How do you move machinery at home?

[DSEL74]

After having some difficulty today I really started to ponder how some of you guys move what you do. When you bring home that new acquisition what lifting gear to do have at home to unload and get the machine where you want it??

Some of your machines must be over 1000kg. A small Bridgeport in basic configuration weighs 997kg.

A piece of mill table I had to move today weighed over 350kg on it's own……No wonder I couldn't lift it even though I ate my weeties!!

[DSEL74]

One of these would be nice!
http://www.dotengineering.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/5T-Mobile-Gantry1-e1388632206808.jpg

[burraboy]

Yes, a clean floor makes a big difference!

[PLD]

I have one of these. I have unloaded, set up, moved all sorts of heavy item with it.

307953

[Old-Biker-UK]

As long as any HSE officers are a long way away -
Scaffold pole rollers, Acro-Prop 'A' frames & chain blocks, it also helps if you can find a couple of RU Front Row Forwards.

Mark

[Driftabout]

Engine crane, lengths of gal pipe (for rollers), crow bar and chain pull.

[bwal74]

Hi,

For the last couple of years I've used a engine crane and my muscles. Last Xmas I nearly lost my index finger, so before I move again I'm hoping to my a small gantry crane contraption. Something that will lift my lathe, mill and douglas shaper. That can be made bigger and smaller for whatever sized car garage/car trailer or truck bed I use.

Ben

[Auskart]

An Engine Crane and the wife. :B

[simonl]

I really used to struggle with this. Then about 3 years ago I made an engine crane out of material I had lying around. Pretty much just had to buy the hydraulic ram and wheels. I use it to lift my lathe, mill, welding table and just recently used it to unload my 900Kg shaper. Couldn't live without it! I also have an assortment of 2000Kg lifting slings and about 5M of tape rope I bought from Anaconda.

Edit: A pallet jack would also be handy!

Cheers,

Simon

[Bryan]

I use an oversized engine crane for lifting and a pallet jack for rolling. The first time I tried to move a load with the crane the crappy casters collapsed. I replaced them with better ones but it's still hard to steer. The pallet jack rolls and steers easier and gives much better control. Which means safety.

A mobile gantry would have some advantages for lifting, but I wouldn't want to move a heavy load with one. Imagine hitting a pebble on the floor with a ton plus swinging in the breeze. I suppose you could lower it onto some bearers across the base for moving. But I've come to see lifting and moving as separate tasks. Unless you have a forklift. :)

This was an anxious moment, just after I drove the trailer away. The lathe is about 1250kg. The Chinese crane is rated for 3T, but the boom had to be in the 1.5T position for reach.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=228124&d=1307007571

The problem is the damned feet always get in the way.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=228125&d=1307007571

[DSEL74]

Seems like an engine crane is the most popular. Do these come in various sizes? I saw a milling machine the other day was specified to be moved from an eye bot in the top so it would have to be quite a tall engine crane.

[PDW]

Pallet jack, gantry crane, machinery skates, pipe rollers. All depends on what I'm moving.

Heaviest piece of equipment is around 6.5 tonnes and I can move that by myself.

PDW

[DSEL74]

Pallet jack, gantry crane, machinery skates, pipe rollers. All depends on what I'm moving.

Heaviest piece of equipment is around 6.5 tonnes and I can move that by myself.

PDW

Got any photos of your gantry crane, machinery skates?



This looks interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDOM7FaEx54

[cava]

Forklift (I'm spoilt :B)

[markgray]

I live on a farm in a pretty isolated area so moving machinery that weighs more than a tonne or more was always a major problem. But time and ingenuity can overcome most situations. I once unloaded a 10 tonne Kearns horizontal borer off the back of a semi trailer with 4 20T jacks and blocks. When it was jacked off the trailer and I drove the trailer away it was suspended 5 feet in the air! It was too scary to take a photo in case the wife saw it. Eventually got it back on the ground and moved it into place with rollers and a crowbar. Now I have a 4 tonne forklift and a Hiab crane which deals with most situations. Not that I am allowed to buy any more machines!!

Mark

[denncarm]

Engine crane for the lathe (600K) and pallet jack for the Mill (1T), don't use them much and a pain to store away but essential when you need to move something on your own.

[bob ward]

A frame for unloading the ute or truck, pallet jack to move stuff around.

[Gavin Newman]

Given the amount of money I paid for my lathe and the fact that I had to move it on my own with no-one to call on if it all turned sour I took the easy way out and hired a gantry from Kennards Lift & Shift (not the normal Kennards). To me it's cheap insurance and it keeps me safe and she who must be obeyed happy.

[Bryan]

hired a gantry from Kennards Lift & Shift (not the normal Kennards).

Those look pretty cool: http://www.liftandshift.com.au/index.php?fuseaction=product.search&start=0&product=GANTRIES
Which one did you get Gavin and how much was it? (No pricing on the web site.) Seems like a smart option.

