I have to move a mill

E

ebb

Member
I have to move a mill like a Bridgeport and I am concerned about it being top heavy and wanting to tip over. My friend has a big truck with a crane and the mill has an I bolt in the top of the arm to lift with I thought maybe a chain and binder through the I bolt, he thinks I need to bolt 4x4s to the bottom of the base of the mill and this would make the base wider and less apt to tip. The truck has wide nylon straps on the edge of the bed that will slide for and aft, these could be used also but not strapped to and moving parts I wouldn't think. Any suggestions or pictures would be great. Thanks mark
 
If the head can be rotated to the bottom that is the thing to do. Bridgeports and grizzlys are shipped that way. Lay 2 x 4s on the bed and snug it up against the head. Helps steady things. Then pick it up by the ring on the top. Changes the center of gravity by a lot. Wayne
 
Do as Lion says.
Also, be careful when rotating the head, support it with your hand, there will be a lot of force on the gear, and you will also have to support the head and help lift it when rotating it back right side up.
The ram can be moved in and out to help balance things when lifting, the table should be close to all the way back, and the lower you can get it, the better, before using the 4x4's or other material between the upside down head and the table.
 
Well it was a long hard fight but its home and its a beautiful thing, and no damage was done to man or machine. I want to get it moved to its new place in the shop hooked up and making chips but it will take time.
 
Glad you got it moved. Like skeetlee said earlier they are a lot easier to level up than a lathe. The fun starts when the chips start to fly. Wayne
 
I am kind of and old school guy and posting pics means my daughter has to come and help me(few computer skills). But she may be here this afternoon. She started shooting with me again, and that's a good thing. Its a 9x48 and has power feed and DRO. My shop is mostly wood working equipment and I built cabinets and wall units there till I went to work for my friend making molds at his cast stone business. He helped me move it on the company delivery truck. We had a rough time getting it out of the garage it was in (one of the members here and a goooood friend) on a pallet jack but when it was on the driveway the crane on the tuck lifted it easy. We strapped it down with the ratchet straps on the bed of the truck and headed home. There is no pavement up to my shop and the height of the mill and the end of the crane wouldn't go in the door, so we set it half on the floor and half out side blocked up on lumber. We extended the boom into the shop and put a sling around the base of the mill and drug it the rest of the way in by extending the boom and shortening the sling. Its in far enough to close and lock the door, and I will move it to its final position by rolling it on dowels or conduit. There is a phase converter on that wall already to run the lathe and I am the only one working in the shop so I will just put the right plug end on the cord and run it on the same converter as the lathe. Thanks for all your help and thanks Jon for the machine and Steve for moving it for me, and all of you guys for telling me how to move it. Happy Easter to all!
 
trying to tiedy up the wires

The input leads to the DRO have a woven wire covering that I assume is to shield the signal from other electric signals or pulses. Is it OK to tie wrap the 110 volt power cords to them or is that getting them too close ? DRO seems to work OK, as does the power feed, the work lamp that was on the machine needs a new twist switch socket to work properly. After work I will tackle the main power as I had no 4 conductor wire. Keep your fingers crossed, maybe soon chips will fly.
 
ebb: you may be right about the shielding but I thought it was to protect the wires from hot chips. Maybe good for both uses. Wayne
 
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