Bought a small lathe recently. Naturally, I came back to this video for a rewatch. I’m still going to hold to assuming the seller has nothing and won’t help, but the gentleman helped us load and then followed me to my house to help us unload. Turns out, people are still awesome!
Gotta say a massive big THANK YOU! I welded up a wheel truck from palette jack wheels like you demonstrate in this video to move a 14x40 lathe... FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC! Oh! ... and I got more experience with TIG welding as a bonus. :)
Tom, thanks for being a source if information and inspiration. I'm nearly 33 and hopefully about to take on a position as an apprentice tool and die maker. Before watching your channel, I didn't even know what a tool and die maker was, and I've got no formal training. But between general shop and machining experience in my last job, and all the wisdom I've been able to absorb from guys like you, I feel confident enough to pursue this line of work and believe it's a really good fit for me.
You're going the wrong way! The shop owner clearly wants you only entering that door. 😂 Thanks a lot of taking the time to make this video. It's very helpful.
Sorry, you remind me of my uncle Manny in his prime. A cool guy, wealth of knowledge, machinist when I had no idea what that meant. He Said “ uh” a lot , a happy giggle and unique phrases “ bob s your uncle”with your similar voice which triggers my memory of him. Great guy, Man I really miss him. Thanks I appreciate it every time.
It is always such a pleasure to watch YOU WORK! This video brought back many memories of late night “unofficial” moving adventures. It was such fun to be shoving something down the hall at 2:00 AM and have University Security show up, “Hey what’ya doing there?” It is good to know that the venerable Double EE will be rebuilt, appreciated and live on to do more good work. Thanks Tom.
That was a great help! I have made these dollies after watching your video. The lathe was 1.5 ton and i was able to move it with my friend from the drive way where it was dropped on to the dollies to the garage with no time and very little effort.. Thank you!!
Some good ideas there Tom, plenty of info for moving or relocating a machine. Number one tool though is a sweeping brush!!, Slightest chip, gravel or fasteners will stop you dead. Ever thought of a work out video💆
Thanks Tom. This video is perfect timing for me as I’m about to go move a medium sized lathe and it’s at the back of a cluttered workshop. Had a few thoughts on how to do things, but this has been a great help. 👍
Live saver. Watched your video and bought my first lathe. It only weighs 1100lbs, but the dolly idea was perfect. I used 8 inch wheels and with two guys were able to get it up a fairly steep ramp into our trailer. Awesome video.
Grazie Tom. Ho usato il metodo del video costruendo prima il carrino e poi le ruote laterali e grazie a te sono riuscito a spostare il mio tornio Weiler che pesa circa 1t e a posizionarlo nel luogo di lavoro in assoluta sicurezza e con semplicità. Grazie ancora il tuo video mi è stato molto utile.
This video came in super handy. Picked up an old Reed Prentice lathe last night. It was way heavier than I thought but everything went smoothly. Thanks for the great video!!
Tom, all of the info that you had shared in your blog, answering my questions and the info in your other videos about the toe jack, the pallet jack and rigging was very useful for me for moving my machines. Now you have out it all into one single video which is extremely useful for hobby and small shops. Thanks very much. Daniel
The practical knowledge contained in this video spared me a lot of headache when moving a machine recently. Also made me as a first-timer look like a Pro. :-) Thanks Professor Tom!
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I learned a lot. I recently brought home a Bridgeport on my small utility trailer, took it off with an engine hoist, and moved it into place by rolling on some 3/4" heavy wall pipes. If I would have videoed the process I could have posted the video and titled it, 'Move a Mill like a bozo'. The only thing I can say is that neither the machine or the mover was harmed in the process.
Man, you really do very clean, efficient work. Those tools you built look really professional and clean. I love when people take the time to make things the right way. That Monarch is beautiful by the way. Whoever is getting it is a lucky guy.
Hi, Tom. John York showed us a similar wheel arrangement for his moving rig, but instead of making the width adjustable with allthread rods, his has a fixed width platform with wheels on each side (basically narrow enough to fit through doorways but wide enough to move any machines you’re likely to move.) Instead of a three point arrangement with movable wheels at the other end, he moves the two-wheel platform to the balance point (or very close). That way he can safely move and turn with just two wheels in an extremely tight space by himself. Since the wheels are still outboard, it’s still a very stable arrangement.
I recently built a Johnson Bar and it's the bee's knees as far as I'm concerned. Very handy for moving my Royersford into the shop. You also took a lot of advantage in the fact that the 10EE has a very solid bottom cabinet wheras many lathe cabinets are pretty noodly. Most would not have a place to put that front dolly. Good video, I appreciate the effort you put into it.
G'day Tom, a great video, I've missed not having time to watch your channel. I hauled back all the way to Australia from the US some sidewinder trailer jacks (at the time they were quite expensive here, but peanuts at USA's favourite peanut tools store) then welded up a simple frame similar to your toe jack only taller. A couple of ratchet straps wrap the machine and secure the trailer jacks, so I just slide the toe under, ratchet down, and then just wind the machine up. Mine are good for 1000 lbs each and I use 4, so I can move the size machine I wouldn't want dropping on my toe! The only issue I didn't fully think through was the wheels having enough room to pivot fully. I'm sure a smarter guy than me would have thought of that when he was welding them up! Next time I need to use them I'll modify them in that regard. The big advantage is trailer jacks can move on roughish surfaces.
Tom, I really appreciate the design of the angle iron/wheel dolly design. I built a pair of them for moving my Monarch 61. My tailstock end dolly is similar to yours but I used 4" channel iron. I cut a ball race in the channel iron and added a 3/8" square plate on the top with a ball race. 1/4" balls and a 3/8" flat head king pin screw make my dolly swivel. I added 5/16" threaded holes on the corners of the 3/8" square plate allow me to attach a friction pad.
Great tutorial. These lessons are hard won without this advice. On your third or fourth machine move you start to get good at it, those first few are brutal though. Thanks Tom. Great content as usual.
Great video, don't forget to check the owners manual as well. When I purchased my Colchester Student lathe I did that and found out there was a threaded hole in the bed at the balance point for a lifting eye. So I rented a engine hoist and was able to pick it up with that and get it on and off the truck with minimal excitement.
