Lathe Moving Dolly

[Brian Rupnow]

And now you know how I spent my day. Everything was material which I had on hand. I haven't heard back from the lathe repair people yet, but whenever they get it fixed I will be able to move the lathe back into my machine shop, with the help of my son. That beats the heck out of the $500 I paid "professional machinery movers" the first time the lathe moved from my garage to my machine shop.

 

[teeleevs]

2300 lbs is entirely doable for DIY. Get yourself a pallet jack - you'll soon find it's your best friend. Jack the lathe up 6 inches, and lag it to a couple 6x6 timbers running cross-wise, say 1.5 feet wider than the lathe bed, more if you can afford the width. Pallet jack under the balance point and Bob's your uncle. If you've got to go the other way, 2 pallet jacks is still cheaper than riggers. Engine hoist will get you on and off a trailer, or, if it's a tilt-bed, a couple 2x runners, some grease and a come-along.

In my opinion, the mill is scarier (it's harder to build a stable footprint under it), unless you go the sane route and pull the overarm for transport.

Will Ray

I'm with Will here, I have dropped a lathe and the end result was not pretty, mount it on a plank roll it along on short pieces of pipe, once in place find the balance point and jenga it up,making sure that backup timbers are out further towards the ends.

 

[SmithDoor]

For bench lathe or mill a left table is good way.
it is easy and the table can be use for other projects.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lbs-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-60438.html
Dave

 

[awake]

For bench lathe or mill a left table is good way.
it is easy and the table can be use for other projects.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lbs-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-60438.html
Dave

Dave, would a right table work instead?

 

[willray]

Dave, would a right table work instead?

Nope, right tables refuse to work with tools that went wrong.

 

[SmithDoor]

The lift table goes up and down.
So you adjust the height of tool.
This type of table was call a die lift table too.

Dave

Nope, right tables refuse to work with tools that went wrong.

 

[BWMSBLDR1]

Fpr a 30 mile move consider getting a price from a tow truck. A friend had a Bridgeport mill moved across town (~30 miles) for $50. The tow truck just put slings around the mill, lifted it up, and rigged antisway cables to steady it. Set it down at the shop door! Bill in Boulder CO USA

 

[kwoodhands]

I am sure there is a reason, but being "something electrical" why could not be fixed on situ.

I have a similar problem. Motor and capacitors were tested by a motor shop, tested good. Problem was GFI pops when trying to start lathe, breaker does not pop. Broke the start switch trying to re-install it. Buy new switch, hire electrician. He worked for at least two hours , either the forward/ reverse switch is bad or the motor. Ordered new switch this afternoon.
No way in hades I'm going to move the lathe out of the shop. Just to remove the motor I had to raise the lathe with my shop crane. Bottom bolts on motor frame can not be accessed unless the lathe is at least 6" high so a wrench can turn.
While I'm waiting for the switch to arrive I decide to put the belts back on. The cogged timing belt is tough to install. Grizzly says in their manual to loosen the motor bolts, raise the motor and install timing belt. I did not want to raise the lathe again as it involved too much work. Backsplash, motor cover, and digital readouts have to be removed first. Instead I removed the upper pulley which is bolted to a steel plate I refer to as a banjo. The pulley shaft goes in a slotted hole, all I need to do is lengthen the slot so the pulley distance between the upper and lower cog wheels is a bit shorter . Probably will make the slot 1/2" longer. When I re-install the pulley will be set back to center of the slot giving me about 1/4" deflection.
Hopefully the switch is the problem or I will have to remove the motor again.
mike

 

[willray]

I have a similar problem. Motor and capacitors were tested by a motor shop, tested good. Problem was GFI pops when trying to start lathe, breaker does not pop.

Has this motor ever worked on this outlet with the GFI? If not, there's a reasonable chance you're chasing a ghost. Non-resistive loads can fool GFCI breakers and cause nuisance trips.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

No gfi on that circuit. I tried two things.--Checked that the circuit was okay and that the breaker hadn't tripped. Checked the glass fuse on the front of the machine, and I couldn't access the motor because the lathe sheet metal has to be dismantled before you can get to the motor to check the thermal overload button cut out. Lath was up against the wall so I had to move it out anyways to check the thermal overload.

 

[willray]

No gfi on that circuit...

Now I'm confused - what GFI is popping? And was the lathe previously working, plugged in in the same place?

amended : never mind, I can't read

 

[awake]

Now I'm confused - what GFI is popping? And was the lathe previously working, plugged in in the same place?

