Hi,

In my search for space for a forge on an urban campus, it
seems my most promising location is to work outside but store
everything inside. That is, there is too little space inside the room
a club is hosting me in for me to operate the forge, and also it's too
cluttered to get it approved by the fire department in that particular
room anyway.

So I'll keep everything in a corner there-- 300-lb anvil,
100-lb forge, 800-lb hydraulic press-- and then move it out to the
courtyard to use, then move it back. I also have a 500-lb grinder in
progress that I'll need to walk a mile back to the dorm I'm using it in
from the shop it's being built in, though that's only a one-time deal.

Since I'm building everything, I was thinking that instead of
getting 4 very fit assistants every time that press needs shifting to
lift it onto a cart and off again, I could build it with a base with a
wide pocket at the bottom and only two long feet, a sort of bridge,
such that something could get under the middle of the base, lift it up,
and then I could wheel it way and lower it again. Maybe, to be
simpler, lift it, lower it onto a cart, use the cart to do the
wheeling, and lift it off again.

Basically a forklift, but buying and keeping a forklift just
to move three pieces of equipment back and forth 100 ft would be
ridiculous. And cost 5X the cost of the equipment itself :-) Are
there forklift-like devices, just the front end of the forklift but
wheeled manually, which are still quite small/portable and affordable?
If so, what am I looking for; what would it be called?


thanks!
-Bernard Arnest