3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

This forum is dedicated to those hobbyists with the 3-in-1 metalworking machines. Mill-Drill-Lathes. Tips, techniques, modification and use of these machines is topical.

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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by Harold_V »

hollidayp1 wrote:I like the idea of a chain hoist attached to the rafters but I am afraid that the weight would be excessive for the 2x6 rafters that I have in my garage. PH 140627-1
507 pounds isn't a lot of weight. If you have access, place a piece of wood across several of the rafters, so they share the load. A 4 x 4 would be a good choice. You'd fasten the chain hoist to the 4 x 4, in the center. If you still have doubts, support a couple of the rafters with 2 x 4's to the floor, where they're not in the way.

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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by juiceclone »

rafter bracing ...good answer! I didn't have rafters .. I used 4x4s and a cheap harbor freight chain hoist to move my 3in1. I bolted one vertical 4x4 to the bench and put a large caster on the bottom of the other vertical 4x4. Bolted the top one on plus angle braces on one end but only one large screw thru top into the 4x4 attached to the bench. With the assembly extending out from the bench at a 90, you can lift the machine and then swing the rolling end over the bench and deposit the load. In reality it's a little more involved than that but it worked well enough. ....careful......
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by hollidayp1 »

Harold_V wrote:
hollidayp1 wrote:I like the idea of a chain hoist attached to the rafters but I am afraid that the weight would be excessive for the 2x6 rafters that I have in my garage. PH 140627-1
507 pounds isn't a lot of weight. If you have access, place a piece of wood across several of the rafters, so they share the load. A 4 x 4 would be a good choice. You'd fasten the chain hoist to the 4 x 4, in the center. If you still have doubts, support a couple of the rafters with 2 x 4's to the floor, where they're not in the way.

Harold
Thanks for your response Harold_V. However, 500 lbs is really a lot of weight. Please try to move, lift, or manipulate 500 lbs and then tell me how easy it is. I have used your and other's suggestions about chain hoists, rafters, 1-ton shop cranes, and I am still having a problem moving this 500+ lb machine onto a 33" high bench without damaging the machine. I am currently trying a 3/8" steel cable through the recommended lifting hole but there is still a problem with the lifting cables damaging the threads and teeth on the bed of the machine. Thanks to all for your responses and suggestions but I am still struggling to lift this 3-in-1 machine onto a table/bench. PH 140628
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by GlennW »

Did you pay any attention to the second post on the first page that "Torch" made?
Glenn

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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by juiceclone »

I can't find a pix of HF44142, but if it's the same one I used to have, with the mill over the lathe spindle, you can remove the mill assy and cut 1/3 off the weight there. Remove the tailstock also, and if you want, the lathe saddle as well. The party that bought it from me picked it up with a friend and had no trouble putting it in a pickup bed. .. I have found that taking apart any Chinese equipment when you get it and verifying that all has been mfg correctly a REALLY good idea anyway......experience....
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by ken572 »

juiceclone wrote:I can't find a pix of HF44142, but if it's the same one I used to have, with the mill over the lathe spindle, you can remove the mill assy and cut 1/3 off the weight there. Remove the tailstock also, and if you want, the lathe saddle as well. The party that bought it from me picked it up with a friend and had no trouble putting it in a pickup bed. .. I have found that taking apart any Chinese equipment when you get it and verifying that all has been mfg correctly a REALLY good idea anyway......experience....
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by OlderNewbie »

hollidayp1 wrote: Thanks for your response Harold_V. However, 500 lbs is really a lot of weight. Please try to move, lift, or manipulate 500 lbs and then tell me how easy it is. I have used your and other's suggestions about chain hoists, rafters, 1-ton shop cranes, and I am still having a problem moving this 500+ lb machine onto a 33" high bench without damaging the machine. I am currently trying a 3/8" steel cable through the recommended lifting hole but there is still a problem with the lifting cables damaging the threads and teeth on the bed of the machine. Thanks to all for your responses and suggestions but I am still struggling to lift this 3-in-1 machine onto a table/bench. PH 140628
I know it's frustrating when you try to move something heavy in a confined space and you don't have much experience doing so. However, I'd guess contributors to this thread have moved machines considerably heavier than the one you are trying to move. My mill, for example, weighs over 2,500 lbs and the base alone is over 1,400. In turn, that mill, a Bridgeport J-head clone, is a lightweight unit compared to a lot of machines found in a typical machine shop. So the observation that 500 lbs isn't much is, in my view, spot on in the context of Harold's suggestion to tie into the rafters to get a lifting beam with which to hoist the machine. You're not trying to move a 60" lathe with a 12' bed (for which the tailstock alone could well outweigh what you're trying to move) that would bring the house down around your ears if you tried to hang it from the rafters, only a small combination machine.

