How Did You Handle Getting Your Lathe Home?

[Janderso]

It was not easy!
I had a 6 hour drive one way. Loading was tedious and slow. Got home late and met my friend Ken.
We wrestled it off the trailer with a, TOO SMALL engine hoist. Learned a bunch!

 

[BROCKWOOD]

That's a good looking lathe Janderso! Sounds like you had some scary moments. Looks like your engine hoist is in the 3000 lb position. How much does your lathe weigh?

 

[epanzella]

I took some 2x8's and mounted heavy castors on them When the truck delivered my lathe at the bottom of a windy 200 ft driveway I attached the castors and rolled it right up the hill into my garage and then into my basement.

 

[ACHiPo]

I took some 2x8's and mounted heavy castors on them When the truck delivered my lathe at the bottom of a windy 200 ft driveway I attached the castors and rolled it right up the hill into my garage and then into my basement.
View attachment 268894View attachment 268895

Easy peasie lemon squeezie! Of course it coulda looked like a Roadrunner cartoon. Gravity always wins! Be safe out there.

 

[jdedmon91]

I've been selling "extra" equipment off all summer trying to make a space large enough for a new gunsmith lathe and I'm just about ready to place an order for a 13"x40" G0709. The only reason (well, one of them) I haven't already ordered is that I don't know how the shipping works. Grizzly will ship the lathe for $255 but they don't specify how it's delivered, how close they'll get it to the shop, or equipment necessary (forklift?) to consummate the delivery. Having a semi show up at the end of the driveway (even with a lift gate) won't do much for me if I can't get it up the driveway into the shop in a reasonable amount of time.

I could pull my trailer for a 16 hour round trip and pick it up but even with low fuel prices the shipping option would save my time (and I'd still need to get it off my trailer). At least I'd be in control in that situation, not at the mercy of the shipping company for scheduling and equipment rental.

The FAQ page on the Grizzly site suggests picking it up at the shipper's terminal but that's hard to plan if you don't know who the shipper is and how close it is to home.

So what have you done, what are your experiences?

This is how my G0709 was shipped the lathe on the bottom and the stands in separate boxes on top of the lathe crate. My cousin unloaded it with a skid steer. Then we assembled it with a engine hoist.

Later I moved the lathe to my present shop I had it in dollies to get it to the door for loading. I only moved the lathe 20 miles.




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[Barncat]

An engine hoist worked wonders for unloading mine and setting it on its stand.

 

[Bob Korves]

I usually call my friend who has a towing company with about 85 tow trucks. Then I mostly watch the fun with my hands in my pockets. However, I also do help my machining buddies with pick up and delivery of machines, and we use all sorts of different setups. If it sounds or looks ugly or scary, I am ready and willing to bow out...

 

[CluelessNewB]

I hauled my Logan 820 home on this lame trailer, about 85 miles. It arrived fine but that was a dumb idea! There was a tractor with loader at both ends of the trip.

 

[JimDawson]

OK I can't resist 10,200 lbs

 

[hman]

Couple years ago, I bought Grizzly DF1224G (AKA G1003) from a Craigslist ad in Portland (about 90 minutes from home). Carried my HF engine hoist and load leveler in the pickumup truck, used them to load the lathe and stand. No photos from the loading, but here's the unloading. Note that the straps went down to the crossmembers of the lathe bed. To keep the lathe from tipping over, I chucked up a piece of pipe (other end lightly placed inside the tailstock taper) and looped the straps around it. Between positioning the carriage and adjusting the load leveler, this kept the lathe level end-to-end.

Ready to lift out of truck. Tailgate removed for easier access.


Lifted clear of truck, truck driven away


Lowered onto planks to avoid any swaying while moving into the shop


Raised onto the stand, my wife demonstrating her strength