I believe I bought that one. It was the one w/ the farthest/highest reach,
non-foldable. For loading/unloading my pickup. I also bought a 2-year
warrantee on the ram, for $35. Irks me to do this, but china, donchaknow...
The ram itself is 8-ton, so they say. A lot of rams are 5 ton, which
*nec'ly* limits the reach.

Even tho it's non-foldable, I believe it un-bolts into "flatter" sections
than the foldables, which I store pretty readily under my fadal. I don't
really have the room to have it standing around, even folded.
But, occasionally I wish I had the foldable, just to spare myself the
assembly/disassembly, even tho it's quick.

It's not great, but it's OK. I believe it's bigger than Pep Boys, positive
it's bigger than the Sam's Club one (which seems much better built, is
cheaper, got a load leveler, nicer colors, but seems smaller). May want to
just look at the one at sams club. Non-swiveling front wheels, tho--see
below.

But it would be *very good idea* to use it for your first job or two w/
someone who *knows what they are doing*!!!!
I had the benefit of this, and STILL nearly dropped the goddamm lathe I was
moving on the return trip by myself! Goodeffinggawd... still gives me the
willies thinking about it. wow.....
It is *very* easy for these things to become unbalanced! Altho it's
nice/tempting to keep the "leg footprint" as small as poss, esp. in tight
spaces, you must *constantly* check the "tip-ability" of the unit w/ the
load you're carrying. Ask me....

Also, altho you could use these things by yourself, it's good to have a
second person around, for a second set of eyes, if nothing else.
Also won't hurt to ask a mach'y dealer how *they* would move a certain type
of machine. Very easy to bust things up, w/o even dropping them. And each
machine has it's own vississytudes, so don't get too confident w/ the
success of one machine, when moving on to the next. Be even *more* careful
w/ the second!

What you might appreciate about this particular unit is that the front
wheels swivel, which on most of the other units I've seen they do not. May
be no big deal, as they're proly easy enough to replace, but the swivel
action of the front wheels can be pretty important in a move. Not great
wheels, btw, but serviceable. You'll find yourself doing a lot of
kicking/shoving/cursing.

Altho my nissan pickup proly has the ****tiest v6 engine god ever put in a
vehicle (let's hope it's at least reliable!), the combo of said pickup and
hoist has saved me a fortune in rigging, and gives you permanent
versatility/mobility in setting up shop.
It's a great idea/strategy, as long as you are *very very* careful.
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Ignoramus7702" wrote in message
...
That crane is actually $169.95 at our local harbor freight. The boom
goes 105" high.

i

On 18 Apr 2005 12:54:06 GMT, Ignoramus7702
wrote:
I like Richard's idea to use a harbor freight shop crane 35915

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35915

to lift a Clausing 8530 mill into a trailer. I want to hear others'
opinions about this idea.

i


--

Easy, no problem.
You'll be able to see the flex in the smaller part of the boom.
*Balancing* becomes much trickier w/ the boom stuck way out. Watch the
legs!! Also, watch the markings on the legs, which indicate their maximum
extension, which is surprisingly narrow in the back.
Try to do as much as you can w/ the boom in.

Also wouldn't hurt to get a decent swivel hook/shackle for these things.
Or, some heavy chain w/ the "replaceable" screw-type links, both at HD or
any good hardware store, to make grabbing/rigging/strapping easier. Also
note that you will occasionally need to "balance" a load, which needs much
*less* heavy chain/rope/straps.

Oh, bleeve me, ahm no 'spert, I've done just a cupla moves, but boyoboy,
what moves they were!! Goodgawd...
Wish I knew more more!
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Ignoramus7702" wrote in message
...
Thanks PV. So, educate me, what is the true capacity of this crane
with the boom fuly extended. Is it good enough to lift a 1000 lbs
mill.

i

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 11:37:05 -0400, Proctologically Violated©®
wrote:
I believe I bought that one. It was the one w/ the farthest/highest
reach,
non-foldable. For loading/unloading my pickup. I also bought a 2-year
warrantee on the ram, for $35. Irks me to do this, but china,
donchaknow...
The ram itself is 8-ton, so they say. A lot of rams are 5 ton, which
*nec'ly* limits the reach.

Even tho it's non-foldable, I believe it un-bolts into "flatter" sections
than the foldables, which I store pretty readily under my fadal. I don't
really have the room to have it standing around, even folded.
But, occasionally I wish I had the foldable, just to spare myself the
assembly/disassembly, even tho it's quick.