Thanks Tom this was great advice. Love those wheels you made. Have to think about making those at some point Hope you have a prosperous New year buddy.
An old friend of mine once gave me a working panel-mount frequency counter from the early 1970s which had Nixie tubes in it. I later found out that it came off of one of these lathes, and it was a factory option which provided a highly accurate digital RPM readout.
You make it look so easy because you plan ahead just as in machining a part. The little "skate board" is genius and might be improved by adding a T-handle that also swivels up and down and is secured to the stub handle with a pin. Then you can either pull or push without bending over. You could also add a trailer hitch and dispense with a trailer. :-) BTW, I made a Johnson bar with a telescoping handle which lets me get close to a wall.
👏👏👏.. Great video Tom..old timer passed on to me this exact same universal wheel system. The only difference is that on his design vertical plate that wheel axle is attached he has one each side of the wheel two jack bolts. When assembled, all you do is turn those jack screws against machine and nothing will move. I really like your bearing dolly design as well... Overall great video 👍
I like the Picasso comment at the end. Reminds me of Henry Ford saying something like “whether you say you can or you can’t, either way you’re right”. And of course, the person who says it can’t be done shouldn’t interrupt the person who’s doing it.
Great video, I really like the bottle jack lift you made, looks really nicely made! I know you said you can buy them but I bet they won't be as good as you made!🙂👍
Hi Tom, this was VERY helpful. I'll be moving my father's lathe and old R8 end mill from his former shop in Grass Valley into a Conex box in early December. Never done anything like this before. Daunting, to say the least.... Wish I had access to a toe jack and/or that custom roller set up you built for the purpose. Cheers.
I think it was your video (ages ago) that spurred me to make a pallet jack wheel dolly, and my solution to different widths of machinery was to make different lengths of rod in pairs. 4X 10 cm, 2 x 20 cm, 2 x 1 meter and assorted pieces to match it up. Only major difference is i've threaded the pass through on one of the dollies and the other has a pull-tight system vs thread (just happened to have extra handles). By far, the most useful thing i've made for moving stuff. It essentially makes any machine its own moving device and with almost 8 cm clearance from the ground they go really nice. I'm thinking about adding a brake and electric system on the direction wheel dolly (off one of those electric scooters kids have these days, the motors are decent when geared right).
Only important thing you missed Tom is that when moving such things on a pallet jack or forklift is to keep the load as low as physically possible at ALL times unless clearance is necessary for obstacles, ground irregularities etc. At least then any tip is reduced as much as possible. 4,5 ton shot blast machine, 2 good mates, 1 small chain come along, 1 hardware store wire winch and a bunch of steel tube rollers wedges and pry bars. 6 hours, 32 meters(14 meters of slight uphill incline), 1 x 90 degree turn and no pinched or removed fingers ! It was free apart from the effort : )
Great Video Tom! I'm definitely going to build some 4"x 4" taper blocks now to have on hand for getting my machinery off the floor. I plan to copy and build a couple sets of your caster wheel/angle bracket design except on second set (for preferably the lighter end of the load) I will weld another heavy angle to the carrier angle iron in reverse sticking up and away from the machine so I can put swivel casters on each one. If that makes sense. Great demonstration and thank you :-)
Great DEMO… I made up the dolly wheels when I saw your first video, have used them a few times, and love them! My third wheel, the single steering one, leaves a lot to be desired and I’ll be updating soon (with proper height to match the back wheels 😊) with something better like what you have shown. I do need to get my blocks a bit more organized and add some wedges too! Once you move something like this on your own, using the original, simple machines (incline, lever, wheel) the pyramids don’t look so big anymore…. do they. Thanks as always
Great video!! Thanks to Rob Renzetti I found this. The first thing I did in my shop today was make the dollies as shown. I should have had those 20 years ago. On the practical side, with the parts I had lying around (4 big bearings and even a large axial bearing, etc.) I have made the steering dolly but have forgone the ball joint pivot. First I will see how it works without it. My nominal height is just a bit under 100 mm which I think is very similar to yours. For the larger wheels, I have had a set of original SKF 125 mm diameter ball bearing wheels in stock which look beefy enough for the job. I have to adapt the design a bit to accomodate the smaller wheels but that is all trivial. Also an iteration is to use a single M12 rod straight through the bored out wheel axle shafts. This saves manufacturing time an also will be quicker in use. And before I forget, I would like to know how the ball swivel function was realized on your build, which kind of parts were used. Thanks and greetings from Holland.
Tom, I will offer a suggestion on quicker jacking and blocking than your demonstrated method. This method will work well on all solid casted base machines like this Monarch. Do all your jacking from only one end by employing rock blocks. Jack one end high enough to slip a rock blocks on each side of the machine just past the machine center of gravity. Lowering the jacked end will cause the far end to raise, pivoting on the rock blocks. Blocking the far end now allows you to jack higher on the jack end and you can install thicker rock blocks. Repeating this method allows up or down jacking with full and constant jacking contact pressure, or the jacking method can be shimmed by staging blocking on the jacking end. Replacing the rock blocks will machine rollers at the center of gravity allows the machine tool to rest on "two point" machine rollers instead of three point system that you demonstrate. The two point system allows riggers to push, pull or pivot the machine at any point on the move process eliminating the need to seesaw when only able to steer from one end as you demonstrate. Balancing a lathe to compensate for center of gravity is pretty easy since the tailstock and or cross slide carriage can be easily moved. The absolute easiest way to move engine lathes is by lifting via overhead. Attach hoisting to single point location on lathe bed casting (hoisting strap). Balance load by shifting center of gravity by moving tailstock and cross slide carriage. Support from overhead crane or forklift.
Thanks, great tips! One question: when you have the machine balanced on the to wheels, do you place something like castor wheels on each end? Otherwise the machine would tip over too far and nor be movable because it will always tips one way. Also, the 'rock blocks' are nothing special, just rectangular wood? Or not? Thanks.
