Getting a large lathe into the shop

[Mike Holbrook]

One of the reasons I have not been considering a larger heavier lathe has to do with getting it into my shop. I bought a Laguna 14SUV Bandsaw a year or two ago. I had two other guys helping me move it. One was a power weight lifter. The machine got damaged somehow, maybe from leaning it too far, not sure. It did not get dropped or even bounced hard. My shop is in a basement that is under ground on three sides. To get anything down there the object has to go down around 15 steps, or around the house on some relatively rough hilly ground. Smaller objects can be moved with my small 30hp tractor in the loader. But the tractor's rear end will come off the ground if I try to lift more than a few hundred pounds with it, even if the object fits in the 5' bucket.

I have no idea how I would get a 500lb or more lathe into my shop. This is one of the reasons I have been thinking about buying a 300lb Oneway 1224. The info, I have says a Jet 1642EVS weighs 455lbs. Even broken down into pieces I'm not sure how I would get an object that big and heavy down into my shop. I was looking at Nova lathes vs the jets because the guy at Woodcraft was telling me it would break down into movable pieces and the box looked like it would fit in my loader.

[Reed Gray]

As far as your Laguna Bandsaw getting damaged, mine came on a pallet, bolted only to the pallet, and no outside protection. The shipping company banded it into the truck with a strap which went around the blade guide post. It was bent way out of whack, and the 2 of the 4 bolts that held it to the pallet were gone, one was barely in, and the other was tight. They told me they had previous similar problems, but since I didn't save the packaging or take pictures, tough luck. If your post was out of line, that is why unless they learned, and put it in a box crate rather than just a pallet.

Now, for getting your lathe in the basement, If the steps are a straight down shot, not much of a problem with a good hand truck, and some friends. They do come apart, and a PM or Robust can be easily taken apart, headstock, lathe bed and legs. The headstock is the most difficult to stabilize to get down steps because it isn't balanced well. The lathe bed on the PM has most of its weight. I did see a really cool lift truck for moving wood stoves into houses, battery powered, and lifts on the back for it going up and down stairs on small tracks on the back of it so you don't have to lift.

robo hippy

[carl mesaros]

If you are interested in a Jet 1642, the lathe weighs 410lbs. Broken down, head stock off, legs removed, two people can easily carry the individual parts down steps or across a hilly yard. I recently sold my 1642 and tore it down and moved it myself. Reed is correct talking about the headstock, there is no easy way to carry it.

I know what your talking about moving large pieces with a small tractor and loader. I replaced my 1642 with a Laguna 2436. This lathe weighs in at 770lbs. I tried to lift the lathe bed and headstock out of my truck and could feel it starting to tip, so my neighbor and I wrestled the headstock off and was then able to move the bed.
Good luck!

[Thom Sturgill]

The Jet 1642 also comes in several pieces that need assembly. Each leg, the tail stock, banjo can easily be carried by a reasonably string person. The headstock weighs about 90 lbs and CAN be carried by one person, especially if they don't have to bend over to get it. just hold it tight to the chest with one arm under the motor and the other under the spindle with the faceplate on. The powermatic headstock is much heavier with both a bigger casting and motor.

The biggest, heaviest piece is the bed, but unless you drop it, nothing to break as it is just a single casting. Two people could carry it and get it to the bottom of the stairs.

[David Delo]

As the others have said, the 3520 can be taken into a basement shop 1 piece at a time. That's how I did it except for the bed that I wisely waited for Jr. to get home. The headstock is kind of heavy but it's awkward to get a good secure grip on by yourself. 2 people, no problem. Don't know your exact lay-out but it's definitely doable as many people have done it before.

[Dennis Collier]

My shop is also in my basement. Ive never had an issue getting tools in and out. I take everything down in pieces with the help of a buddy and assemble on site. If it has to come back out, I do it the same way. When my G0766 gets here, I will take every piece down separate and put it together in the shop.

