I
bought a CNC Lathe from an ad on Craigslist, Yay! As with most of my pages, click the photo for a larger version.
It came with a chip convevor, an American Rotary phase convertor, and a few odds and ends. In the photo above, you can just see the Rotary Phase Convertor on the left.
I usually rent a trailer to move machines, but it's such an ordeal, I decided to see what was available to buy. Back to Craigslist! I found this advertised as a 20' car hauler. In actuality, the deck is 18 feet and the last 2 feet are a mini-dovetail (16 feet of flat deck).
It has
stake pockets and short car ramps tucked under the rear.
What made it outstanding for my use was a 9,000 pound warn winch. I love that thing!
The previous owner installed the winch in an aluminum truck bed tool box, along with a new car battery (unfortunatly not a deep cycle, but you can't have everything) and it's wired to charge the battery when the tow vehicle is running. The winch has a wired remote control that reaches back to the first axle. I had to replace the lock on the box, but it wasn't a big deal. The tongue jack is kind of light at 2,000 pound rating, the trailer rocks when I walk on it when on the jack. I bent it later, and ordered a beefier 5,000 pount unit.
MOVING DAY!
I was originally supposed to pick it up on Labor day weekend, But the forklift was unavailable to load it, due to the holiday. The following Saturday turned out to be a beautiful Florida day.
The 5000 pound
forklift proved up to the task, but I had to load it too far forward to
miss the fenders. I was forced to use a cable come-along to drag this
monster to the rear to help lighten the tongue. My old 3/4 ton truck is still kind of
hunkered down. Good thing it's only a 10 mile trip!
I made the trip with no issues.
I used the time to get the shop ready to recieve the new prize. Try as I might, I couldn't shoehorn everything in. I decided to take advantage of the 5 foot roof overhang and extend the single car garage shop. Above is a shot of Fusion 360. I used it to mock up the addition and make a materials list. Great software!
The addition went pretty well, but it was a lot of work. I told my wife I am getting too old for this stuff.
So, here is the secret. How a 63 year old man can unload a 5000 pound lathe without a forklift. Yep, those are trailer axles cut down to fit the 4 foot wide machine. They just are loosely placed in the fork lift pockets and the weight of the machine holds them there. Ha! I bet you didn't see that one coming!
Here is a view from inside my small shop. The gray bench on the left is on wheels. That is where the Mazak will live. The axles arent real happy, as the frame of the lathe is one sided. All the weight is on the front of the lathe and the axles are unsupported on the right in this photo. Oh, and one of the tires refuses to hold air for more than a minute.
As I mentioned, I am getting too old for this stuff. The last machine I moved ( a 3,000 pound mill) by dragging it onto a rental trailer with a come-along using pipe rollers. I had to rest way too often and it took a while. This is a Harbor Freight 120V AC winch rated at 1500 pounds, single line pull. It takes most of the heavy work out of the equation. I have it anchored to a Unistrut post base with four 3/4" anchors in the conctrete floor.
This shot shows the small winch as it's hooked up to pull the machine. The strap is around the lifting lugs cast into the machine. They are designed for lifting, so I had to drive in pieces of 2x4 lumber to keep the strap from falling out. Worked great!
I used the trailer winch as a backstop to prevent the lathe from running away.
As the lathe passed the pivot point, the trailer went down in back. If the big winch hadn't been attached the lathe would have unloaded itself very quickly!
Once the tires were on the concrete, it was time to swing the lathe around to face the right way. I succedded in getting it about have way round when the axles had enough abuse. I removed them by jacking and blocking until the machine was on the concrete, then wraped the cables around to finish orienting the machine.
Using both winches made this relatively painless, although it did scar the concrete.
Once it was lined up, I threw a 1/2" iron pipe under the front edge for a roller, and used the small winch to drag it inside. I did have to use a snatch block and double the line, but then is was no sweat.
While not in it's final position, it is inside to door!
The trailer is much happier with the weight off of it, and the wood is no worse for the wear. The shorty axles will need new tubes, but a guy with a lathe can handle that.
It came with a chip convevor, an American Rotary phase convertor, and a few odds and ends. In the photo above, you can just see the Rotary Phase Convertor on the left.
I usually rent a trailer to move machines, but it's such an ordeal, I decided to see what was available to buy. Back to Craigslist! I found this advertised as a 20' car hauler. In actuality, the deck is 18 feet and the last 2 feet are a mini-dovetail (16 feet of flat deck).
What made it outstanding for my use was a 9,000 pound warn winch. I love that thing!
The previous owner installed the winch in an aluminum truck bed tool box, along with a new car battery (unfortunatly not a deep cycle, but you can't have everything) and it's wired to charge the battery when the tow vehicle is running. The winch has a wired remote control that reaches back to the first axle. I had to replace the lock on the box, but it wasn't a big deal. The tongue jack is kind of light at 2,000 pound rating, the trailer rocks when I walk on it when on the jack. I bent it later, and ordered a beefier 5,000 pount unit.
MOVING DAY!
I was originally supposed to pick it up on Labor day weekend, But the forklift was unavailable to load it, due to the holiday. The following Saturday turned out to be a beautiful Florida day.
I made the trip with no issues.
I used the time to get the shop ready to recieve the new prize. Try as I might, I couldn't shoehorn everything in. I decided to take advantage of the 5 foot roof overhang and extend the single car garage shop. Above is a shot of Fusion 360. I used it to mock up the addition and make a materials list. Great software!
The addition went pretty well, but it was a lot of work. I told my wife I am getting too old for this stuff.
So, here is the secret. How a 63 year old man can unload a 5000 pound lathe without a forklift. Yep, those are trailer axles cut down to fit the 4 foot wide machine. They just are loosely placed in the fork lift pockets and the weight of the machine holds them there. Ha! I bet you didn't see that one coming!
Here is a view from inside my small shop. The gray bench on the left is on wheels. That is where the Mazak will live. The axles arent real happy, as the frame of the lathe is one sided. All the weight is on the front of the lathe and the axles are unsupported on the right in this photo. Oh, and one of the tires refuses to hold air for more than a minute.
As I mentioned, I am getting too old for this stuff. The last machine I moved ( a 3,000 pound mill) by dragging it onto a rental trailer with a come-along using pipe rollers. I had to rest way too often and it took a while. This is a Harbor Freight 120V AC winch rated at 1500 pounds, single line pull. It takes most of the heavy work out of the equation. I have it anchored to a Unistrut post base with four 3/4" anchors in the conctrete floor.
This shot shows the small winch as it's hooked up to pull the machine. The strap is around the lifting lugs cast into the machine. They are designed for lifting, so I had to drive in pieces of 2x4 lumber to keep the strap from falling out. Worked great!
I used the trailer winch as a backstop to prevent the lathe from running away.
As the lathe passed the pivot point, the trailer went down in back. If the big winch hadn't been attached the lathe would have unloaded itself very quickly!
Once the tires were on the concrete, it was time to swing the lathe around to face the right way. I succedded in getting it about have way round when the axles had enough abuse. I removed them by jacking and blocking until the machine was on the concrete, then wraped the cables around to finish orienting the machine.
Using both winches made this relatively painless, although it did scar the concrete.
Once it was lined up, I threw a 1/2" iron pipe under the front edge for a roller, and used the small winch to drag it inside. I did have to use a snatch block and double the line, but then is was no sweat.
While not in it's final position, it is inside to door!
The trailer is much happier with the weight off of it, and the wood is no worse for the wear. The shorty axles will need new tubes, but a guy with a lathe can handle that.