@@bigbattenberg Ideally, the skates have 4 rows of rollers with the end rollers centerline slightly higher than the plane of the middle row of rollers. Machine instability settles the machine weight on the center rollers or if slightly off rocks to the end row and one middle row. The effect is only two rows of rollers are in contact with the floor at any time and pivoting is very easy. Shorter two row skates work well, but more care is necessary to position them at the machine center of gravity. When I wrote these comments I was thinking that modern machines have continuous base castings. This machine design is necessary for my skate tricks to work effectively. We used yellow pine for all of our cribbing, keeping 4x4, 2x4, 2x6 and CDX plywood on hand. We used YP, because our crating department used it all.kst exclusively and material was readily available. Harder woods last longer. White pine is very soft and very heavy machines rapidly crush and break it. I just purchased an American Pacemaker much like Adam Booth's. Rigging this into my home hobby shop is posing a problem, because it way exceeds my home shop 3 ton hoisting capacity and it has a major casting under the head, a small center foot under the bed and a slightly larger small foot under the tailstock. Rock blocking won't be an option to rig this machine. Adam just took delivery of a new Milltronics CNC tool room lathe. I was very surprised to see a new CNC machine with no continuous base casting. This machine has essentially a manual lathe tailstock design, flat cross slide and no chip conveyor. I have a vast CNC experience, but solely high production. It only slowly dawned on me that I am conditioned to think that ALL CNC is high for high production application. My rigging tricks would not have worked for Adam's new CNC machine. My entire career was isolated to one company, though large, we owned and used equipment with characteristics I consider standard. In my little world I was a competent expert. Getting outside of my world reveals that I am not so well rounded as I like to think. Adam really likes his toe jack, essentially a modified bottle jack that lifts with little clearance from the floor. I don't own one of these, because in my world a toe jack would be very limited. This type of jack requires clearance for the tall portion to allow the jack to sit next to the casting. Much of my CNC experience is that machines are designed with much smaller base casting footprints than the sheet metal machine perimeter and don't have the necessary head clearance to use a toe jack. We required a jack profile that would fit under a machine base and have no head clearance requirements. Air pillows were our solution or long thin forklift forks. A long thin forklift fork that can't possibly lift a machine with only the fork tip can be gently wedged under a very heavy machine to begin skotching up one end. Tipping the forks FORWARD so the fork tip is against the floor raises the machine base edge and the fork doesn't bend, because the leverage length is so short. Very little load is on a a potentially very underrated forklift and the rear wheels don't raise off the floor with this trick. Tilting the forks backwards bends the fork tips rears the rear end of the forklift. Skotching until the forklift is under far enough to safely raise only one end allows you to employ the rock block trick and never requires you to move the forklift or jack from the opposite machine end. 50k lbs is the upper limit of my machine rigging experience. Usually we were limited to 6k lb forklifts. We would routinely employ the methods that I have tried to describe with machines under 30k lbs. Bigger forklifts we're an occasional luxury, but our shop was so congested that we struggled maneuver larger forklifts down our narrow plant aisles. We eventually acquired our own 8.8 k lb forklift, but its size meant it wasn't nimble and it had limited application in our crowded shop.
@@paulhunt598 Thanks for your swift and very comprehensive reply! Very clear indeed. I will look into fabricating the skates as described, very smart. I have just bought a mill which is around 1.800 kgs, with a very solid square base casting. it would be a great candidate for this approach. And in fact I just fabricated the dollies from this here video with some adaptations, but making them lower (ideally just a tad higher than the 6305 bearings I used for the steering dolly wheels). For the skates, bearings may also be paired or stacked, depending on the desired footprint and load capacity. 25 - 30 mm is quite a difference so I've noticed already. On the wood blocks, I have made some wedge and support blocks of regular reclaimed pallet wood. I will see how it holds up. And yes, on the machine design and 'how did they do it before' (or the lack thereof) in 'modern' machine design... this I why I always revert to the old stuff. My friend Joe Brouwer: 'Reinventing the wheel in a place where the wheel was perfectly defined." Check him out, vast knowledge: www.tecnetinc.com/newsletter%20topics%20original.html
My experience is there is NO need for outboard support when two skates are well placed on the machine center of gravity. I started rigging with Hillman roller skates. I dutifully placed four skates on the four corners of the machine padded with the supplied OEM dense rubber pads. I quickly discovered that as soon as the machine was moving the load would "triangulate" and the unevenness of a troweled shop floor would drop the unloaded skate. If the center of gravity was ill distributed, the missing skate allowed that corner to fall, but in most machine rigging cases the load distributed on three points of contact. I quit using Hillman rollers because machine loads on the skates don't evenly distribute. They can load on one edge of the skate or shift to primarily only one skate and the steel rollers will pop the concrete. It can look like the concrete is fluid and a wave will build up in front of the Hillman rollers. I had much better success with the larger footprint skates (described in my other comments) and very hard plastic rollers. While the full time professional machine riggers have a plethora of rigging options, we standardized on only two skates. I thought that I would add to the inventory over time, but two skate method virtually covered every application we encountered. I kept two sets of Hillman rollers in two sizes, but very seldom employed them after switching to the two skate method. Another really neat trick is to employ a pusher block for the forklift. Take a heavy timber and add a lengthwise key by bolting a narrow wooden key to the timber. Countersink all bolt hardware so no hardware protrudes. The pusher timber is shorter than the forklift forks by roughly 1'. Drop the key on the timber so that the timber rests on forks that are close together and the key keeps the timber in place. With the machine on skates, load very slight machine weight on the fork tips and the timber loaded against the machine base. Now you can push the machine, easily steer the load with the forklift (side shift is an extra plus). If you add a chain or strap between the machine and the forklift you can pull the load without changing the rigging setup or getting out of the forklift seat! If you use a chain as described, wrap it around the pusher timber and forks even loosely. This keeps the pusher in place. Being retired, I don't have access to the company toy inventory that I built up. I am doing my home rigging with cruder methods and tools.
@@bigbattenberg This nerdy chatter annoys some people including my wife! I was cursed with the "gift of gab" and enjoy a willing audience. There is a bit of a teacher character in my makeup. When I discover a trick or a new skill that helps me, I am inclined to think others will find my "treasure" useful. I hope that I don't annoy too many folk. What mill did you acquire? I only have a Bridgeport. I have a new shop that has undedicated space. A beefier machine would be a delight. Space is no longer a constraint. I have to justify my upgrades with a supportive wife that still struggles to understand why a hobby shop needs such big toys.
It helps to strap the rear “wheels” to the lathe with a tie down, so they don’t fall off when you drag it over a bump or a pothole. Nice video - thanks!
