How portable is a 7x16 lathe?

T

twigg

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Hi all, sorry my first post is such an oddball question.

I work out of borrowed space. My landlord lets me use his work space provided I don't cause problems, so all my tools need to be portable. I store my tools up a flight of spiral stairs. In short, my first lathe needs to be light enough for a single person to lift up stairs. I'm guessing 60lbs is the max I can lift in one trip safely.

I was reading about the micromark and littlemachineshop 7x16 lathes, and see that they're about 90lbs. How much weight could be removed? I imagine I can make a separate trip for the tailstock and chuck, which I'm guessing would together be about 15-20lbs. Can the carriage also be easily removed?

And lastly, how much of a pain will it be to re-align the lathe after disassembly and reassembly? More than 30 minutes of fiddling?

If you have other suggestions that don't involve a 7x16 lathe, I'm totally open minded here. Just trying to figure out what could work and what won't work before I make any decisions.

Thanks!
 
I used to have a 7x lathe and while it was not something that I wanted to move around a lot, it was definitely ‘portable’.
I think you’ll want to bolt it to a sturdy base so that it’s easier to pick up.
Maybe a piece of 3/4” plywood?
 
I had a small late like that for a while, It lived in a HD canvase duffel bag. The guy I sold it to used it on top of the wife's washer / dryer set, So it was back in the duffel bag IMMEDIATELY after each use. AND don't dare loose a chip into the laundry.
 
Having used a 7X14(essentially the same machine) a few years back, I frequently handled it with one hand. Not tackling stairs, just moving it around the shop. The spiral stairs will limit you on the size of a handtruck. The saw stand might work or you could use a lighter luggage carrier. Tailstock and chuck would be no problem to reinstall. But with a handtruck there would be no disassembly. Yiu could even leave WIP in the chuck. The machine is one step away from a lightweight.

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Thanks again all!

I'm leaning towards a plywood base because of the fewer variables and less bouncing the machine around, but I like both ideas! I think if I'm careful to watch the center of mass, I can rest the plywood base on the handrail and slide it up (staircase is all steel, not worried about hurting it). It's only my landlord's truck down below, no pressure! :grin: I figure if I try that and it doesn't work or feels too sketchy, I'll go for the portable base / handtruck.
 
I haven't owned a 7" lathe ... but a big chunk of weight on any lathe is the motor. You might be able to dismount/remount the motor, along with the chuck and tailstock. Maybe even dismount the compound from the cross slide?

PS - a warm and hearty welcome to the forum!
 
I own a LMS 7X16 lathe and even removing the tailstock, carriage and chuck still would leave you with a heavy and unbalanced machine. I occasionally move my 7X16 within my garage but only for a few feet, it's a lot heavier than you think and difficult to grip and carry.
 
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