Goofs & Blunders You Should Avoid.

[Just for fun]

Good luck man, keeping my fingers crossed for a successful righting of your lathe.

 

[Gnpenning]

Hoping for a positive outcome for you.

Please don't use cinder blocks or a handyman jack. I have a friend in a wheelchair from cinder blocks under a truck.

Luckily you have support under the floor. If you can swing it try 2 chain falls.

Looking forward to hearing how you make it work.

 

[wayback machine]

I know hindsight is a *****, but no one has mentioned this - In your first photo I see only those 2 skates.
With the design of the base of that lathe, I wouldn't be comfortable with less than 4 - One in each corner.
It may have been the lathe teeter-tottering on the 2 skates that caused the initial problem.
Once you get it upright, you might reconsider how to move it sideways, before you try again.
Just sayin'

 

[pontiac428]

I was able to pick up a 5 ton chainfall last night. Thank you Harbor Freight for finally opening a store on the peninsula so I no longer have to drive an hour to Tacoma (with a $6 bridge toll), and they had one in stock to boot! There's a snowstorm coming in, so I might not have the help I need come evening. It's not going anywhere in the mean time...

@wayback machine- no sir, I was not trying to move it on two skates. I may have laid my biggest purchase in years on it's back in the middle of my shop, but I don't ride the short bus to school. <shrug.>

 

[ErichKeane]

FYI: I discovered while moving MY lathe: 4 skates is ALSO a bad idea. You want 2 small ones, plus 1 big one, else 1 will always be trying to escape! When we moved my lathe, it took 3 of us, and 1 person's job was basically to make sure that the 4th skate didn't run away just in time for the lathe to n eed to be held up by that corner.

 

[epanzella]

I was able to pick up a 5 ton chainfall last night. Thank you Harbor Freight for finally opening a store on the peninsula so I no longer have to drive an hour to Tacoma (with a $6 bridge toll), and they had one in stock to boot! There's a snowstorm coming in, so I might not have the help I need come evening. It's not going anywhere in the mean time...

@wayback machine- no sir, I was not trying to move it on two skates. I may have laid my biggest purchase in years on it's back in the middle of my shop, but I don't ride the short bus to school. <shrug.>

I don't know how far you have to move this thing but you might consider bolting 2x10s to the base to increase the footprint size. It will offset how top heavy the machine is. You put some sheet rock screws into the bottom of the 2x10s so that the skates are trapped and can't squirt out. Thats what I did with my lathe but I had to move mine 200 feet up a winding driveway. Once you do that one guy can push it around like a shopping cart.

 

[pontiac428]

My concrete was poured by legally blind chimpanzees that used an overcooked pasta noodle as a screed. The fourth skate was what caused me to partially tip my mill a couple years ago; four points defines two planes, and those planes are not parallel. Three points is what I was using to move the lathe, one on the tailstock, two on the head.

 

[epanzella]

I a four pointer guy. A nice wide 4 point. A trike tips over a lot easier than a quad. Even if it rocks a bit with a wide footprint you'll be good to go as long as your wheel are trapped where they belong.

 

[wayback machine]

@wayback machine- no sir, I was not trying to move it on two skates. I may have laid my biggest purchase in years on it's back in the middle of my shop, but I don't ride the short bus to school. <shrug.>

Please don't take offense - I just saw the 2 skates, and that's the first thing I thought of.
Long distance, there's no way to tell what actually happened (other than a visual of the lathe), and the sequence of events leading up to it.
I've moved a lot of heavy stuff, and it usually takes me forever, due to over-cautiousness........... Can you tell?

 

[pdentrem]

When I moved my lathe, much lighter unit at only 1100 #, I used car/truck dollies. I have some 5000# rated ones. Still sketchy as all the weight is high. The last time, I used gf Kubota tractor with frt end loader. Much better but not for tight spaces!
Pierre