turns are trouble. It would not be my choice.

I wouldn't lift it by the table. They break, especially the light 1100 table. You can move the DP by tipping/walking it back and forth. It's pretty easy. It's nice to have a helper but not essential.

In the photo, we forked it into the borrowed truck and then tipped it. There is wood and padding under the head. To unload, I took the weight off the head with a sling on the column at a good balance point, with an engine hoist. And then slid it back, and easily lowered the base to the ground - no sweat.

I figured I would update this thread. Drill press was 2.5 hours away so I took every tool and moving device imaginable. My wife went with me, she's strong but not "man" strong. I took an engine crane with me figuring I'd have to hoist the DP into the bed of my truck. Got there DP was about 40' from my truck. We penguine walked the DP out the door to the bed of my truck. I put down a rimless car tire and we just tipped the DP on to the bed. Lifted up the base and slide it in. I don't know if I could hae done it by myself, maybe IDK. Once the DP was in the truck I had to disassemble the engine crane so it would fit in the bed. That took longer than loading the DP. I've got to say it went so smooth I'm pretty cocky about loading another DP. I'd like to get another variable speed DP and ditch one of my pulley DP

Anyway, thanks to all of you for your suggestions.

I would put a three phase motor on the pulley drillpress and add a vfd. Quieter and better then a vs machine.
Bill D