[chambezio]

Being in the building trade all my life unloading/loading all kinds on heavy/bulky/delicate things on all kinds of apparatus, when it comes to doing the same at home I have set up an RSJ about 9metres long in the apex of the shed frames. I used 100mm RSJ to build the frames for the shed while the lifting beam is 175mm. I used some old bearings as rollers to carry a 1½ton chain block, which means I can bring the trailer into the shed, roll the chain block over the load, attach appropriate slings, lift the load and pull it away from the trailer or drive the trailer out from the load. If the load is around the ton mark I put an Acrow prop at the end of the trailer under the the lifting beam just for insurance that the shed will stay up. Anything weighing around ½ton I just lift with the chain block and push the load around unencumbered.
Once the object is on the concrete floor I use a pinch bar to put short lengths of pipe or rod under then move it to where I am going. The Panel Saw in the photos has a "hollow foot print" so I put it onto a piece of 17mm ply with the pipe/rods between it and the floor and moved it that way. If the object is still hard to push I put a sling around its girth and use a hand winch to pull it along while swapping around the pipe/rods. For final fine placing I use a pinch bar or crow bar. 99% of the time I do it on my own. NEVER get the wife unless I absolutely need a hand. (Everytime I do use her she lectures me about how women are not meant to do Heavy work.......)

In the other 2 photos you can see my new toy for the trailer. It was just a usual ute crane set up minus the ram. A mate had that big ram (45mm) so I lengthened the RHS stem to suit. I also used a piece of 50mm X 50mm X5mm RHS to give me more reach. I will have to be wary that I don't over load the 50 X 50 because that ram will easily bend it. I have since added a winch to the shebang to make the whole thing more versitile. The RHS can be slid in or out to cater for what ever I am retrieving. I will add that the trailer is 300 X 1500 and tandem

[DSEL74]

I wonder how much these little portable ones cost and where you could buy one??
http://www.liftandshift.com.au/index.php?fuseaction=product.view&productid=804&ctu=&type=&lvl=1

[Gavin Newman]

Those look pretty cool: http://www.liftandshift.com.au/index.php?fuseaction=product.search&start=0&product=GANTRIES
Which one did you get Gavin and how much was it? (No pricing on the web site.) Seems like a smart option.

My recollection is that it was this one http://www.liftandshift.com.au/index.php?fuseaction=product.view&productid=645&ctu=1&type=GANTRIES&lvl=1 because the lathe was under a ton and I needed the casters. You can adjust the spacing of the legs to suit the load size and reduce the effective beam length.

I can't remember the cost and it would have changed in the last couple of years.

I'm hoping to get a Stronghand welding table at some stage this year (another holiday trip to Victoria) so I'll use the same gantry to unload that as well.

[Theberylbloke]

Hi DSEL74,

I have a 1500kG crane beam down the centre of the shed. The engineer who designed it told me it had a WLL of 1500KG with a 1.5 safety factor and so would lift 2000 KG if required. I fitted a 2t chain block and when my 1900kG mill arrived had no problems. Moving things off the centreline of the shed remains an issue. I have a reasonable selection of slings as well

I have one rail of a 500kG gantry crane built. It will be used for changing heads and tables on the mill. To round this out I'm considering a pair of 250kG jib cranes mounted on columns either side of the centre section of the workshop. This is all medium to low priority at the moment.

I'd like some machine skates, a pallet jack and a couple of toe jacks, again medium priority.

The other thing I have that helps is a doggers ticket and shortly a riggers ticket.

Cheers

The Beryl Bloke

[Simplicity]

Dale it must be nice having your own space again
Even if u have to move heavy equipment around
I remember seeing your last place it was little full
Matt

[Ueee]

I have a 2T engine crane and a pallet jack. My mill (2.5t) and surface grinder (2.7T) were both put in place with a forklift.

I find that the engine crane is good, but lacks both height and reach at the heavier boom settings.

If i could do it all again i would make a mobile gantry, wide enough to straddle a car trailer for unloading machines, and maybe with telescopic legs for some extra height. It could then be put over the mill, lathe or whatever for loading bigger jobs and D/H, R/T etc.

My engine crane came from Bogart industries on ebay. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Engine-Hoist-Lifter-Folding-Shop-Crane-2-Ton-Quality-BONUS-1-8T-LOAD-LEVELLER-/231062862443?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35cc6b7a6b

Ew

[DSEL74]

Dale it must be nice having your own space again
Even if u have to move heavy equipment around
I remember seeing your last place it was little full
Matt

It will be, I'm still a week away from the move

[Simplicity]

Not long then

[Oldneweng]

Due to my rural location and the fact that I have one workshop which is over 60yrs old and has very uneven strips of concrete for a floor. Up to 100mm variations due to roots underneath. I have used blocks, wooden beams and pipe rollers to roll machinery off my trailer (lathes). Then jacks and levers, to lower to ground level and then pipe rollers to move into and around the shed. I have dirt or lawn (bit of a stretch) at the 2 access doors that can be used for this purpose. An engine hoist or similar would be useless at the moment.

