DoN,

Well ... I don't know the F-250, so I can't compare them. What
I have is a Mazda B2600i (big 4 cylinder engine). This was made just
before the "partnership" with Ford, and the engine has a real timing
chain (visible through the oil port) instead of a timing belt.

My 1990 Sentra has a chain, which is new as of a couple of years ago,
along with the gears, guides, chain and water pump - that scream you
heard around that time was me seeing the estimate



No -- the other end of the ramp was near the cab end of the bed.
I slowly backed my truck towards the delivery truck until the foot of
the ramp was against the back of the bed, so it would not slide while
the lathe was on it.

Got it.


Any concerns about that much weight resting largely on the gate,
or am I missing how it worked?

The ramp was above the gate when the lathe passed over it.
[snip]

Got it.




You mentioned anchoring a come-along deeper in your garage. Any
recommendations for doing that w/o (much anyway) damage to the house?

Well ... you probably don't have what I used. I already had a
3500 pound CNC Bridgeport about as far into the garage as I could get
it, and a 2" web strap around the base of the Bridgeport offered a place
to hook the come-along. :-)

First the chicken and egg, and now this


The real trick was getting the engine hoist close enough without
the legs interfering with the pallet.

That can be a problem.


I had to approach from the
headstock end, unbolt the lathe from the pallet, lift the lathe clear,
slide the pallet out, and then rotate the lathe so it was at right
angles to the beam and legs of the hoist and lower it onto cribbing to
let the legs be rolled out from under it. Then, it was the floor jack
and removing cribbing from one end, then the other back and forth until
it was on the floor.

Was the lathe too big to lower between the legs when aligned with the
boom? I've wondered about that, but cribbing would fix it.


You'll probably need the engine host to break down the mill. Is
it a vertical or horizontal spindle mill?

I suspect I will buy vertical.


In any case, you will
probably want someone with some experience in taking things like that
apart -- especially if you remove the knee after removing the table and
saddle. The Bridgeports have tapered gibs, and if you lower the knee
with the wrong things loose, you will wedge the gibs firmly in place,
making it quite difficult to get apart without damage to the machine.

Thanks for the cautions. It is something that I would want to
understand how to do, but I do not want to hinge the arrival on it. The
1650 lb 8x36 mill is sounding a little better than it originally did,
but there is no rush at the moment.

Thanks,

Bill