On Oct 29, 10:59 am, Bill Schwab wrote:
My advice is to spend the absolute most that you can afford and get
the heaviest mill with the biggest working envelope available for that
money. You will never regret getting a larger and heavier mill, but at
some point will regret getting a smaller and lighter one.

As I just posted in a reply to Nick, storm damage is a realistic
scenario. I do not have to be able to move a mill far or often, but I
would want to be able to do so. If I buy something that will have to
stay where it lands, I want to give that some serious thought. Ron, the
guy who first taught me how to run a mill, says he has dragged BPs by
himself. However, a BP might move by itself on Ron's command (nicest
guy you'd ever want to meet, but one scary looking dudeg), so that
might not count. Other folks report everything from "no problem" to
"don't try it". Looking at the various reports, something happens
between 1500 and 2500 lb.

Bill

You really can move a BP by yourself if you know how. You use a
Johnson bar (a long pry bar) to lift the front about an inch or so.
Then, put a piece of round bar or heavy pipe under it. Do the same in
the rear. Now you can manhandle it around. As a pipe comes out from
under one end of the base put it back on the other end of the base. As
long as the surface (hopefully concrete) is relatively smooth and
level you will not have a problem. I have not personally done this,
but when my Baby Bridgeport was delivered by my rigger (a small guy
without huge muscles), I was astonished at how easy it was for him to
move it exactly where I wanted it using this method.