Two different conversations going on here - kwoodhands mentioned problems with a GFCI; Brian is having a different issue.

 

[SmithDoor]

Trying to find why the GFI is tripping may time find.

1) Bad wire
2) Dirt motor
3) Bad winding in motor
4) Bad switch
5) Ground wire use for power

Good luck
Dave

 

[willray]

Two different conversations going on here - kwoodhands mentioned problems with a GFCI; Brian is having a different issue.

Gah - "Awake" would not be me! Insufficient caffeine this morning - that's got to be it...

 

[Brian Rupnow]

The lathe is repaired and today I fetched it home (more later). This picture shows the lathe freshly unloaded from my truck and bolted to the dolly. It is still hooked to my cherrypicker hoist in this picture. The cart worked perfectly, and the lathe is back in it's home in the machine shop. I never did get my son to help. He works two jobs and couldn't come by until Thursday and I couldn't wait. Yes, it was top heavy, but I knew it would be. The dolly was very stable and when I pulled/pushed it from my main garage, thru my office and into my machine shop, it was a fairly simple move to slide it off the dolly onto the cabinets it mounts on.

 

[willray]

The lathe is repaired and today I fetched it home (more later). This picture shows the lathe freshly unloaded from my truck and bolted to the dolly. It is still hooked to my cherrypicker hoist in this picture. The cart worked perfectly...

Delighted to hear it - all's well that ends well!

So - does it work, and did they tell you what they needed to repair?

 

[SmithDoor]

Looks great

Dave

The lathe is repaired and today I fetched it home (more later). This picture shows the lathe freshly unloaded from my truck and bolted to the dolly. It is still hooked to my cherrypicker hoist in this picture. The cart worked perfectly, and the lathe is back in it's home in the machine shop. I never did get my son to help. He works two jobs and couldn't come by until Thursday and I couldn't wait. Yes, it was top heavy, but I knew it would be. The dolly was very stable and when I pulled/pushed it from my main garage, thru my office and into my machine shop, it was a fairly simple move to slide it off the dolly onto the cabinets it mounts on.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

So--Here's the "rest of the story". One picture is of the gear cover that sets on the end of my lathe to protect my fingers from the gears. Notice the bent bracket at the lower right corner of it. That bent bracket pushes on a switch which disables the electrics on the lathe if the guard is removed. I haven't had that cover off the lathe in more than a year. Somehow---Perhaps metal fatigue? the bracket bent far enough that it no longer pushed on the button, and consequently the lathe stopped right in the middle of a cut. The switch it presses on is right below the gears and is virtually impossible to see unless you stand on your head to look for it. When I left the lathe in Concord at Busy Bee, I told them that my rpm indicator only worked intermittently and please either fix it or replace it, as well as please fix whatever is wrong that I have no power to the lathe. They replaced the rpm indicator, scratched their heads a bit and then found that bending the bracket by hand fixed things so it pushed the button and restored power to the lathe. I either didn't know, or else forgot that switch was even there.They charged two hours labor and the price of the new readout. My bill came to $129. So, they treated me quite honestly I think. They could have told me it needed a new motor and charged me another couple of hundred dollars but they didn't.

 

[Ghosty]

Brian, I think that they look after you well, cheep for a new display and repair, and now know that it is right to use again.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Everything was going back together perfectly, until I discovered I had lost my nuts!! Maybe a note of explanation is required--the lathe is held to the splash pan and the cabinets below it by six M12 bolts, and the nuts go on the inside of the cabinets. I distinctly remember putting the nuts and a couple of handles "somewhere", but damned if I could remember where. After searching for 20 minutes, I did what I always do in a situation like this.---I called my wife. Now I realize that this conversation could go off on a tangent here, but when I can't find things, my wife usually can. She searched for 10 minutes, and then as I walked by some engine display shelves in my office I spied a Tetley Tea container she gave me a couple of weeks ago to "keep little parts in". I picked it up, took off the lid, and sure enough---There were my nuts. Just her being in the same room as I am seems to help find things. Now, with my nuts happily found, I am too tired to do anymore tonight. I have to go tomorrow morning and pick up a grandchild for a visit with us. (We have to visit them in rotation because of this horrible Covid stuff.) After I have visited 9 year old Brennen for a while and made a run to the dump with a cubic yard of swarf, I will finish putting things back together and proceed where I left off on my Stephensons Rocket.