DIYbanter - Bridgeport base casting weight?

When I moved the Bridgeport to my basement, I estimated the weight of the
base at 1200#. Probably a more reliable weight would be an average between
John's guess and mine. I was reluctant to buy one because of the difficulty
of the stairs but found a deal too good to pass up. I thought it would be
up to my heirs to remove it, so I plunged ahead. WRONG!!!

Actually, two people and the right equipment can do it safely. My son and I
easily removed mine 12 years ago when we sold the house by playing John's
program in reverse. We did reinforce the stairs to take the weight. The
anchor was my dump truck. The beer flowed after the work was done.

George Willer

"John Sullivan" wrote in message
...
I helped a friend do one that way once. Took just the two of us, with plenty
of patience and care. Just a guess as to weight, I'd say around 600 lbs for
the base with knee still attached. We set up a ramp and lowered the base
down into the basement using a come along attached to the bumper of a truck
to control descent. The base was the worst of it, everything else was a
piece of cake after that. I don't envy him when the time comes to sell that
house though.

--
John Sullivan
Jamlab Enterprises
http://jamlab.home.att.net
wrote in message
...

Due to limited space concerns in northern VA suburbia, my shop is
confined to my basement. When conditions permit (ie the wife gets
sick of my whining) I will purchase a mill, but the question is what
kind. I'd prefer to get a Bridgeport into my basement rather than a
bench type, but I need to know about how much the main base casting
weighs to determine whether this desire is realistic or not. (Yes, I
will need to break it down to get it down the staircase - like I did
for my lathe)

Sooo, does anybody have a reliable estimate? Has anyone else been
silly enough to try this at his or her home? If so, how many guys and
how much beer and hamburger did it take?

thanks,
-Ham(mer)