This is how I move most stuff.

308215

I would guess it is capable of at least 1000kg. The shaper swinging on it is 700kg. The connection point at the end of the boom is a sliding extension which is, in this picture fully retracted. It can extend another 600mm or so. I have improved it since this picture was taken (it has been a continually evolving mechanism). My brother suggested triangulating the extension with an adjustable bar. One day I will try to lift heavy weights with it fully extended. It was converted to a trailer form from a ute tray based form in order to be used as a large round hay bale trailer. It currently has a hay bale mounted on it so SWMBO can feed the stock while I am busy at work. You will notice the 2 supervisors watching my work. Ok, one has been momentarily distracted, but nothing escapes her attention.

The upwards bend in the boom is part of the evolution process. Prior to the overhead strut being fitted, I tried to lift a stack of corrugated iron that was too heavy, so I turned it upside down and added the strut. I have also had the mast break off prior to this. This is a new, much bigger and better strutted mast. The cable and chain is part of the hay lifting frame. There are 4 pins next to the mast base to be pressed into the hay bale. 2 each side. The longest one in the center, and the shorter one to prevent the bale rotating. Pull out the shorter one, lower to the ground and drive along to roll it out (if mounted the right way around).

The next improvement is to fit 65mm x 65mm x 3mm rhs as a drawbar to add more strength. The 50mm x 50mm x 3mm rhs does flex a bit and 65mm rhs will slide straight in. The drawbar slides in and out to provide more leverage when lifting and compactness when not in use. It is a pain in the you know what, when I forget to pin the drawbar and I drive off leaving the trailer behind.

Dean

[matthew_g]

I'm kind of lucky i guess, coz I have a ton forklift...:.:.

[eskimo]

I have a lot of mates

if its too hard we go fishing/shooting instead

[Burner]

We have loaders and a forklift here on the farm thankfully. I once bought a Macson horizontal mill cheap because it was to hard to move. A mate and I went down on a sat night with a tandem trailer, crowbar, pallet cart, blocks of wood and a turfor winch. We started with the crow bar till we could get the pallet cart under, then wheeled it behind the trailer and lifted and blocked until it was trailer height and then carefully inched it onto the trailer. They guy we bought it from watched us the whole time but didn't help a bit!! We have used the same setup several times. The engine hoist is also handy for lifting onto a trailer when buying things. the worst part is lifting it back on the ute or trailer. It often amazes me how often people think you can't shift things with a crow bar.

[jatt]

Chain hoist, chain lever block, pallet jack, mobile gantry and the tractor. Next on the wish list is definitely a forklift, especially now I have something big enough to drag it out of the mud when it gets stuck around here!!! its either dust or mud around here, not ideal for maintaining forward momentum for a fork once you get off the gravel.

Good sturdy pipe can do wonders wrt moving heavy items around the floor. Outside off the conc, bigger diameter pipe.

[simonl]

It often amazes me how often people think you can't shift things with a crow bar.

Yep.

Give me a lever big enough and I shall move the world….. Archimedes

[DSEL74]

Yep.

Give me a lever big enough and I shall move the world….. Archimedes


You sure Archimedes is a bloke, and not a women…..the lever is never big enough:~ and we all think it is twice as big as it is….:B

[simonl]

You sure Archimedes is a bloke, and not a women…..the lever is never big enough:~ and we all think it is twice as big as it is….:B

Ha Ha! I'm hearing you!

Lucky my wife is not good with imperial. :B

Simon

[gallegos]

I'm lucky enough to have an excavator... but my shed is too low to actually get stuff inside so its back to rolling it on pipes to get it inside.
308641

[Combustor]

Got spoiled during my working life when I had a choice of excavators, cranes etc to move things, so when I retired I hung onto an old forklift with jib attachment, a cable excavator (former dragline) with 12.5m boom, and a 1 tonne electric hoist in the workshop. There is a small hydraulic crane on the Landcruiser that's OK for 600 kg or so, and a guy down the road with an 8 tonne Franna mobile, so moving things in is not a problem. Got to find a place to move some of it OUT to, before shop and yard resemble the scrap dealer's place. Can scarcely give scrap away here, as I am over 800 km from Darwin and 3000 km from Perth, so freight cost makes it worthless unless it's copper or aluminium. What to do with it all?
Combustor.

[eskimo]

GCan scarcely give scrap away here, as I am over 800 km from Darwin and 3000 km from Perth, so freight cost makes it worthless unless it's copper or aluminium. What to do with it all?
Combustor.

make a smeltor:D