Thread: lifting and moving heavy things

That is indeed a good read! Thank you.

One method that is not mentioned for shifting very heavy equipment I have come across somewhere a long time ago goes like this:
a very large new press weighing several tens of tons needed to be shifted into a very tight space between other fixed machines - including around some tight corners - inside a building that precluded the use of a crane. The maintenance engineer tasked with this job used lots of blocks of ice to slide the huge machine into position with manpower alone. Once the press was in position, they simply waited for the ice to melt and settle the machine in exactly the right pace.
Pretty clever huh?

Originally Posted by jhovel

That is indeed a good read! Thank you.

One method that is not mentioned for shifting very heavy equipment I have come across somewhere a long time ago goes like this:
a very large new press weighing several tens of tons needed to be shifted into a very tight space between other fixed machines - including around some tight corners - inside a building that precluded the use of a crane. The maintenance engineer tasked with this job used lots of blocks of ice to slide the huge machine into position with manpower alone. Once the press was in position, they simply waited for the ice to melt and settle the machine in exactly the right pace.
Pretty clever huh?

His name wasn't Robert Falcon Scott or Sir Douglas Mawson was it Joe

Phil
ps It's very early

I'm surprised the ice didn't simply crack and break up when pressure was placed on it.

I use trailer jockey wheels. I have 4 of them and made up simple brackets with a lip at the bottom, the lip slides under the base or cabinet of the machine and is held in place by two ratchet straps that go around the whole machine base. Two of the jockey wheels are side winding, the other two I just took off the handle and made up a big nut to replace it (I use a socket with ratchet on it). To use them I slide the lip under each corner of the machine, wrap the straps around, and then wind the machine up, just work my way around so it doesn't tip over too much as I go from corner to corner. Once it's as high as I need it, just wheel it around. I think I can move up to 4 tonnes this way, more than enough for anything I'll ever own anyway! The wheels are very large so roll over things easily, but it also means they can't castor 360 degrees without hitting the machine. So I do need to sometimes do 3 point turns when parking a machine. In a tight workshop it's handy as the machines don't need any modification to the base to accommodate pallet jacks and can be put into a tighter space, move sideways etc.

Pete

image.jpgMy solution to mobility is the carrymaster AC 1000 caster. Swivels easily, each rated at a tonne, and each has a levelling pad that you can screw down to support the machine, like a regular machine foot. They are not cheap*, and it takes some looking to find a dealer, but I find them much better than my pallet jack (owing to space constraints) and they have the added benefit of being a permanent machine levelling foot as well.

On edit, and for reasons passing understanding, the following was dropped from my initial post:

Phil Fehring and I struggled to manhandle my Deckel FP2 into the shed on the pallet jack. On the carrymasters I can dance with it. Not the watusi or the twist, but waltzing is no problem, Matilda.

*not cheap= 1 set is about the same money as an ebay pallet jack, unless you know somebody, which you don't. They are made in Korea. ie: ground zero.

Greg

... unless you know somebody, which you don't. They are made in Korea. ie: ground zero.

I don't either, by the way. I would be in deep Kimchi left to my own devices in Korea. Inset emoticon for confused occidental tourist seeking casters at Urethra Franklin's "Queen of Seoul Machine Supply and Disney Massage Parlour" where every ending is a happy one"