Final interations were replacing the threaded rod with a solid steel bar (dia 20 mm) which is adjusted with adjusting rings. It also allows the two dollies to rotate individually instead of torqueing up the threaded rod.
It's good to see new, safe and effective ways to do the job. Thanks “The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can't are both right.” - Confucius
I have 2 type 12 electrical disconnect cabinets in my garage that I use for storage, with shelving inside. They are 7ft tall, and about 10 ft wide. They weigh somewhere around 2500lbs each. They are up on hockey pucks. I need to move them out from the wall 3-4 ft so I can insulate the walls behind them. The way I moved them before was two 2x4's perpendicular to the wall behind them. The 2x4's are just slightly thicker than the hockey pucks. So I pry one end up and slide the end of the 2x4 all the way back to the wall, and then do the same for the other side of the cabinet. Now that it's up on 2x4's, I use the pry bar to raise it up, and then I pivot the bar to the side, and I can move the cabinet and walk it along the 2x4's about 1.5 inches at a time. However, my question is, is there an easier way to do this? I wouldn't say it's exactly hard, but it's tedious. Could I put some thick plastic on top of the 2x4 and grease it or something so I can just slide the cabinet out, and then back in when I'm done?
Once had 3 guys turn up in a transit van to move the biggest cnc milling machine Iv ever seen at a place I used to work. I thought they didn’t have a chance. Turns out they had a huge pump and hover craft like pads that sat under the mill. They pushed it round like it was nothing. I don’t know what it weighed but it must have been 20’ x 10’ x 8’. Pretty impressive.
Give enough pallet jack wheels and tie rods you could move the world…at least I think that’s how it goes. As always great video, thanks for sharing Tom!
Excellent video. I moved large safes , ATM.s and buildings for years. A faster simpler way might have been to take it to the door with the pallet jack since you already had it up there. Then drop it on pipe rollers. And then it's pretty easy after that.
That "johnson bar" is great for moving safes. Those generally have smaller footprints and may be taller and more prone to tipping. Ones I have worked with have a bevel built into the bottom at the edge to allow some purchase for the lifter. But the wheels are great for rolling on pipes or bars.
Thanks for this great video Tom! Chock-full of great information. Same way of moving a vertical mill would be assumed, but would be interesting to see do to the obvious difference in center of gravity, height, and foot print. Keep 'em coming brother, can't get enough meatloaf brain food.
Nice work Tom. The only thing I would recommend is a mirror or very shiny piece of metal to act as a mirror. Sometimes you can't see under the machine to see where to put the blocks, so the mirror will help you see under there better. Maybe the edge of the machine is narrower than you think and your blocks may shift unexpected when you put weight on them.
My favorite pry bar is my gear wrench 48 inch adjustable indexable cam head. Sold in multiple brands. But always has the leverage where you need it. Just looked online and harbor freight copies it now in the Quinn brand. So I bet it's just as good for $60
Glad to hear that it is going to a good home. Keeping the kneeling pads with the box of blocks might be a good idea. Another options is strap on knee pads like tile layers use. (Old knees hate concrete.)
Super helpful Tom. I want to add some low profile 360 wheels to heavy gym equipment as it is being repositioned regularly. Any ideas on what to use. It is tough to find low profile strong wheels that rotate?
I did not think I would learn anything before watching. I was sure wrong. Those allthread and steering wheels are really great. I am going to make a set. I move machines very often by hand, even across dirt and gravel. Hint, really wide wheels needed in dirt and gravel. Also they need to be larger diameter than those used on concrete. And, yah, you not gonna push or pull on dirt, a good set of winches needed, and plenty of trees.
With all due respect, the Jo bar is incredible. It would’ve eliminated a bunch of the blocking and it could’ve been used as a lead. But I do understand your grievances when working in tight spaces.
Johnson bars are great for giant wood crates. The one you have is kinda small and has a round pin. It's made for stuff with a matching hole underneath. The regular ones have no pin.
You do NOT want to lift too much on any one corner or side at one time. You want it done gradually and evenly to prevent it from tipping. Machines like that can go over too quick to talk about.
great topic/great video!
This Old Tony except the part where there was less lathe maybe. Great subject for sure.
ToT just shrinks the lathe, puts it under his arm and walks off...
Bought a small lathe recently. Naturally, I came back to this video for a rewatch.
I’m still going to hold to assuming the seller has nothing and won’t help, but the gentleman helped us load and then followed me to my house to help us unload.
Turns out, people are still awesome!
I'm watching how to move a lathe rather than being in the garage moving the grinder :-)
Thanks for this, Tom.
Gotta say a massive big THANK YOU!
I welded up a wheel truck from palette jack wheels like you demonstrate in this video to move a 14x40 lathe... FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC!
Oh! ... and I got more experience with TIG welding as a bonus. :)
Tom, thanks for being a source if information and inspiration. I'm nearly 33 and hopefully about to take on a position as an apprentice tool and die maker. Before watching your channel, I didn't even know what a tool and die maker was, and I've got no formal training. But between general shop and machining experience in my last job, and all the wisdom I've been able to absorb from guys like you, I feel confident enough to pursue this line of work and believe it's a really good fit for me.
You're going the wrong way! The shop owner clearly wants you only entering that door. 😂
Thanks a lot of taking the time to make this video. It's very helpful.
Sorry, you remind me of my uncle Manny in his prime. A cool guy, wealth of knowledge, machinist when I had no idea what that meant. He Said “ uh” a lot , a happy giggle and unique phrases “ bob s your uncle”with your similar voice which triggers my memory of him. Great guy, Man I really miss him. Thanks I appreciate it every time.
It is always such a pleasure to watch YOU WORK! This video brought back many memories of late night “unofficial” moving adventures. It was such fun to be shoving something down the hall at 2:00 AM and have University Security show up, “Hey what’ya doing there?” It is good to know that the venerable Double EE will be rebuilt, appreciated and live on to do more good work. Thanks Tom.
That was a great help! I have made these dollies after watching your video. The lathe was 1.5 ton and i was able to move it with my friend from the drive way where it was dropped on to the dollies to the garage with no time and very little effort.. Thank you!!
Some good ideas there Tom, plenty of info for moving or relocating a machine. Number one tool though is a sweeping brush!!, Slightest chip, gravel or fasteners will stop you dead.
