Moving heavy machinery

[texutree]

I have a Wadkin PK tablesaw and an 18" Cooksely planer thicknesser which the previous owner of my house sold to me. They've not been moved from their current location, but I now need to shift them, just to the other side of the shed, which has a concrete floor. Can anyone advise on the best way of going about this as I am not sure where to start? If I could get them onto pallets somehow, perhaps this could be done with a pump truck

Any advice or suggestions would be gratefully received

 

[Cobbs]

If it's a concrete floor, can you not get some scaffold poles or similar underneath them and roll them?

 

[Sideways]

Three or four lengths of scaffold pipe as rollers.
Some hardwood offcuts to chock the machines up corner by corner, inch at a time until you have the height to slide the rollers under.
To get the corners off the ground and inch it upwards, a serious prybar.

I'd always wanted a Burke bar as featured on the Essential Craftsman youtube channel. Eventually I found and bought a "kuli" by Alba via the stonetoolshop. It's the same idea but quite possibly better.
Drop forged head and rated to lift 1.7 tons with an adults weight pulling on the end of the bar.
£130 or so but it's a lifetime tool of the highest quality. I smile every time I use it.
Since you only lift half the weight of anything at a time with a prybar you can raise 3 ton machines this way to the point where you can get rollers or a trolley jack under them.

 

[Spectric]

Steel capped boots !

 

[texutree]

Many thanks for the advice, I'll give that a go after investing in one of those bars (and the steel toe capped boots!)...

 

[worn thumbs]

Can you hire some machinery skates?They are made for the job,but you still need to lift the machines high enough to get them under.The bars above would be ideal and you need a few packers to insert as you raise them-just in case....

 

[Inspector]

With the bar Sideways showed you only need to lift one side, then swing the bar to pivot the machine in the direction you want to go. Then go to the other side and do it again. Keep it up and you walk the machine across the floor a couple inches at a time. If you don't want to mark the concrete put a small piece of plywood on the floor so the bar pivots on it.

Pete

 

[Jaydee]

Could you use a hydraulic car jack with some decent sized wood to jack up the saw. Place the wood vertically under the table onto the jack. Jack it up and place rollers or wheels etc underneath.

 

[Adam W.]

I bought some heavy duty machine castors to move my lathe on and jack it up with a large van jack. It has holes in the base of the legs to fit the castors.

I like to change my small workshop about to see if I can squeeze even more stuff it it.

 

[texutree]

Thanks all.
I like the idea of castors, for ease of movement, my space isn't massive.

 

[likeakite]

I moved mine with an engine hoist and strap webbing. Maybe enquire at a plant hire shop?

 

[pe2dave]

Thanks all.
I like the idea of castors, for ease of movement, my space isn't massive.

I built a 'skate' from scrap wood and 4 heavy castors. Some sort of lever / wedges to raise it onto the skate would be the hard bit?
Are there any means of fitting feet / castors on the machines?

 

[texutree]

I built a 'skate' from scrap wood and 4 heavy castors. Some sort of lever / wedges to raise it onto the skate would be the hard bit?
Are there any means of fitting feet / castors on the machines?

There are holes in the corners of the base of both machines which could be used. Not sure if the vibration from the planer would be excessive for castors though

 

[pe2dave]

There are holes in the corners of the base of both machines which could be used. Not sure if the vibration from the planer would be excessive for castors though

I doubt it, not something I've seen (one machine experience). If you could affix lockable castors, sounds like an optimum.
Raise one end, fix castors, raise 'tother end, repeat. Long term solution?

 

[Sideways]

Thanks all.
I like the idea of castors, for ease of movement, my space isn't massive.

A PK is between 740kg and about 950kg depending on the spec/extras.
Not something I'd want to push about the shop very often
How heavy is the Cooksely ? Massive, surely ?

My SCM's about 650 and I did fit castors and jacking feet to it so the castors are off the ground in normal use but that's because I would need to move it for access if I ever need to do serious maintenance below decks.

I wouldn't want to use a machine sat on castors. They can swivel inwards and shrink the footprint of the machine. Bad for stability.

 

[Adam W.]

I take the castors off after I've moved the lathe.

 

[texutree]

A PK is between 740kg and about 950kg depending on the spec/extras.
Not something I'd want to push about the shop very often
How heavy is the Cooksely ? Massive, surely ?

My SCM's about 650 and I did fit castors and jacking feet to it so the castors are off the ground in normal use but that's because I would need to move it for access if I ever need to do serious maintenance below decks.

I wouldn't want to use a machine sat on castors. They can swivel inwards and shrink the footprint of the machine. Bad for stability.

Yeah, the Cooksley's going to be around the same weight as the PK - bloody heavy!

So maybe stick with scaffolding poles as & when it needs moving (which doesn't need to be often)

 

[Adam W.]

I think my lathe is about 450kg and the castors are rated about 500kg each, but it's a heavy lump to push around and needs to be lifted and moved with extreme care.

 

[pe2dave]

I take the castors off after I've moved the lathe.

Hassle with a heavy machine? If the castors leave the lathe at a workable height, best left on/locked

 

[Adam W.]

Not really, as it has retractable legs and I just need to get it on the castor which takes minutes - prop, retract leg, fit castor X4 - move - reverse.

It's a half day job though and I think it'll walk about the workshop if I used it on the castors, especially with a big bit of wood on it as I'm a bit cavalier and mount large odd shaped lumps on it.