Safely Move A Half Ton Mill

Ed ke6bnl said:

I have to just
mike lift my 2100lb. Bridgepoer about 10 in to get it into a storage container shop from in the garage to over DIRT about 6 foot distance. the problem is no extra height for a lift chain to get through door area.

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Four bumper jacks at each corner.Lift and block as you go along.Lower onto a skid. Skid is made up with two 4 x4 's beveled on the front ends. 2 x 4 spreaders at each end and one in the middle.3/4" plywood on top.Fasten securely mill base to plywood or thru lumber.Winch skid into container.Lay a couple of planks from container to skid for ease of winching.
It is possible to lift the mill in small increments and blocking with one or two jacks.Four is safer and faster.Porta-jacks are handy too but would not be able to raise the mill 10".
mike

joshua43214 said:

It can be used. Sailors used twisted rope for hundreds of years on the high seas and lived to tell the tale. I would be amazed if anyone still uses it for sailing though.
Braided rope is better, webbing is best.

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We got ahold of some thin, flat webbing (3/32" x 1/2") which is used by the utility companies for pulling powerlines. Rated at 1500#s capacity, I've used it several times to move machinery with an engine lift.

planeflyer21 said:

We got ahold of some thin, flat webbing (3/32" x 1/2") which is used by the utility companies for pulling powerlines. Rated at 1500#s capacity, I've used it several times to move machinery with an engine lift.

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Yes, this is great stuff. I have some of it, and some 1" wide stuff left over from my rock climbing days. I have trusted my life to it countless times.
A minor caution with nylon rope and webbing. Nylon degrades with exposure to UV light, and oxygen. It is especially sensitive to sulfuric acid (think Coke or well water), some common solvents, chlorine, and plain water will also degrade it over long exposure. While it will not rot, organic matter ground into it will become a home for bacteria, some of which will produce chemicals that will degrade nylon. It is because of this that many rock climbers will date their slings and ropes and then retire them after a few years.
The stuff you describe will work fine, but when working with weight more than 1/3 it's spec it should be wound multiple times about the machine and hook. Ideally, you want the load to be about 1/10 the working strength of the sling, but in practice you should be able to go up to something like 60% of the working strength safely depending on how old and funky your slings are. For your 1500lb web, this works out to something like 3 to 5 wraps on a 1000lb load.
I only add the caution for those who might have some smaller web laying about. It can work just fine, just use common sense and do not be afraid to wrap it up like a mummy.

/\/\/\/\ Yes, agreed.

When moving anything, it looks like Spiderman did the rigging.

When you picked the machine off the trailer, you put the sling around the head casting. This put all the machine's weight on the Z axis nut, transferring thru the screw to the thrust bearing cap at the top of the column. This appears to have only two bolts fastening it to the casting. Was there any other way the head was clamped down or the weight of the base picked up by the strap?

I suspect the eyebolts in the base were intended to provide the lifting points to pick up this machine. I have seen cases where the thrust bearing retainer failed and the screw, etc., came out the top of the casting. I would hate to see this happen to somebody else.

Very nice write-up, great photos, and good advice for us amateur riggers. As our equipment gets bigger and bigger, moving this heavy stuff becomes more of a problem, logistically, and much more importantly, safely. You seem to have thought of the safety issues as your first priority, congratulations to you!

@maunesha1
wow, you make an excellent point and one that in all honesty I had not considered. You are also correct that the rings on the base are the factory lifting points.

I did actually ask for a couple of 2x4's when I picked up the lathe. My intention had been to crank the quill down onto the blocks to create a bit of wedging action to maybe prevent any damage to the z-axis gib during lifting and strapping. After spending about 5 seconds with it, I realized it was built like a tank and that you would be really hard pressed to hurt it. The guys there also told me they routinely lift these the way I did with no issues.

I just went down and had a look at the z-axis lead screw. It is very well constructed and is actually anchored at both to and bottom. I can see this being an issue with a heavier machine, or possibly a Chinese machine were they used a lighter or inferior casting.




It is clear the top bearing is designed to carry the weight of the head and the bearing block is very robust.
I can only assume the lower bearing and its carrier are so robust because they assumed people would lift it the way I did.

I did in fact remember to lock the z-axis (but I forgot to mention it in my first post). I did not realize the z-axis was a worm drive, and was worried about the head running up the screw like can happen with crown gears.

That looks really robust! Maybe the factory sells a version converted to CNC also? The way your machine is configured looks like it would be ideal for it.

Great write up. Very helpful. Thanks!

I have to agree with Snuffy about the block. They are stacked wrong & could give for no reason. If they were turned & cracked as they do all the time they still won't give but turned like that they can & probably will fall. I have had new good looking block fall apart from picking them up or while carrying them. You should never even stack block that way not alone build with them that way.

As far as safely working with a strap it is always better safe then sorry but to reduce a good straps working ratting is unneeded. A strap that has a working ratting of 1500lbs probably has a breaking ratting of 10,000lbs. if you loop a strap it is twice as strong but it you wrap it around a few times it can no longer share the load with both sides
& is reduced back to its rated working strength. twisting it or putting it against a corner also reduces its strength.

Your working with pretty light loads & it is pretty easy to cheat with these light loads. I have a HF knee mill that looks bigger then that but it is only about 700lbs. We pulled the motor & head then carried it all to the building I keep it in. It wasn't easy but sure was the fastest way to move it where I need it.