Ever thought of a work out video💆
One speck of dry sweep will stop a creeper or hand truck in its tracks. I never thought it would, but it never fails.
Oh, hell yes.
very good point bosted tap! toms a hobby machinist--but he gets close sometimes!
Tom has been watch them (work out videos) all the time, but so far with limited effect.
Thanks Tom. This video is perfect timing for me as I’m about to go move a medium sized lathe and it’s at the back of a cluttered workshop. Had a few thoughts on how to do things, but this has been a great help. 👍
Live saver. Watched your video and bought my first lathe. It only weighs 1100lbs, but the dolly idea was perfect. I used 8 inch wheels and with two guys were able to get it up a fairly steep ramp into our trailer. Awesome video.
Great video Tom 👍🏼
Picking up a lathe this morning, so it was a good refresher!
Grazie Tom. Ho usato il metodo del video costruendo prima il carrino e poi le ruote laterali e grazie a te sono riuscito a spostare il mio tornio Weiler che pesa circa 1t e a posizionarlo nel luogo di lavoro in assoluta sicurezza e con semplicità.
Grazie ancora il tuo video mi è stato molto utile.
This video came in super handy. Picked up an old Reed Prentice lathe last night. It was way heavier than I thought but everything went smoothly. Thanks for the great video!!
Tom, all of the info that you had shared in your blog, answering my questions and the info in your other videos about the toe jack, the pallet jack and rigging was very useful for me for moving my machines. Now you have out it all into one single video which is extremely useful for hobby and small shops. Thanks very much. Daniel
The practical knowledge contained in this video spared me a lot of headache when moving a machine recently. Also made me as a first-timer look like a Pro. :-) Thanks Professor Tom!
Thank you for showing this. It is amazing what can be achieved with just some simple accessories and proper technique.
Thank you very much for this very interesting video ! 👍
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I learned a lot.
I recently brought home a Bridgeport on my small utility trailer, took it off with an engine hoist, and moved it into place by rolling on some 3/4" heavy wall pipes. If I would have videoed the process I could have posted the video and titled it, 'Move a Mill like a bozo'. The only thing I can say is that neither the machine or the mover was harmed in the process.
Great encouragement and information in another excellent video. I didn't even know you had a 10EE.
Thanks Tom - getting ready to move a lathe - PM1440 this week. Great instructional video!
Prep work is always needed and often neglected. Thanks for the video Tom.
Great video. thanks for taking the time to make it
You would be a great mentor for a young person to learn your craft!!
New tool cliffhanger, love it, can hardly wait!
Great idea with the all thread and wheels.
You're a clever fellow indeed.
Thanks for the videos.
Man, you really do very clean, efficient work. Those tools you built look really professional and clean. I love when people take the time to make things the right way. That Monarch is beautiful by the way. Whoever is getting it is a lucky guy.
Well done be safe Tom and Merry Christmas to you and the Misses.
RR in the house.
I've never seen my boss move a lathe. He usually makes us grunts do that.
Yeah what the hell is it with that stupid phrase?
Hi, Tom. John York showed us a similar wheel arrangement for his moving rig, but instead of making the width adjustable with allthread rods, his has a fixed width platform with wheels on each side (basically narrow enough to fit through doorways but wide enough to move any machines you’re likely to move.) Instead of a three point arrangement with movable wheels at the other end, he moves the two-wheel platform to the balance point (or very close). That way he can safely move and turn with just two wheels in an extremely tight space by himself. Since the wheels are still outboard, it’s still a very stable arrangement.
I recently built a Johnson Bar and it's the bee's knees as far as I'm concerned. Very handy for moving my Royersford into the shop. You also took a lot of advantage in the fact that the 10EE has a very solid bottom cabinet wheras many lathe cabinets are pretty noodly. Most would not have a place to put that front dolly. Good video, I appreciate the effort you put into it.
G'day Tom, a great video, I've missed not having time to watch your channel.
I hauled back all the way to Australia from the US some sidewinder trailer jacks (at the time they were quite expensive here, but peanuts at USA's favourite peanut tools store) then welded up a simple frame similar to your toe jack only taller. A couple of ratchet straps wrap the machine and secure the trailer jacks, so I just slide the toe under, ratchet down, and then just wind the machine up. Mine are good for 1000 lbs each and I use 4, so I can move the size machine I wouldn't want dropping on my toe!
The only issue I didn't fully think through was the wheels having enough room to pivot fully. I'm sure a smarter guy than me would have thought of that when he was welding them up! Next time I need to use them I'll modify them in that regard. The big advantage is trailer jacks can move on roughish surfaces.
Those adjustable wheels are a great idea.
Very nice work Tom! Anxious to see what is taking that spot in the shop.
ATB, Robin
Tom, I really appreciate the design of the angle iron/wheel dolly design. I built a pair of them for moving my Monarch 61. My tailstock end dolly is similar to yours but I used 4" channel iron. I cut a ball race in the channel iron and added a 3/8" square plate on the top with a ball race. 1/4" balls and a 3/8" flat head king pin screw make my dolly swivel. I added 5/16" threaded holes on the corners of the 3/8" square plate allow me to attach a friction pad.
You da boss Tom! Very nice! I learned a lot I can apply to a few machinery moving challenges of my own :)
Very nice instructional video, thank you for sharing with all of us, I of course, subscribed.
slacker helper don't show up until the end! Amazing video! This is why I love TH-cam for people like you!
Thanks for this video. It’ll probably be worth a few $100 in value to me over the next few weeks and a few $1000 into the future
I have a lathe and a mill I am in the process of moving now I like your information thanks.
Good Job Tom, after watching you tonight I know I will sleep like a boss, what a workout yow! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Great tutorial. These lessons are hard won without this advice. On your third or fourth machine move you start to get good at it, those first few are brutal though. Thanks Tom. Great content as usual.
Great video, don't forget to check the owners manual as well. When I purchased my Colchester Student lathe I did that and found out there was a threaded hole in the bed at the balance point for a lifting eye. So I rented a engine hoist and was able to pick it up with that and get it on and off the truck with minimal excitement.
Merry Christmas from Indiana.
Thanks Tom this was great advice. Love those wheels you made. Have to think about making those at some point Hope you have a prosperous New year buddy.
