I bought a Rockwell horizontal mill.

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OLDBEAR

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I just purchased a Rockwell horizontal mill, model number 21-120. It is about 425 miles away and was thinking about hauling the thing home myself. I need to weigh the options and get advice on how to set up the machine for transport. First thing the buyer says it weighs 500 lbs, does that sound about right? I have experience in trucking, loading, tying down loads and that sort of thing, I would like to know what one can do to the machine in particular to minimize damage. I have a single axle trailer to use. Thanks in advance. Bill.
 
I think 500# is a little light. My Rockwell vertical is around 900# and I would think the horizontal would be about the same.

Hope that helps.

Steve
 
I'm not an expert on this machine but I would say 800 or so minimum.

When I moved my Hardinge I just had it set in the bed and ran 2 2" webbing straps crisscross. Machine didn't budge the rest of the drive. Having good points to lay them across is key to this working well.
 
+1 on Yugami. I also have a Hardinge TM horizontal.

$45 Uhaul 6x12 two axle open trailer with ramp gate. A come-along, lots of straps.

Some good dollies or 6 pieces of 3/4 inch pipe or conduit cut 3 feet long to roll the machine. A fee pry bars and 2x4 to budge it and get it moving. Have 400 or 600 pounds of friends to guide it and muscle it a bit with you, and you are all good :). (Seriously)

You can rent amazon dollies from UHaul, high capacity, for $7 a day. I have moved a lot of machines this exact way, and I have moved the Hardinge 4 times this way- hopefully for the last time! :)

This trailer is just surrounded by tie points, and at a great height. It also has a great place to mount the comealong to pull the machine in and let it out again.

I will have to dig up some pics tomorrow for you.

Bernie
 
Just try to minimize the height by lowering the head and rotating it so the motor is down toward the table. That will help to lower the center of mass and make it less top heavy. would nail in a front and rear cribbing board and use a minimum of 8 tiedowns to hold it in place. The DOT standard is 1.5 times the loads weight is the mimimum working strength of the tie downs used to secure it to the trailer. If you have a tarp I would also cover it and insure that the tarp doesn't slap or flap around. If you drape it over the machine, and use moving pads where the straps cross over then you will not cut a strap and keep it dry on the trip home in case it rains. If it is being loaded with a forklift I would position it just slightly ahead of the center of the axles on the trailer and use high quality ratchet straps to insure that you get them as tight as possible. Hope this helps solve some of your issues with the move coming up. If you are careful and take adequate precautions you will have no problems towing it home and setting it up in your shop. Don't forget the pics when you pick it up and get it settled in it's new home. You didn't mention it but is it single or three phase and do you have 3 phase or a RPC available if you need it? Good luck and congrats on the new machine.

Bob
 
Greetings fellow Hobby Machinist, The machine is horizontal only and three phase, so I will entertain the idea of using a VFD. Thanks for the help guys. Bill.
 
OLDBEAR said:
Greetings fellow Hobby Machinist, The machine is horizontal only and three phase, so I will entertain the idea of using a VFD. Thanks for the help guys. Bill.
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I used an engine hoist and used that as a dolly, there are pics of it on the Rockwell serial number thread. Loaded it with a come-a-long and some 2x8s on top of the existing car ramps then used 2500 lb straps to hold it in place. it was fun keeping it rolling straight with only 2 people, I would recommend 3. TIm
 
Rbeckett said:
Just try to minimize the height by lowering the head and rotating it so the motor is down toward the table. That will help to lower the center of mass and make it less top heavy. would nail in a front and rear cribbing board and use a minimum of 8 tie downs to hold it in place. The DOT standard is 1.5 times the loads weight is the mimimum working strength of the tie downs used to secure it to the trailer. If you have a tarp I would also cover it and insure that the tarp doesn't slap or flap around. If you drape it over the machine, and use moving pads where the straps cross over then you will not cut a strap and keep it dry on the trip home in case it rains. If it is being loaded with a forklift I would position it just slightly ahead of the center of the axles on the trailer and use high quality ratchet straps to insure that you get them as tight as possible. Hope this helps solve some of your issues with the move coming up. If you are careful and take adequate precautions you will have no problems towing it home and setting it up in your shop. Don't forget the pics when you pick it up and get it settled in it's new home. You didn't mention it but is it single or three phase and do you have 3 phase or a RPC available if you need it? Good luck and congrats on the new machine.

Bob
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I don't know how many miles my lathe road on the trailer without being tied down because I didn't take into account the edge of the ways ability to cut the straps! Luckily, it didn't move! :phew:

Rocky rigger!
 
Greetings Hobby-Machinist, nylon ropes and webbing is nice stuff because it will not dig into the metal components. The downside is that it will cut easily when stretched taught, so you need to use something as a "softener" in between the metal and nylon. You can use many things such as cardboard, wood, rags, plastic, rubber, pvc pipe, metal pipe, leather or whatever. When lifting with nylon sling the same thing applies, if your sling slides any at all on an edge it will cut it, and when your sling is at its max capacity it will likely cut it in two.
 
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