Machine Skates, Light

[Ulma Doctor]

I have a lathe to move soon and i wanted to make the move as easy as possible.
i will have a forkilft on both the pick up and the shop ends to assist with the heavy lifting.
sliding it into place will be a bit easier without the bulk of the forklift on the long side.
the thought is to lower the lathe onto a set of skates and slide it into position and jack up the lathe to set it back down with the skates removed.
the lathe weighs in about 3500lbs.
i considered a few designs and came back with KISS in mind
so after 5 minutes of design, 5 minutes of calculation and 5 minutes of rounding up parts,
these is the abominations that i have created!

no they aren't pinewood derby rejects , but i could see the resemblance!



i had some 4" Aluminum channel that i whacked into 8" long pieces
i had some 6202 15mm bore to .380" bearings that would serve as the wheels, this meant that i needed to attach the wheels to the skates.
i did this by selecting 3/8x1-1/4" grade 5 bolts and turning 16) 14.9mm OD x .380" ID x 10mm long bushings to adapt the wheels to the attachment bolts.
i located and drilled 16) 3/8" holes in the skate bodies
i spaced the bearings from the skate body with 3/8" SAE washers (for their small OD), used HSS heavy nuts and locktite red to secure the nuts before i rattled them up tight.
total fab and assembly took about 2 hours.

each skate would easily hold and transport a safely estimated 1500 lbs

there is thought of adding a cleat to the end of each skate to prevent ejection , but still in consideration

as always relevant comments, questions, pointers are always welcomed and encouraged!
thanks for reading!

 

[middle.road]

I don't like my gut feeling with the bearings being on the outside of the legs on an aluminum channel.
I can picture one failing at the web and stressing out the others.
Any possibility of moving them inboard?

 

[mikey]

Ummm, how do you negotiate turns? One end of the load has to swivel, no?

 

[Lo-Fi]

Providing the surface is really flat, they should work well. My experience with large loads on small wheels is that even the smallest pebble or lip will jam progress to the point where the friction between machine and skate can be overcome. I'd go with cleats, bolts or anything you can to positively locate the skates to the machine, as well as a hole or two to pop a shackle through so you can pull the skates rather than the lathe if you get stuck.

A crowbar with similar wheels mounted to the crook can be a really helpful tool for realigning the skates if they decides to go off course too.

Good luck with the move, it sounds like quire a machine. Look forward to seeing it

 

[Ulma Doctor]

I don't like my gut feeling with the bearings being on the outside of the legs on an aluminum channel.
I can picture one failing at the web and stressing out the others.
Any possibility of moving them inboard?

i though of putting them on the inside, but i would need to make spacers with bevels to accommodate the angle inside chanel.
otherwise the wheels would be at an angle and would ride on one edge of the wheel
i really don't think i will have enough pressure to make the channel fail, but i appreciate your concern

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Ummm, how do you negotiate turns? One end of the load has to swivel, no?

i wasn't planning to use them for turning, bu you gave me a flash of inspiration
they are planned to be used as lateral moving devises for straight movement of less than 20 feet.
i was going to set the lathe on the skates and roll it into position, then dismount and level the beast

 

[chips&more]

Hmm, let’s see? 3500lbs /16 wheels. That’s about 218lbs of dead load on each little bearing and bolt assembly…HMM? And a lathe is typically top heavy! If just one bearing fails, it could be a really bad day. Please be careful UD.

 

[Chewy]

I would suggest that you put one long bolt through both bearings with a lock nut. Put a spacer on the inside of the channel. The aluminum channel that you show could bow out under load, especially with separate bolts. The bolt and spacer would strengthen any lateral give in the metal.

 

[hman]

I'm sure you've thought about the move, so all I want to do is encourage you to be safe and cautious. One "oopsie" I've heard about occasionally is the possibility of losing one of the skates when the weight of the tool is entirely supported on an uneven floor by two diagonally opposed corners. Take care!

 

[FOMOGO]

I like Chewy's idea on the thru bolt and spacer. A turn table on top of at least two of the skates, bolted on from the backside with some sort of simple thrust washer, would probably make things go a little smoother as far as changing direction. Have to make some for the shop, so thanks for bringing it up, and just go slow and easy with the move, and I'm sure all will go well. Cheers, Mike