Thread: Moving a hercus 9" lathe...one man job?

How strong is the one man?

Sorry, I don't think I would attempt it alone unless you have a hydraulic tailgate and a pallet truck.

The only way I would attempt that is if I had access to an engine crane and had a soft sling. Two people would be better, but if you really can't get anyone to help you, I'd hire an engine crane to do it. I did to move my Mill and it only cost me $40 for a morning and it saved alot of stress.
I'd guess that a Hercus would weigh in the region of 150Kg.

I've been doing some looking at the various South Bend sites...I guess the Hercus must be very close...they say the bed is 120 lbs...so about 50kg or so. It might be at the edge of doable.

I have been thinking about buying one of those cheap Chinese engine cranes but I've been told that they are crap, so maybe hiring one is another option....hmmm.

Since its on a pallet maybe I'll just hire a truck if they can fork it on. Otherwise it'll have to be a tilt tray truck job iof I can't dismantle it onsite and get helpers. Damn.

hello the heaviest part will be the head stock,if you can remove that then one person would be able to handle,

Originally Posted by gregoryq

I've been doing some looking at the various South Bend sites...I guess the Hercus must be very close...they say the bed is 120 lbs...so about 50kg or so. It might be at the edge of doable.

I have been thinking about buying one of those cheap Chinese engine cranes but I've been told that they are crap, so maybe hiring one is another option....hmmm.

Since its on a pallet maybe I'll just hire a truck if they can fork it on. Otherwise it'll have to be a tilt tray truck job iof I can't dismantle it onsite and get helpers. Damn.

My Myford super 7 took two people to lift ,I got the head stock end and it brought spots to my eyes lifting it .

If its a 9 "hercus i would saw around 200 kgs plus.
the school has 10" Hercus lathes and they are heavy.
The can be surprisingly heavy, especially top heavy and prone to overbalancing.
Be careful
Grahame

I also have a Hercus 9" lathe, and stripped down, it still takes two men to lift the bed safely. Don't try it on your own.

Ken

What about a truck with a Hiab arm.

Grahame

I have been thinking about buying one of those cheap Chinese engine cranes but I've been told that they are crap, so maybe hiring one is another option....hmmm.

I have used a few of them and they have all been ok to use. I wouldn't hesitate to get one if I decided I needed one. I saw one the other day rated to 500Kg, folds up when not in use and was about $200.
I used one to lift my AL-335, which is just under 500Kg, from what I can gather. (every spec I've read seems to be different)

Originally Posted by gregoryq

I have been thinking about buying one of those cheap Chinese engine cranes but I've been told that they are crap, .

At the risk of sounding like a me too I also used an engine crane. They work OK on a smooth cement floor and do the lifting bit ok but are Plicks to manouver by oneself when there is a fat lathe hanging off them.

I found that the release valve needs to be opened really cautiously as they unit tends to release the said lathe weight very rapidly.

If you have to maneuver around a long bar is a good idea.

The mate lent his rope sling which I noticed had some fretting so i ditched it in favor of a flat sling which was surprisingly cheap.I paid a bit over $10 for a 1 meter sling.
There is a good section on lathe moving on the uk lathes website which I found helpful.

If you need any parts for it Steve Durden of Axmill is your man.The school got cross feed dials for our Hercus 260's .$68 each, from Axmill,I thought was OK!and they are so much better to use when you can read the buggers.
Thats my 2 bobs worth
Grahame

The engine cranes are pretty good, just remember a few points:
#1 Only extend the crane to the absolute MINIMUM you can deal with.
#2 Lift the machine to the minimum height you can deal with.
#3 Depending on 1 & 2, the rear of the crane base may lift off the floor. It's good to have someone to stand on it.

Another thing you can do with cranes if you can't get the feet under the load, is to extend the boom so you can lift then block up load put boom back in the re-lift so load is over feet of crane and then lower load so it's just sitting on feet to stop load swinging around and makes life a bit easier to move crane around

I have a "cheap" chinese engine crane and use it to move the different lathes and equipment I've owned. The heaviest I've lifted as about 1000+ lbs wood lathe. Had to also lift it out of the side door of a van on gravel. I had no porblems on my own, just laid down some plywood and wheeled it into my shop. I also bought 4 web tie downs with the hooks at both ends and rachet in the middle for lifting. That way I could balance the load well.

I had a look at an inexpensive (relatively) engine crane and actually thought that it was alright. The guy who tells me that they are awful does have a many tonne forklift and a huge overhead crane, so maybe he's a little biased.

As it turns out a co-worker was free with a trailer and a hoist, bartered for milling some of his timber for a table project. A fair deal all around.

Now...anyone know a lathe bed grinder in Melbourne before I risk wrecking this thing with scrapers?

Greg