[allen thunem]

Ahhhh the trials and tribulations of having shop in a basement, not to mention the dust shavings and clutter and who knows what all from hauling logs, bowl blanks, & lumber etc etc etc.
initially thought that was the place to have mine but after building a separate shop area in the basement thinking i was going to contain the dust and all the shavings created from using a lathe i decided a wiser choice was to abandon my third stall in the garage and isolate that area by virtue of building an insulated area. I was so much happier and found there was far less detritus etc being tracked into my wifes beautiful house.
Realizing of course not all have this luxury, but short of having a walk out basement and not having a garage that can be converted i would never put a wood shop in a basement. Just my experience and two cents worth. Not judging anyone just sharing my experiences and mistakes

[Steve Schlumpf]

My shop is in the basement... and so far I have managed to get a Jet 1642 ( and a lot of flat work equipment) and a Robust American Beauty there all by myself - with the exception that I had a couple of guys help me haul the Robust bed into the basement. Once I had the bed on sawhorses, I was on my own and never had any problems getting things together. Just for reference sake, I am about 5' 10" +/- and weigh around 160#... so I am not a big guy and have never been known for my brute strength! Quick wit.. you betcha, but not one who does a lot of lift and tote!

[Thomas Canfield]

I got my Powermatic uncrated and moved sections about 75' over a rock walk and down 7 steps into my shop using a 2 wheel hand truck with one other for assistance. I later had to take it out of the shop, back up the 7 steps and pack in a POD for moving. The headstock is awkward to handle in moving and assembly, but it is can be done by 2 able body men. I would not let the problem of getting the machine into the shop be the final deciding point, but would select the lathe that will satisfy your needs. Most will break down to less than 200# sections for handling.

[robert baccus]

Having moved or helped on numerous heavy machines you might consider using your tractor. Make a slide of 1/2" plywood(cut the front corners back) and add a bridle for the tractor. Have a person on either side with ropes if you need them. My shop is 18" off the ground so I made a quick ramp of dimention stock. attacked a snatch block on the other side of the shop. Slided it right to where it went. It helps if you can cuss in Cajun.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have moved entire houses full of furniture with no help but I am not as young as I was then and some of my parts tend to lock up if I push them like I use to. I bought the floor model bandsaw from Woodcraft which I don't think I would do again. Maybe I should have looked into breaking the bandsaws down even more before moving it. The ceiling going down into my basement is quite low at one point 6-7' for 2-3'. Which probably want be a problem with a lathe. I will do some measuring to determine how long an object I can get to make the turns at either end of the downstairs steps, probably the largest challenge. I have a straight shot in from the back yard. The problem is the house is on a steep hill with a 5' fence, for dogs, around the entire back yard. I have to carry objects through a small area with a steep grade to get them to the backyard gate. I did build a tractor gate in the fence but I just barely have enough room to drive through. It gets very tricky trying to drive a tractor with a heavy load sideways along a steep hill.

Nice Robert, I have a Cajun buddy who owes me for helping move tools & wood into his shop but he is 10+ years older than I am and diabetic. Maybe he can do the cursing though, had not thought of that.

[Doug W Swanson]

A lathe would break down into smaller pieces than a bandsaw.I got my PM 3520 lathe into my basement with a little help....

[Michelle Rich]

I have a 1642 & I a mere woman have moved mine around by myself a couple times. The bed is the biggest issue..it's ungainly. I used a handcart & strapped it to it , and then had just agility issues. Had to take it slowly.

[david privett]

I will address the tractor end of this ,I do not know what your 3 point is rated for but if you put even 1/2 of the weight your 3 point is rated for on the 3 point you should be able to lift 500 lbs. I believe.They also they make wheel weights to be put on the rims and there is always fluid to be added to the rear tires.

[Mike Holbrook]

I run a dog park with large grass fields. I took the agricultural tires off my tractor many years ago. I now have wide low tread tires to keep from tearing up the turf, use to mow with it. Now the tractor is mostly used to move wood chips (fertilizer/mulch/ground cover/paths) that are dumped regularly (by tree companies). I also move trees that fall. The Woods loader is a little much for a 30hp tractor. The bucket makes it front end heavy to start. I want add weight to the tractor's rear permanently as it is not needed to move light wood chips and it would tear up the turf where I use the chips. I push trees instead of picking them up.

