Mill dolly. Has anyone tried one?

Flightmap

Flightmap

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I am interested in putting a knee mill on a dolly that I can move in my shop. It will be against a wall and I wanted to be able to clean behind it or possibly access the back for maintenance.

has any one done this?

does anyone have pictures or drawings of a cam operated castor system?

has anyone used a pallet dolly with through-holes for leveling feet?
 
I use a narrow pallet jack.
Everything in my shop is on a base with fork pockets to make it easy to move anytime with the pallet jack.
 
Be very careful when putting wheels on machines, they tend to fall over. Also it can make them chatter and cut out of alignment (lathe).

I agree with the above post, If you must move them I would make solid sturdy skids for them that a pallet jack can slip under to move them when needed.
 
Also been on my mind a long time. I'm swaying for a cam set up with cast iron wheels, just enough for clearance, I gotta come up with
a pretty robust idea I'm in the 3,000 + lb class. The cam set up will be a simple over center device. My reason Is a 50ft move into a
new addition this summer (I hope)
sam
 
The best devices I've seen to move heavy equipment are the ones which rest the machine on it's base as intended. These have a frame of sorts which bolts to the TOP or SIDES of the machine base. The contraption to then move the machine straddles the base but when raised contacts the frame thingy and lifts the machine an inch or two.
Roll the machine to where you want it, drop it back on the floor and then store the lifting device out of the way until the next time you need it.

All that said, my machines are up on blocks or feet which allow me to use my pallet jack to move them around. Works well.
 
Yes Ken does boat travel lift's ring a bell, 100 ton yatch moved with only straps, only an inch from the ground
 
GK1918 said:
Also been on my mind a long time. I'm swaying for a cam set up with cast iron wheels, just enough for clearance, I gotta come up with
a pretty robust idea I'm in the 3,000 + lb class. The cam set up will be a simple over center device. My reason Is a 50ft move into a
new addition this summer (I hope)
sam
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I want to do. Didn't want to limit or filter any of the responses.

the boat idea is a good one, but yhe cam idea is the direction I want to go

anyone have a set of plans? Especially the cam design!
 
Flightmap said:
This is exactly what I want to do. Didn't want to limit or filter any of the responses.

the boat idea is a good one, but yhe cam idea is the direction I want to go

anyone have a set of plans? Especially the cam design!
Click to expand...

I'd be thinking overcenter stop toggle bars rather than cams which I think would introduce a lot of friction.
 
I made a moving dolly for my mill that has removable wheels. I wasn't planning moving it often and didn't want to raise the overall height of the mill up much. I used 4"x4"x1/4" angle iron under the short lengths of the base. On the ends, I welded 30"x 1 1/2" x 1/4" strips that overlap each other (one coming from the front large angle, one coming from the back) Two 1/4" bolts hold these arms together and keep the large angle in place and squared up. I welded 3/4" shafts (for the axles) on the front and rear face of the large angle iron, each protruding about 3" to the outside of the cart. These shafts are located about 2 1/2" from the floor, so with a 6" wheel, there is 1/2" clearance. When I want to put the wheels on the mill, I just use a decent sized pry bar and raise the corner enough to slip a wheel on. I have a hole in the end of the shaft to secure the wheel with a cotter key. This may not be convenient enough for the original poster, but it only takes a few minutes to put the wheels on. Having the wheels at the far corners of the mill makes it very stable.

These are the wheels that I use.
wheel.jpg

I bought a larger lot of them and have 8 left on eBay. (search for "Fairbanks 236 wheel")

Jack
Fort Loramie

wheel.jpg
 
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