"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

Is is just me, or does the metalworking industry seem deaf to hobbyists
and other home-shop customers? Put another way, what is the correct
approach to getting a machine off a truck in one piece. I am by no
means fixed on the Enco lathe, but I asked them about shipping, and have
gotten mixed signals about a lift gate. I can understand "it's too
heavy for that" but it seems strange to me that companies that sell
heavy items do such a poor job of giving consistent answers to customers.

I have an engine hoist and an F-150 that would be able to cope with
safely getting a 1000 lb lathe down my sloping driveway, but going from
flat bed to the ground is another story. Control over shipping was a
big factor in choosing Rutland for my mill-drill, though I will admit
the process was not free of surprises. It worked out well, but proved I
was right to have respect for the weight of what was arriving.

How do YOU handle a ton or so slathered on cosmoline sitting on a truck
outside your home? Do I need to buy a fork lift to be one of the guys?
There are manual stackers that have suitable capacity, but they
appear to be a lot more expensive than the 500-700 lb variety I have
been considering for general use.

Bill




I just moved my entire shop about 200 miles. The biggest item is a
Bridgeport, but I have a few other good-sized machines (10" lathe, surface
grinder, 7x12 horizontal band saw, etc.). I used a 16 ft. flatbed truck, a
gantry crane I built, a HF 2ton shop crane, three furniture dollys and 3
extra people.

Lower the mill table completely and run it all the way back against the base
and then turn the head upside down. The shop crane will lift the mill, but
don't try to move it. You'll wreck the casters and gouge the floor. Pick
it up and set it on the dollys and then carefully roll the whole mess (keep
the crane attached and just snug so that if the machine starts to go, the
crane will support it...). I then wheeled it out to the truck, picked it up
with the gantry (2 ton chain hoist) and backed the truck under it.

After loading the big machines, I disassembled the gantry and loaded it on
the truck and, of course, strapped everything down.

At the new place, I didn't know much of anyone, so I hired a couple local
college students to provide some much-needed extra muscle. They were good
workers who did as they were told and we got the machines off the truck and
into the shop with no damage either to the machines or the people.

My total cost of the move was lunch for the friends who helped load, gas for
the truck and fifteen bucks an hour for three hours each for the two kids...

Jerry