It's not great, but it's OK. I believe it's bigger than Pep Boys,
positive
it's bigger than the Sam's Club one (which seems much better built, is
cheaper, got a load leveler, nicer colors, but seems smaller). May want
to
just look at the one at sams club. Non-swiveling front wheels, tho--see
below.

But it would be *very good idea* to use it for your first job or two w/
someone who *knows what they are doing*!!!!
I had the benefit of this, and STILL nearly dropped the goddamm lathe I
was
moving on the return trip by myself! Goodeffinggawd... still gives me
the
willies thinking about it. wow.....
It is *very* easy for these things to become unbalanced! Altho it's
nice/tempting to keep the "leg footprint" as small as poss, esp. in tight
spaces, you must *constantly* check the "tip-ability" of the unit w/ the
load you're carrying. Ask me....

Also, altho you could use these things by yourself, it's good to have a
second person around, for a second set of eyes, if nothing else.
Also won't hurt to ask a mach'y dealer how *they* would move a certain
type
of machine. Very easy to bust things up, w/o even dropping them. And
each
machine has it's own vississytudes, so don't get too confident w/ the
success of one machine, when moving on to the next. Be even *more*
careful
w/ the second!

What you might appreciate about this particular unit is that the front
wheels swivel, which on most of the other units I've seen they do not.
May
be no big deal, as they're proly easy enough to replace, but the swivel
action of the front wheels can be pretty important in a move. Not great
wheels, btw, but serviceable. You'll find yourself doing a lot of
kicking/shoving/cursing.

Altho my nissan pickup proly has the ****tiest v6 engine god ever put in
a
vehicle (let's hope it's at least reliable!), the combo of said pickup
and
hoist has saved me a fortune in rigging, and gives you permanent
versatility/mobility in setting up shop.
It's a great idea/strategy, as long as you are *very very* careful.
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Ignoramus7702" wrote in message
...
That crane is actually $169.95 at our local harbor freight. The boom
goes 105" high.

i

On 18 Apr 2005 12:54:06 GMT, Ignoramus7702
wrote:
I like Richard's idea to use a harbor freight shop crane 35915


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35915

to lift a Clausing 8530 mill into a trailer. I want to hear others'
opinions about this idea.

i






--

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:24:38 -0400, "Proctologically Violated©®"
wrote:

Easy, no problem.
You'll be able to see the flex in the smaller part of the boom.
*Balancing* becomes much trickier w/ the boom stuck way out. Watch the
legs!! Also, watch the markings on the legs, which indicate their maximum
extension, which is surprisingly narrow in the back.
Try to do as much as you can w/ the boom in.

Also wouldn't hurt to get a decent swivel hook/shackle for these things.
Or, some heavy chain w/ the "replaceable" screw-type links, both at HD or
any good hardware store, to make grabbing/rigging/strapping easier. Also
note that you will occasionally need to "balance" a load, which needs much
*less* heavy chain/rope/straps.

Oh, bleeve me, ahm no 'spert, I've done just a cupla moves, but boyoboy,
what moves they were!! Goodgawd...
Wish I knew more more!

If you can find a good lanyard (a nylon strap with loops on both ends
rated for at least 2500 lbs) its far preferable than chain for picking
things up. It will seldom slip and will not scar or mar machined
surfaces or paint. I carry one in my truck at all times. I encounter
lots of folks with fork lifts, but few with any way to pick things up.

Get a lanyard at least 36" long. If its too long, simply wrap it
around your lifting point. This is long enough to grab a balance
point, or go completly around a lathe bed so it will be choked and not
slide. Mine is 48" long and is rated at 5000 lbs.

When lifting a lathe, lay the center of the lanyard over the top of
the ways, close to the headstock, then bring both ends under the ways
and back up through the center of the ways evenly. This prevents the
lathe from sliding as the lanyard chokes it solidly. lift an inch or
two, and move both your tailstock and carraige to the tailstock end
until it balances level.

Remember..never pick it up high until you are AT the trailer. You only
need an inch of clearance, and if the rig falls, nothing is damaged
except your underwear. If you push your hoist too fast, the machine
will swing. LOWER IT NOW!!! if fit starts swinging too much. You can
pick it up again.

