Moving a 1000lbs and a 2000lbs machine into the basement

[Bernd]

Dave Eeemery (deemery) mentioned me to another modeler on the MRH forum and how I had a Bridgeport milling machine in the basement. I thought I'd post the 103 pictures of that adventure here in this section.

I'll start it off with this first machine. It's a #21 Buffalo forge drill press I got for couple hundred dollars. The 21 stands for 21" from the center of the spindle to the back support column. This machine weighs in at around 1000lbs. I had it in the garage for a while until I decided to move it to the basement. I had added a motor and drive from a treadmill. That's what those light colored blocks are on the left. It was used to cut out 6061 aluminum engine/transmission support plates for dragsters. This is what happens when somebody in the neighborhood finds out you can do machine work.



The other machine is a Bridgeport machine weighing in at 2000lbs.



I'll begin with the drill press since I had that before the Bridgeport.

This is how you move something that weighs 1000lbs. Any kind of round bar will work on a solid floor such as concrete. A crow bar also works for lifting.





As the saying goes "Give me a lever long enough and I'll move the world."

Some hydraulic help from a friend helps. In the case a 270 Massey Ferguson tractor with a bucket.



Tipping the drill press over with the help of the bucket.



Large straps help secure it from getting away on you.



Actually I was dragging it outside so I could sperate the top from the bottom.



The top and bottom on pallets ready for moving. That's Miss Boots, my supervisor. (RIP)



I had to disassemble the door and frame to get the pallets through.



I built a wooden slide to slide the parts down. The pallets were tied off on the tractor and slowly let down the slide.



A view up from down in the basement.



The top half has made it to the basement safely.



Using 2" diameter pipes to move the top part further into the basement.





Now for the bottom part. It was securely strapped to the pallet.



This time I'm using a platform with wheels on it. Getting it over the door jam was a bit hard.



Got it on the rolling platform.



Both parts made it safely to the basement.



Now for some assembly. That'll be in the next installment.

Bernd

[Vietnam Seabee]

Holy Moly...
terry

[elwoodblues]

Yipes, that looks like it was an adventure.

[Pennman]

Hey fellas, I've seen Bernd's basement and all of his rather large tools.
There's no way any burglar is going to steal any of these huge tools!
Still that was a feat I would not do alone like he did. Amazing results.

Rich

[Bernd]

Thanks for the looking in guys. Much appreciated.

I my not have tried this had I not worked in a machine tool industry. I watched them move up to 20 ton machines. The assembly floor had a 30 ton crane for lifting completed machines on to tractor trailer trucks. Also working on an assembly floor where the machines were assembled you get an idea of how to move large heavy parts.

On to the assembly of the drill press and then I'll show how the Bridgeport was moved to the basement.

I started by getting the base off of the dolly. That "I" beam looks like it'll work.



Used a 5,000lb strap to lift it just high enough.



Once on the floor it needed to be tipped over for assembly.





The top part was moved into position. This was the hard part. getting back together do to the angle of each piece not lining up perfectly to fit the two together.



But a little help from another hydraulic friend got it done.





Next it was time to stand the whole machine back up. A "come -a- long" and heavy chain helped here.



Of course about halfway up you run out of slack in the come-a-long and need to reset it for the next pull.



Then as I got near the top I strapped it up good for the final tip to make it stand up strsight.







Then a small bar under the base to move it in it's final position.



Resting in it's final position. I've also remounted the tread mill motor on the left side of the machine. Already for making those engine mounting plates.



Now boys and girls don't try this at home if you are inexperienced in moving heavy objects. You may get hurt. Get a professional mover to do that.

I no longer have the drill press. It was disassembled and is now residing at a nephews shop. He builds pull trucks and needed a larger drill press.

I didn't take any picture removing it. Think of the procedure in reverse to get the drill press back out of the basement. I also no longer had the large tractor to pull it up the basement stairs. I used my 5 ton winch I had mounted on my 10 ton trailer.

So that's it for the drill press story. Next up is moving the Bridgeport into the basement. Now that I had a test run with the drill press it was an easy piece to move the mill into the basement.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing how machine tools can get moved around when they are bigger than what you can carry in you hands.

Bernd

[deemery]

You have that -large- steel I-Beam to hold the weight during the set-up.  I'd consult a structural engineer before trying anything like that in my house with smaller I-beam (or with a laminated wood beam.)  But yeah, it's fascinating to see how you handled heavy machinery.  

dave

[Bernd]

You have that -large- steel I-Beam to hold the weight during the set-up.  I'd consult a structural engineer before trying anything like that in my house with smaller I-beam (or with a laminated wood beam.)  But yeah, it's fascinating to see how you handled heavy machinery. 

dave

For one thing the beam is not holding the full 1000lb weight. If the beam was that weak the house probably wouldn't be standing after 25 years. That is an 8" I beam spanning 24 feet. Plus there is a post in the middle, the 12 foot mark, and about 4 feet to the right of the drill press. I bet it would take more than 1000lbs. to even pull it down.

I've seen smaller beams used with a chain fall to hold up heavier items than that drill press and the same span as I'm set up with. Like somebody pulling an engine out of their car outside like with an A frame hoist. Sometimes observation of how other things are done is helpful.

When I was working on the assembly floor at work we had cranes that were approximately 15 to 20 feet wide and were rated for 2 tons. I saw them do a test one time when they checked the cranes for safety. Those trolley beams were much smaller than the I beam in the house.

Bernd