I have had weights, fluid in the tires...in the past but they are counter productive now. I have a 3 point attachment on the rear (bucket) that I can add weight to. The problem isn't as much how much I can pick up but what happens when I add weight (front and back for balance), raise it off the ground, and try to drive the tractor along the slope of a steep hill. Anyone who has spent a few thousand hours on a tractor in hilly territory will tell you how easy it is to roll one.

[Reed Gray]

It probably costs as much as the lathe, but......

http://handtrucks2go.com/Escalera-Electric-Stair-Climber.html

robo hippy

[david privett]

well then you know weight is good just keep it low

[Mike Holbrook]

David, in my experience, the steeper the hill the less height off the ground a load has to be for it to cause the tractor to want to roll/slide down the hill. The hill going into my backyard is steep enough that raising a load just high enough to get over the bumps starts getting precarious. In fact every time I need to move chips in through the tractor gate, the first thing I do is rework the path to the gate so I can lift buckets of chips high enough to get through the area without the tractor trying to roll or slide on me. If I move many buckets, the tractor pushes dirt & chips down the hill and I have to stop and rebuild the path again. In wet weather the path is not usable.

I have learned to drop the bucket to the ground fast when: the uphill wheels start coming off the ground, the tractor starts sliding, does not wanting to turn....If I did not have four wheel drive I don't think I could move chips across this hill. As you might guess, the hill is steep enough so that just moving a hand truck with a heavy load over the soft ground around that gate gets precarious too. There is another gate on the other side of the back yard but the approach to it is worse.

If I spend a while on the tractor (with loader) after a few dry days, I might be able to build a flat enough path to get a relatively heavy load or two through the gate. Due to the steep hill the dirt and chips I make these paths with tends to wash away relatively quickly. These conditions mean the dirt in this area tends to be soft too. I have thought about building a permanent path but I am afraid water would eat under it and ruin that too. I planted some Azaleas in a hollow I made in the side of the hill, trying to stabilize it, which may be helping, but then the Azaleas grow into the path....

These conditions are why I moved the bandsaw down the steps instead of trying to move that top heavy object around to the back of the house.

[John Sanford]

Garden wagon (preferably flatbed) ?? You should be able to pull a garden wagon with the tractor. Just strap the lathe parts to the wagon, pull it around to the back. This will keep the load low so no tippy tractor games :eek: (yeah, as if riding a tractor through a rollover is a fun game). It seems like a garden wagon would be mighty handy to have in your circumstance.

Something like this puppy (http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200640326_200640326).

[John K Jordan]

As others mentioned, the 1642 easily comes apart. I have two and moved them several times by myself (and I'm 64 and no body-builder). However, I built my shop with easy access. If I had steps I would get some help.

if you need to find someone to help move heavy things, here's an idea: try your local piano mover. When I had my 7' Baldwin grand moved (about 1200 lbs) two big guys just picked it up and carried it, steps and all. (They bring three guys for more than 3 steps.) They had slings, dollys, muscles and more and the price was reasonable.

I did use the tractor (40 hp Kubota) for things that would not easily come apart like the TS (using forks) and 18" bandsaw (using a chain on the the front-end-loader.) The front-end-loader is rated at 1400 lbs at the pivots, but it is very dangerous to lift something heavy very high, especially to move down a hill. BTW, you prob know this but it is far safer to back down a hill to move a load on the front.

JKJ

[david privett]

well if it is that bad ,back in the old days people used skids and mules. I guess that would still work. lol

[Mike Holbrook]

Did not mean to get off on a moving heavy items across hills with tractor tangent, suffice it to say, that there are a number of challenges I would face trying to move a lathe that way in the terrain I am working with. I have a couple thousand hours of experience on those hills though so I may be able to work out a way. Or I may just borrow David's mule.

I am hearing that quite a few people have moved lathes as large and larger than a Jet 1642 without too much difficulty which is very encouraging.