An old friend of mine once gave me a working panel-mount frequency counter from the early 1970s which had Nixie tubes in it. I later found out that it came off of one of these lathes, and it was a factory option which provided a highly accurate digital RPM readout.
Looks like you need to put an old guy bend in that steering truck handle! Great video to show what's possible with the right leverage!
The pad for old knees is an essential part of the machine moving kit!
Nice job Boss I like the idea of travel lite for a heavy load.
You make it look so easy because you plan ahead just as in machining a part. The little "skate board" is genius and might be improved by adding a T-handle that also swivels up and down and is secured to the stub handle with a pin. Then you can either pull or push without bending over. You could also add a trailer hitch and dispense with a trailer. :-)
BTW, I made a Johnson bar with a telescoping handle which lets me get close to a wall.
Great video showing how to safely move something really big.
Whoever gets the lathe will be certain that it has been well taken care of.
This is exactly what I was after sir, well done.
👏👏👏.. Great video Tom..old timer passed on to me this exact same universal wheel system. The only difference is that on his design vertical plate that wheel axle is attached he has one each side of the wheel two jack bolts. When assembled, all you do is turn those jack screws against machine and nothing will move. I really like your bearing dolly design as well... Overall great video 👍
Nicely done Tom! Happy holidays to you and yours.
Those wheels look like the work really well.
I like the Picasso comment at the end. Reminds me of Henry Ford saying something like “whether you say you can or you can’t, either way you’re right”. And of course, the person who says it can’t be done shouldn’t interrupt the person who’s doing it.
i need to get my self set up with some of them rollers there . need to shuffle my 31 south bend and old horizontal b & s around
Gave Tom a like as soon as he mentioned wood strips , absolute life saver.
Bet you wish you made that steering handle pivot vertically (Back saver!)
Well done, in a safe manor, as always. Thank you.
Very nice! I learned a lot. thank you.
Great video, I really like the bottle jack lift you made, looks really nicely made! I know you said you can buy them but I bet they won't be as good as you made!🙂👍
Hi Tom, this was VERY helpful. I'll be moving my father's lathe and old R8 end mill from his former shop in Grass Valley into a Conex box in early December. Never done anything like this before. Daunting, to say the least.... Wish I had access to a toe jack and/or that custom roller set up you built for the purpose. Cheers.
To be or not to be: the infinite infinite! Long time no see, Tom.
I think it was your video (ages ago) that spurred me to make a pallet jack wheel dolly, and my solution to different widths of machinery was to make different lengths of rod in pairs.
4X 10 cm, 2 x 20 cm, 2 x 1 meter and assorted pieces to match it up. Only major difference is i've threaded the pass through on one of the dollies and the other has a pull-tight system vs thread (just happened to have extra handles).
By far, the most useful thing i've made for moving stuff. It essentially makes any machine its own moving device and with almost 8 cm clearance from the ground they go really nice. I'm thinking about adding a brake and electric system on the direction wheel dolly (off one of those electric scooters kids have these days, the motors are decent when geared right).
Fantastic ideas. Do you have some photos to share? Maybe on FB or IG?
Only important thing you missed Tom is that when moving such things on a pallet jack or forklift is to keep the load as low as physically possible at ALL times unless clearance is necessary for obstacles, ground irregularities etc. At least then any tip is reduced as much as possible.
4,5 ton shot blast machine, 2 good mates, 1 small chain come along, 1 hardware store wire winch and a bunch of steel tube rollers wedges and pry bars. 6 hours, 32 meters(14 meters of slight uphill incline), 1 x 90 degree turn and no pinched or removed fingers ! It was free apart from the effort : )
Great Video Tom! I'm definitely going to build some 4"x 4" taper blocks now to have on hand for getting my machinery off the floor. I plan to copy and build a couple sets of your caster wheel/angle bracket design except on second set (for preferably the lighter end of the load) I will weld another heavy angle to the carrier angle iron in reverse sticking up and away from the machine so I can put swivel casters on each one. If that makes sense. Great demonstration and thank you :-)
Great DEMO… I made up the dolly wheels when I saw your first video, have used them a few times, and love them! My third wheel, the single steering one, leaves a lot to be desired and I’ll be updating soon (with proper height to match the back wheels 😊) with something better like what you have shown. I do need to get my blocks a bit more organized and add some wedges too! Once you move something like this on your own, using the original, simple machines (incline, lever, wheel) the pyramids don’t look so big anymore…. do they. Thanks as always
Over 45 years in engineering and I learn something new every day. Great equipment and solid technique and advice. Thanks Tom.
Sir thank you for all you share.
Great video!! Thanks to Rob Renzetti I found this. The first thing I did in my shop today was make the dollies as shown. I should have had those 20 years ago.
On the practical side, with the parts I had lying around (4 big bearings and even a large axial bearing, etc.) I have made the steering dolly but have forgone the ball joint pivot. First I will see how it works without it. My nominal height is just a bit under 100 mm which I think is very similar to yours. For the larger wheels, I have had a set of original SKF 125 mm diameter ball bearing wheels in stock which look beefy enough for the job. I have to adapt the design a bit to accomodate the smaller wheels but that is all trivial. Also an iteration is to use a single M12 rod straight through the bored out wheel axle shafts. This saves manufacturing time an also will be quicker in use.
And before I forget, I would like to know how the ball swivel function was realized on your build, which kind of parts were used.
Thanks and greetings from Holland.
Tom,
I will offer a suggestion on quicker jacking and blocking than your demonstrated method. This method will work well on all solid casted base machines like this Monarch.
Do all your jacking from only one end by employing rock blocks.
Jack one end high enough to slip a rock blocks on each side of the machine just past the machine center of gravity. Lowering the jacked end will cause the far end to raise, pivoting on the rock blocks. Blocking the far end now allows you to jack higher on the jack end and you can install thicker rock blocks. Repeating this method allows up or down jacking with full and constant jacking contact pressure, or the jacking method can be shimmed by staging blocking on the jacking end. Replacing the rock blocks will machine rollers at the center of gravity allows the machine tool to rest on "two point" machine rollers instead of three point system that you demonstrate. The two point system allows riggers to push, pull or pivot the machine at any point on the move process eliminating the need to seesaw when only able to steer from one end as you demonstrate.
