Lifting straps for Hammer A3-31.

[Matt Przybylski]

Thanks Rod and Darren. I think combined I have a better idea of how to handle this now. Really appreciate your inputs.

[ian maybury]

Coming in late - but a thought and some precautions. These machines are not all that very heavy - presuming it's just a case of moving it off the pallet and across a floor it may be simpler, and easier to get some good help and manhandle it off the pallet using packers/rollers/a ramp as Rod than to try and lift it in straps. Lifting with straps could be a little high risk unless it's really required by stairs, getting in a high door or something - easy to have it slip.

Another option is to move it using a low profile and narrow manual fork truck/pallet truck. How to is set out in the manual, but there's holes near the lower edge of one side of the cabinet. These take bolts and washers to make pins for one leg of the truck to get under, the other goes under the machine. Be careful in this case as the machine (the 410 anyway) ends up balanced a little precariously on the forks - it's deinitely a two or three person job. Lifting the tables may help to stabilise it by moving the CG.

Be very careful whatever you do not to try to lift by the tables - their attachment to the machine on at least the last model is not nearly strong enough to tolerate this.

Another precaution based on personal experience. These machines look like a very stiff cube/box, but in practice they are very flexible lengthwise and easily twisted. (the central platform is just that, and the upper cross members don't add much twist resistance) Raising or lowering just one corner (using either adjustable feet, or because a floor is out of flat) produces quite significant changes in table alignment and over knife height - and since it's caused by twisting it's different from side to side too. Interesting to say the least to mount a OneWay gauge on one table to reach across the knives to the other - then lift a corner a shade and see what happens. Especially since knife heights are normally set to within a thou or so...

The latest model may be stiffer, but I'm not a fan of mobility kits for this reason, not unless your floor is extremely flat….

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Daren,

I used an engine hoist to get my A3 31 off the pallet. I used the long strap. Took it down one side (long side), across the bottom, up across the top with a board under the strap to spread the load across the tables, back under and up the other side. That balanced the load fairly well.

Lifted it just enough to slide the pallet out of the way and lowered it onto the mobile base. Had a couple of guys to help but no heavy lifting needed. Not sure I'd want to manhandle the machine off the pallet. No good places to grab it and at 660 lbs that's a back injury just waiting IMHO.

Cliff