But here's the problem: Nobody here can see exactly what you are dealing with, so many of the suggestions, though workable for some machines in some places, might not work for you. You need to think about the problem a bit. Think about whether lifting slings (real ones--not random nylon straps--with rated loads, are surprisingly cheap) are needed if you will use a hoist or lift. Think about whether one of more robust wooden "clamps" made from a couple of 4x4s and threaded rods would make for safe and convenient places to hook onto things. Think about placing blocks of wood under cables or chains to prevent damaging machined surfaces. Think about what whether the table can be placed on dollies and placed after the machine is on it if you can't get into the space where the table lies. Think about whether it's better to jack up the machine or lift it--or both at different times. Think about whether threading eye bolts into those threaded holes and hooking them instead of passing the cable through the holes would work. Think about safety and how you will stay out of the machine's way if something fails and it falls. And so on. Sooner or later, a solution will emerge that makes sense.

If it doesn't, hire a rigger to put it on the table for you. It will be fast and safe (for you) even if it's not cheap.

Alternatively, be more specific about the environment you're working in (pictures would help) and we'll keep trying to help.

John
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by hollidayp1 »

Glenn Wegman wrote:Did you pay any attention to the second post on the first page that "Torch" made?
Yes I did but I don't have the 3/4" rods or wide straps that he used. I will get some 2" towing straps from Harbor and will try that. PH 140702
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by hollidayp1 »

OlderNewbie wrote: I know it's frustrating when you try to move something heavy in a confined space and you don't have much experience doing so. However, I'd guess contributors to this thread have moved machines considerably heavier than the one you are trying to move. My mill, for example, weighs over 2,500 lbs and the base alone is over 1,400. In turn, that mill, a Bridgeport J-head clone, is a lightweight unit compared to a lot of machines found in a typical machine shop. So the observation that 500 lbs isn't much is, in my view, spot on in the context of Harold's suggestion to tie into the rafters to get a lifting beam with which to hoist the machine. You're not trying to move a 60" lathe with a 12' bed (for which the tailstock alone could well outweigh what you're trying to move) that would bring the house down around your ears if you tried to hang it from the rafters, only a small combination machine.

But here's the problem: Nobody here can see exactly what you are dealing with, so many of the suggestions, though workable for some machines in some places, might not work for you. You need to think about the problem a bit. Think about whether lifting slings (real ones--not random nylon straps--with rated loads, are surprisingly cheap) are needed if you will use a hoist or lift. Think about whether one of more robust wooden "clamps" made from a couple of 4x4s and threaded rods would make for safe and convenient places to hook onto things. Think about placing blocks of wood under cables or chains to prevent damaging machined surfaces. Think about what whether the table can be placed on dollies and placed after the machine is on it if you can't get into the space where the table lies. Think about whether it's better to jack up the machine or lift it--or both at different times. Think about whether threading eye bolts into those threaded holes and hooking them instead of passing the cable through the holes would work. Think about safety and how you will stay out of the machine's way if something fails and it falls. And so on. Sooner or later, a solution will emerge that makes sense.

If it doesn't, hire a rigger to put it on the table for you. It will be fast and safe (for you) even if it's not cheap.

Alternatively, be more specific about the environment you're working in (pictures would help) and we'll keep trying to help.

John
Thanks John. I stand corrected about the weight of the machine. Compared to your machines, this thing is a powder puff. My problem is that I don't have much (if any) experience moving heavy things so it appears heavier to me at this time.

I have already thought about all of the things that you mentioned to "Think" about but so far have been thwarted by little things that turn up as I proceed. Blocks of wood do not prevent damage to the power drive screw and spreader blocks between cables or chains either split and/or twist out of place with the weight. One of the biggest problems I encountered was that the picture in the manual shows the center of gravity (CG) in the wrong place so I wasted a lot of time trying to force the chains or cables to the point of that wrong CG.

The table has casters and is ready to slide under the machine when I get it raised. I was also trying to use what materials I had on hand to avoid any extra expense and also to not have any extra junk around that I will never use again. I already have a 2-ton chain hoist and a scaffold that I am hanging the hoist from. Almost there. PH 140702
Last edited by hollidayp1 on Thu Jul 03, 2014 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by ctwo »

You're doing the right thing by taking your time. Wish I had something to contribute beyond that.
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by PeteH »

This probably is unnecessary, but here's one additional caution: DON'T use the handwheels to attach straps to the machine. I once saw a very nice small mill whose leadscrew had been bent at the ends, by someone looping the lifting straps around the handwheels. And no, it wasn't just the handwheels, it was the ends of the screw.

I don't know if it was bowed in the middle.
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Re: 3 in 1 Machine - How Do You Move This 507 lb Machine?

Post by ken572 »

Good Morning :!: hollidayp1 :D

So what is the latest scoop. :?:

Did you get your HF-44142 installed and setup. :?:

Ken. :)
One must remember.
The best learning experiences come
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