Balancing a lathe to compensate for center of gravity is pretty easy since the tailstock and or cross slide carriage can be easily moved.
The absolute easiest way to move engine lathes is by lifting via overhead. Attach hoisting to single point location on lathe bed casting (hoisting strap). Balance load by shifting center of gravity by moving tailstock and cross slide carriage. Support from overhead crane or forklift.
Thanks, great tips! One question: when you have the machine balanced on the to wheels, do you place something like castor wheels on each end? Otherwise the machine would tip over too far and nor be movable because it will always tips one way. Also, the 'rock blocks' are nothing special, just rectangular wood? Or not? Thanks.
@@bigbattenberg Ideally, the skates have 4 rows of rollers with the end rollers centerline slightly higher than the plane of the middle row of rollers. Machine instability settles the machine weight on the center rollers or if slightly off rocks to the end row and one middle row. The effect is only two rows of rollers are in contact with the floor at any time and pivoting is very easy. Shorter two row skates work well, but more care is necessary to position them at the machine center of gravity.
When I wrote these comments I was thinking that modern machines have continuous base castings. This machine design is necessary for my skate tricks to work effectively. We used yellow pine for all of our cribbing, keeping 4x4, 2x4, 2x6 and CDX plywood on hand. We used YP, because our crating department used it all.kst exclusively and material was readily available. Harder woods last longer. White pine is very soft and very heavy machines rapidly crush and break it.
I just purchased an American Pacemaker much like Adam Booth's. Rigging this into my home hobby shop is posing a problem, because it way exceeds my home shop 3 ton hoisting capacity and it has a major casting under the head, a small center foot under the bed and a slightly larger small foot under the tailstock. Rock blocking won't be an option to rig this machine. Adam just took delivery of a new Milltronics CNC tool room lathe. I was very surprised to see a new CNC machine with no continuous base casting. This machine has essentially a manual lathe tailstock design, flat cross slide and no chip conveyor. I have a vast CNC experience, but solely high production. It only slowly dawned on me that I am conditioned to think that ALL CNC is high for high production application. My rigging tricks would not have worked for Adam's new CNC machine. My entire career was isolated to one company, though large, we owned and used equipment with characteristics I consider standard. In my little world I was a competent expert. Getting outside of my world reveals that I am not so well rounded as I like to think.
Adam really likes his toe jack, essentially a modified bottle jack that lifts with little clearance from the floor. I don't own one of these, because in my world a toe jack would be very limited. This type of jack requires clearance for the tall portion to allow the jack to sit next to the casting. Much of my CNC experience is that machines are designed with much smaller base casting footprints than the sheet metal machine perimeter and don't have the necessary head clearance to use a toe jack. We required a jack profile that would fit under a machine base and have no head clearance requirements. Air pillows were our solution or long thin forklift forks. A long thin forklift fork that can't possibly lift a machine with only the fork tip can be gently wedged under a very heavy machine to begin skotching up one end. Tipping the forks FORWARD so the fork tip is against the floor raises the machine base edge and the fork doesn't bend, because the leverage length is so short. Very little load is on a a potentially very underrated forklift and the rear wheels don't raise off the floor with this trick. Tilting the forks backwards bends the fork tips rears the rear end of the forklift. Skotching until the forklift is under far enough to safely raise only one end allows you to employ the rock block trick and never requires you to move the forklift or jack from the opposite machine end.
50k lbs is the upper limit of my machine rigging experience. Usually we were limited to 6k lb forklifts. We would routinely employ the methods that I have tried to describe with machines under 30k lbs. Bigger forklifts we're an occasional luxury, but our shop was so congested that we struggled maneuver larger forklifts down our narrow plant aisles. We eventually acquired our own 8.8 k lb forklift, but its size meant it wasn't nimble and it had limited application in our crowded shop.
@@paulhunt598 Thanks for your swift and very comprehensive reply! Very clear indeed. I will look into fabricating the skates as described, very smart. I have just bought a mill which is around 1.800 kgs, with a very solid square base casting. it would be a great candidate for this approach. And in fact I just fabricated the dollies from this here video with some adaptations, but making them lower (ideally just a tad higher than the 6305 bearings I used for the steering dolly wheels). For the skates, bearings may also be paired or stacked, depending on the desired footprint and load capacity. 25 - 30 mm is quite a difference so I've noticed already. On the wood blocks, I have made some wedge and support blocks of regular reclaimed pallet wood. I will see how it holds up. And yes, on the machine design and 'how did they do it before' (or the lack thereof) in 'modern' machine design... this I why I always revert to the old stuff. My friend Joe Brouwer: 'Reinventing the wheel in a place where the wheel was perfectly defined." Check him out, vast knowledge: www.tecnetinc.com/newsletter%20topics%20original.html
My experience is there is NO need for outboard support when two skates are well placed on the machine center of gravity. I started rigging with Hillman roller skates. I dutifully placed four skates on the four corners of the machine padded with the supplied OEM dense rubber pads. I quickly discovered that as soon as the machine was moving the load would "triangulate" and the unevenness of a troweled shop floor would drop the unloaded skate. If the center of gravity was ill distributed, the missing skate allowed that corner to fall, but in most machine rigging cases the load distributed on three points of contact. I quit using Hillman rollers because machine loads on the skates don't evenly distribute. They can load on one edge of the skate or shift to primarily only one skate and the steel rollers will pop the concrete. It can look like the concrete is fluid and a wave will build up in front of the Hillman rollers. I had much better success with the larger footprint skates (described in my other comments) and very hard plastic rollers. While the full time professional machine riggers have a plethora of rigging options, we standardized on only two skates. I thought that I would add to the inventory over time, but two skate method virtually covered every application we encountered. I kept two sets of Hillman rollers in two sizes, but very seldom employed them after switching to the two skate method.
Another really neat trick is to employ a pusher block for the forklift. Take a heavy timber and add a lengthwise key by bolting a narrow wooden key to the timber. Countersink all bolt hardware so no hardware protrudes. The pusher timber is shorter than the forklift forks by roughly 1'. Drop the key on the timber so that the timber rests on forks that are close together and the key keeps the timber in place. With the machine on skates, load very slight machine weight on the fork tips and the timber loaded against the machine base. Now you can push the machine, easily steer the load with the forklift (side shift is an extra plus). If you add a chain or strap between the machine and the forklift you can pull the load without changing the rigging setup or getting out of the forklift seat! If you use a chain as described, wrap it around the pusher timber and forks even loosely. This keeps the pusher in place.
