Easiest Way To Lift A Lathe

Ok , first thing you have enough money to buy the lathe ,but no money to move it !! Priority # 1 spend your money and buy the HF lift and stop crying about it you need it ,did you need the new lathe ?? There are always expense to ship or move anything. I recently purchased a 20" drill press it cost me as much as I paid for the machine just to ship it to me. But it's part of the costs . The lift you will use more then you think.
 
Ok , first thing you have enough money to buy the lathe ,but no money to move it !! Priority # 1 spend your money and buy the HF lift and stop crying about it you need it ,did you need the new lathe ?? There are always expense to ship or move anything. I recently purchased a 20" drill press it cost me as much as I paid for the machine just to ship it to me. But it's part of the costs . The lift you will use more then you think.

Never cried about anything. And I ended up purchasing one. The lathe has been on stands and wired up since Tuesday night.
 
It pays to watch Harbor Freight and Northern Tool for their special sale pricing on machinery moving tools that are rarely used but worth their weight in gold when they are.

Perhaps the most useful have been the cheap-o machinery skates from Northern Tool - about $40 or so each and rated at 1.5 tons. They work wonderfully moving heavy stuff on smooth floors.

Add in a 'power pull' hydraulic jacking system (often on sale for about $90) to separately lift each end of the machine onto the skates.

The engine hoist (I recommend getting the one that folds up) not only moves machinery but easily hefts heavy stuff like lathe chucks, rotary tables, super spacers, etc. to and from their storage and working locations. Adding the 'air over hydraulic' cylinder to the engine hoist is well worth the expense.

In my case, with limited floor space and too many tools (does that sound familiar?) I also added a pallet jack so I can stow the ironworker out of the way and roll it out when needed. Anything you intend to move should be cribbed up high enough that the pallet jack can be used without a lot of messing around.

Almost everything else lives on casters - but I don't get those from Harbor Freight - theirs seem a bit wimpy :(

Stu
 
Boostin53
Glad to see that you are up and running. Sometimes an engine hoist doesn't work when the legs interfere with the stand/cabinet. My engine hoist could not straddle my Weiler Matador from the end. Once it was in the basement I had to use wood and pipes to move it to it's spot. Latter I built a mobile base for it so that I can move it easily. Actually it is more of a stand with a detachable caster assembly which it shares with the stand under my Millrite mill. The casters are pretty far apart to accommodate the mill which conveniently gives a wide stance under the lathe for greater stability when moving around.

I can access my basement through a Bilco door which has removable steps. With the steps out I can lower anything that will fit through the door down the the basement floor. Easy to do if you have the right equipment. The 1500# Weiler is only about 1/2 the loaders capacity.img_3861.jpg
 
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