When it just "looks wrong"!

graham-xrf

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
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It's about getting hooks or shackles into lifting eye-bolts. The load is a floor standing planer thicknesser woodworking jointer with cast iron tables. The crate said 240kg (529 pounds), but the actual weight is much less, about 180-200kg (around 400 pounds). There were four M6 lifting bolt holes, but only two M6 eye-bolts provided. Thus, we are never in any danger of bolt fails. Even one 1/4" -20 lowest grade 2 bolt is good for 1750lb. The problem is that the dinky little 10mm inner diameter is too small to fit any straps, shackles, nor hoist hooks that I have to hand.

Just to get a hook into it, I resort to eBay, for a 20mm inside diameter, with a M6 thread. When it arrives, it just "looks wrong"!
1.77kN is about 400 pounds with safety factor x 6, and I will be using four of them!
Lifting Eyebolts.png _ Eye-bolt dwg.jpg

Maybe the reason it looks wrong is the little threaded piece on the eBay offering has a thread gutter 33 thousands undersize at 4.16mm, when it should be 5mm, (freely mixing units here)!

Easily the sloppiest fit for a M6 I have ever come across. I have tapped some holes I was a bit ashamed of, but 0.012" slop I never did get to!
 
I wanted to. I even bought straps for the hoist. Two longs ones, and two short ones. The machine is on a plywood with cross-woods, in effect a "partial pallet". You don't get to "take it out of the box". Instead, you take apart the crate around it. I could, maybe, find some path to get straps under the top casting table ends, BUT.. there is a reason one has to lift by the frame. The whole thing, with it's spiral carbide insert knives, has been carefully set up and internal surfaces made parallel, and thickness settings calibrated.

Itech260.jpg
The lift holes are under fence on one side, and under the guard arm on the front. You can't get a strap under the whole machine. Once I get the foot pads on, that may become possible.

The adjustable feet pads are supplied separately, and it's a real b*tch to get them fitted down there. I have the hoist. I can do this. The only thing that went against the grain was the impractical size of the lifting eyes, and the small threaded holes. The "bigger" eye-bolts may be OK, but I was disappointed at how under-sized the actual threaded parts were turned. The un-threaded diameter should be 5mm, like the small ones had. Slightly over 4mm is way too small, and "seems wrong"! I can see myself drilling them out and tapping to take M8.

Yeah - I know. I have a personality disorder that makes me want to have them "look right" :(
 
Could you use a 3/16 or 1/4 shackle to transition from the lifting gear to the smaller eye?
That was plan B. The shackles arrived today, as did a set of 20mm hole eye-bolts with the poorly made "M6" threaded section.
 
As with any rigging task, use only known brand hardware (I prefer Crosby) of proper rated capacity. If connecting a hook into an Eyebolt make sure you don't "tip load" the hook.
 
I'm dubious of the quality of that ebay eyebolt. I'd go with drilling and tapping to M8, and buying hardware through a known quality vendor like McMaster here in the states. For the weights involved I'd be more comfortable using the original eyebolts and some good quality rope through the small eyes. Also, as you probably already know, eyebolts are rated for straight vertical loads, you loose capacity at angles. This is in addition to the increased force applied by angled (inverted Y) lifting lines. Especially disconcerting with that necked down eyebolt thread
 
I would NOT, under any circumstances lift by the upper, flat bed pieces.

I have a "Göde" (German brand made in China) 8 inch of similar construction (for hobby purposes only). The upper 'ways' are sheet aluminum, ground and polished they are, but still not cast, and I'm hesitant of putting to heavy a piece of wood on them.

Edit: correct typo,. exchange 8 for *.
 
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I would NOT, under any circumstances lift by the upper, flat bed pieces.

I have a "Göde" (German brand made in China) * inch of similar construction (for hobby purposes only). The upper 'ways' are sheet aluminum, ground and polished they are, but still not cast, and I'm hesitant of putting to heavy a piece of wood on them.
This is a tough machine, but you are absolutely right!
I have now checked out the videos on usage, and all come with big warnings about never lifting on the beds. The whole process of using straight edge, and feeler gauges, and squaring, and setting feed spring tensions, will use up a whole day, and is guaranteed to get messed up if you then sling whole 400 pounds on the setting dowel pins and clamp screws.

I am going with @rabler on this. It gets an upgrade to M8. Also now in the mission list is to provide some 75mm castor wheels with screw-jack foot pads, so I can set it down solid, and level it, but able to move it when I need to. It just grew it's own side-project!
 
This may be way out of line, I don't know the positioning of the lifting pads for sure. But it seems to me that a piece of heavy pipe on each end, to make a strongback, and then lifting with a four part choker would be the simplist. Rod would work, pipe would be better. The load at each lift point would be around 100 pounds. Even a 1/4-20 ring bolt should carry that with plenty of safety factor. Hell, even a 2X2 bolted on should work. . .
.
 
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