Being retired, I don't have access to the company toy inventory that I built up. I am doing my home rigging with cruder methods and tools.
@@bigbattenberg This nerdy chatter annoys some people including my wife! I was cursed with the "gift of gab" and enjoy a willing audience. There is a bit of a teacher character in my makeup. When I discover a trick or a new skill that helps me, I am inclined to think others will find my "treasure" useful. I hope that I don't annoy too many folk.
What mill did you acquire? I only have a Bridgeport. I have a new shop that has undedicated space. A beefier machine would be a delight. Space is no longer a constraint. I have to justify my upgrades with a supportive wife that still struggles to understand why a hobby shop needs such big toys.
It helps to strap the rear “wheels” to the lathe with a tie down, so they don’t fall off when you drag it over a bump or a pothole. Nice video - thanks!
Final interations were replacing the threaded rod with a solid steel bar (dia 20 mm) which is adjusted with adjusting rings. It also allows the two dollies to rotate individually instead of torqueing up the threaded rod.
It's good to see new, safe and effective ways to do the job. Thanks
“The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can't are both right.”
- Confucius
I have 2 type 12 electrical disconnect cabinets in my garage that I use for storage, with shelving inside. They are 7ft tall, and about 10 ft wide. They weigh somewhere around 2500lbs each. They are up on hockey pucks. I need to move them out from the wall 3-4 ft so I can insulate the walls behind them. The way I moved them before was two 2x4's perpendicular to the wall behind them. The 2x4's are just slightly thicker than the hockey pucks. So I pry one end up and slide the end of the 2x4 all the way back to the wall, and then do the same for the other side of the cabinet. Now that it's up on 2x4's, I use the pry bar to raise it up, and then I pivot the bar to the side, and I can move the cabinet and walk it along the 2x4's about 1.5 inches at a time. However, my question is, is there an easier way to do this? I wouldn't say it's exactly hard, but it's tedious. Could I put some thick plastic on top of the 2x4 and grease it or something so I can just slide the cabinet out, and then back in when I'm done?
I like those wheels. It beats using skates and having one drop out on an uneven floor.
Once had 3 guys turn up in a transit van to move the biggest cnc milling machine Iv ever seen at a place I used to work. I thought they didn’t have a chance. Turns out they had a huge pump and hover craft like pads that sat under the mill. They pushed it round like it was nothing. I don’t know what it weighed but it must have been 20’ x 10’ x 8’. Pretty impressive.
Give enough pallet jack wheels and tie rods you could move
the world…at least I think that’s how it goes.
As always great video, thanks for sharing Tom!
Excellent video. I moved large safes , ATM.s and buildings for years. A faster simpler way might have been to take it to the door with the pallet jack since you already had it up there. Then drop it on pipe rollers. And then it's pretty easy after that.
That "johnson bar" is great for moving safes. Those generally have smaller footprints and may be taller and more prone to tipping. Ones I have worked with have a bevel built into the bottom at the edge to allow some purchase for the lifter. But the wheels are great for rolling on pipes or bars.
Thanks for this great video Tom! Chock-full of great information. Same way of moving a vertical mill would be assumed, but would be interesting to see do to the obvious difference in center of gravity, height, and foot print. Keep 'em coming brother, can't get enough meatloaf brain food.
Nice work Tom. The only thing I would recommend is a mirror or very shiny piece of metal to act as a mirror. Sometimes you can't see under the machine to see where to put the blocks, so the mirror will help you see under there better. Maybe the edge of the machine is narrower than you think and your blocks may shift unexpected when you put weight on them.
Very cool, I learned a lot, thanks!
nice work!
Nice technique. I personally would make the steering handle come up further to make steering it more ergonomic .
Some excellent ideas.
clever use of the closed cell foam for knee relief, I know my 50+ yr old knees no longer appreciate concrete or steel grating. Nice millwright work.
Curious how you'd get something heavy off a pallet onto the ground or vice a versa if it's contained within the l/w dimension of the pallet
what is the name of that awesome bar you are using
My favorite pry bar is my gear wrench 48 inch adjustable indexable cam head. Sold in multiple brands. But always has the leverage where you need it.
Just looked online and harbor freight copies it now in the Quinn brand. So I bet it's just as good for $60
Some guys at my shop tipped over our graziano lathe, broke a few handles. After some welding it still works fine
Glad to hear that it is going to a good home. Keeping the kneeling pads with the box of blocks might be a good idea. Another options is strap on knee pads like tile layers use. (Old knees hate concrete.)
Super helpful Tom. I want to add some low profile 360 wheels to heavy gym equipment as it is being repositioned regularly. Any ideas on what to use. It is tough to find low profile strong wheels that rotate?
I like how you have a Wilton mounted to a carpeted table.
I did not think I would learn anything before watching. I was sure wrong. Those allthread and steering wheels are really great. I am going to make a set. I move machines very often by hand, even across dirt and gravel. Hint, really wide wheels needed in dirt and gravel. Also they need to be larger diameter than those used on concrete. And, yah, you not gonna push or pull on dirt, a good set of winches needed, and plenty of trees.
Ever had the joint fail on one of those adjustable pry bars? It just seems like that would snap if you put too much weight on it.
With all due respect, the Jo bar is incredible. It would’ve eliminated a bunch of the blocking and it could’ve been used as a lead. But I do understand your grievances when working in tight spaces.
WoW Thank you very much for excellent clip
Johnson bars are great for giant wood crates. The one you have is kinda small and has a round pin. It's made for stuff with a matching hole underneath. The regular ones have no pin.
Could you have changed the angle of the tip on your pry bar to get more height on the lift?
I'm sure he could've, but you don't want to be lifting in big increments, you want it to come up evenly all around, staying as level as possible.
croyce True, but it seemed like a lot of wasted moves jockeying wooden blocks around when he could have just changed his pry bar instead.
You do NOT want to lift too much on any one corner or side at one time. You want it done gradually and evenly to prevent it from tipping. Machines like that can go over too quick to talk about.