Having a machine shipped - looking for insights

[JimDawson]

*Edit: Son is in that part of the world finishing up school. Have to get him home with his stuff mid summer. Is palleted and placed in bed of 2500 pickup viable option for transport?

That is an option if it is a standard 9x49 table (3V frame, about 2100 lbs) machine. If it is the larger 4V frame, about 3500 lbs, then this might be a bit heavy for a 2500 truck bed. But a 2500 truck would tow it on a trailer just fine. I brought a 10,200 lb lathe from Oklahoma behind my 2500.

 

[Shootymacshootface]

Don’t know about you guys, but putting a Bridgeport in my F250 FWD 3/4 ton would be out of the question. For one, how do you get it out, second it’s tall and on a pallet, a bit top heavy, and the tie-down rings on the truck don’t look like solid attach points.

I rented a drop bed trailer.

Some Timbren load boosters or a set of air shocks, tires at maximum pressure for max load rating, and I wouldn't think twice. A gantry or a large enough forklift would be needed to put the load all the way forward against the cab.

 

[Winegrower]

. A gantry or a large enough forklift would be needed to put the load all the way forward against the cab.

Yes, I completely forgot about my large enough forklift and my gantry.
Now where did I put them?

 

[Charlieman22]

Good deals are out there, I do wish I lived closer to Mr Whoopee!

I think half the people on this thread wish they were living next to your friend right now! Nice score.
I assume you keep the machine on that stand permanently?
Very nice for moving around.
Now on my radar.

Thanks.

I found several gems thanks to Mr. Whoopie. I’ve barely thanked him. :-(

Good point - so let me do that for both of us now. Mr. Whoopie - thanks for the leads and suggestion on the mill - contacted him this afternoon.

 

[Firstram]

I assume you keep the machine on that stand permanently?
Very nice for moving around.

Thanks! It will live on the stand, it get's loaded/unloaded on my tool trailer 2 or 3 times a year. The casters will be shared with other heavy equipment as well.

 

[Charlieman22]

Got a call on a machine not on the market this morning.
Its a Bridgeport. Few miles away. Original owner.
He converted to CNC.

Pics below.
Things I like:
Original owner
More light work than lots of heavy machining.
Its a BP...

Things I'm less crazy about.
CNC from this era. Do I want that? Seems ancient/clunky. 486 computer feeding it would not boot... (486!?)
1 HP motor
Ways scrapings show a little wear - but I wonder if having CNC wears out the ways quicker with all that compound quick movement?
X axis power drive is original
Step head vs variable speed one

Just between us ladies - his first asking was $4500 - but he signaled that was negotiable. Maybe it's realistic that its $3500 on a good day.

Not quite sure I'm fully there. Just imagining the sweet cybernetic smoothness of an almost new fully loaded machine.
Funny how picky one can get...
Y'all wanna weigh in on some of the above? Do you like this find?

 

[extropic]

Hurry! Write the check.

PS: Your pickiness isn't all that funny to me.

 

[rjs44032]

I moved two older Bridgeports years ago. In both cases the move was less than 100 miles and machines were on ground floor or garage accessible to the driveway. But my experience may still come in handy for some folks.

I looked for a junkyard or friend who had a slide-back car hauler and paid them a modest sum to haul the machines for me. These are plenty big enough to handle the job and come equipped with powered winch already. Then I procured 4 pieces of 3/4" or 1" black pipe or round bar stock about 3-1/2 or 4 feet in length. With machine dolly and pinch bars to get a couple sections of pipe or bar underneath the base I could move the BP fairly safely without too much effort. The technique is to move the machine on two or three sections of pipe or bar. Put new section in front and replace them as they come out the back. Angle them slightly to turn if necessary.

Edit: I did not do this alone. I had at least one or two guys with me to help push or guide the machine from both sides.

We aimed the BP toward the trailer from behind (back first). Once the first few inches of the machine base was on the trailer, the winch did the rest of the work to get it on the bed. Then several heavy-duty ratchet straps were applied and secured for the trip. Off loading is just reverse of the process.

Now I agree with most folks here that it's best to turn down the headstock to get the center of gravity as low a possible. Also remove all handles and lock the gibs of the machine in center of ways if possible. Lower the knee almost all the way down.

Several times I witnessed folks man-handling these machines in and out of the shop over the years. However, I strongly stress that they are still dangerous and top heavy and should be moved slowly with great care. If not completely confident you can do the job safely, hire a rigging company.


Best Regards,
Bob

 

[Weldingrod1]

Roll-a-lift safe moving thingies are much better than bars or pipes. Easy to rent. You will need to fab some wood blocks to go between the top of the roll-a-lift and the column; they are designed for classic safes.
Think: strap on rentable wheels with hydraulic adjustment!

https://images.app.goo.gl/h5qNowde6qNnQkcn6

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[hman]

The good news about the CNC is that Centroid is still in business! https://www.centroidcnc.com I have a baby CNC milling machine run by Centroid's Acorn system. It works very well. Acorn is compatible with Windows 10 and communicates with the mother computer via Ethernet ... so no need to find a machine with a legacy parallel port.

I don't know if they still support their older CNC software. But a retrofit to Acorn would cost $300 for the controller. You could probably re-use all the existing motor drives, motors, etc. Give 'em a holler. They're good folks!