If all you have is chain..scarf up some pieces of old carpet to place
around the metal bits before wrapping it with chain. NEVER lift
without making at least one full wrap around the lifting point, if its
not a lifting eye or shackle. If you simply loop it under and hook, it
can slide, go off balance and you are then well and truely ****ed.

I can go on for another hour about rigging. Shrug.

The #1 thing to remember about lifting heavy ****, is :

Stay out from under it. Remember if something breaks, it may not fall
straight down, and if you or your toes are in the way....

The #2 thing to remember about lifting heavy ****:

If something turns to ****...RUN! Dont hang around and try to stop it
from falling. Never stand where you have no place to run away.
Period. Ever. Never.

Stop. Think. Think again. Proceed. Slowly.
Repeat as necessary.

Gunner: 750 mile road trip to deliver a 1800lb OmniTurn CNC/Hardinge
Chucker retrofit, to an RCM poster , set it up, familiarize him with
it and return home, in less than 24 hours, over this past weekend.




"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child -
miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied,
demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless.
Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke

I have 3 purple HF lifting straps, with eyes on both ends. I think
that they are rated for 1 ton each. I will be lifting less than 1/3 of
one ton. I intend to use them for primary lifting (with chain as
backup).

Did your straps come with instructions? Particularly how to derate
them when used on an angle? For example you warp them around something
and put both ends on a hook. If the strap is at a 45 degree angle
it can only carry 1/2 the rated load.
cs

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 20:06:46 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

The #1 thing to remember about lifting heavy ****, is :

Stay out from under it. Remember if something breaks, it may not fall
straight down, and if you or your toes are in the way....

As an ex longshoreman and a rigger, that place where one was in harms
way was refered to as th' *bite*. Never, ever, let yerself be placed
in th' bite... you will get bit!

The #2 thing to remember about lifting heavy ****:

If something turns to ****...RUN! Dont hang around and try to stop it
from falling. Never stand where you have no place to run away.
Period. Ever. Never.

Escape route, always have one identified before th' lift. That means
a clear path to safety, if there's some kind of an impedement, move it
first! And don't do this **** by yourself, always have at least
someone hold yer beer and a cell phone.

Stop. Think. Think again. Proceed. Slowly.
Repeat as necessary.

Indeed. And carefully inspect every piece of equipment used for th'
lift. If it's straps and there's a few cuts in it, throw it away.
Same with cables. If chain, are there any stretched links? Is th'
hook and swivel rated for th' job at hand? If you aren't sure, don't
use it!

I recently moved a Chinese 12" x 36" lathe (1/2 ton, new in th' crate)
about 10 miles to my shop using an engine hoist at th' shop end. We
had a car hauler trailer so it was pretty low. It was loaded at th'
other end with a forklift. I brought my engine hoist there and double
checked that it'd work at my end after it was loaded with th'
forklift.

Had to use th' 1,500 lb setting to make th' reach, but it worked there
so I knew it would on my end. It was semi-tricky because we needed to
have it as far forward on th' trailer as possible for tongue weight.
That meant taking some weight off th' crate with th' lift and
*sliding* it back in smallish increments (6-12") at a time until we
got a good center of gravity lift.

Three guys, about an hour on each end, and it was sitting in my shop.
Th' engine hoist worked ok but th' lack of swiveling front wheels
meant we had to muscle it around a corner... no big deal, just went
low n' slow.

A mill is gonna be a whole 'nuther animal. It might take a spell to
find th' right pick point so th' center of gravity is dead nuts on.
Just take your time, lift it as minimally as possible, and go
slooooow. A good life insurance policy isn't a bad idea either g.

Snarl

I have one of the "2T" folding cranes, adn it has paid for itself
twice over. I lifted all my machiens with it (Colchester Chipmaster
lathe, Denbiegh horizontal mill, Tom Senior mill (350kg) and a
Zuckermann-Wein 24" thicknesser. The thicknesser really made the boom
bend...
One problem you may have is getting enough lift, esp oon tall
machines. Don't have the machien on the hook when you try to move it -
it will tip. Use the crane for a straigh lift, drive the trailer away
and drop the machine onto skates, pipes or whatever.
Somoeone put the plans for machinery moving skates and low loaders in
the Dropboax a while back. They will be useful if you have time to
make them. Take pipes for rollers. A handwinch and some big crowbars
are useful as well.
Geoff