Moving heavy machinery in the shop

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
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This is something I've been dealing with lately and thought I would share just for kicks! :) Plus I don't want anyone to think I faded away from knifemaking again!!! ;) :)



I've been revamping the shop for awhile now...trying to get everything just right. A clean and organized shop, for me, is a clear mind. I almost had it done the other day, and then realized that the "new" machining equipment I bought last summer and had put in storage (hoping to wait and put it in a NEW shop within a year or two) was getting wet and HAD to be brought into my small home shop before it was ruined. Rust on a precision machined tool surface is almost as heart-wrenching as it is on a $1500 knife! :eek:

So usually it's done with pipes or round-stock and a "cheater" bar, like in this pic.
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However, I just so happen to have two eager and willing shop helpers that seem to just snap their fingers and make things happen!

"Rollers??? I don't need no stink'n rollers!!!!!"
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Service with a smile!!! :D
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He's ready and willing to pull 10 times his weight all day long! And rare'n to go go go! :)

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Of course a mover has gotta take a rest now and then. ;)
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5 minutes later he's raring to go again! ;)
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So that's what I've been up to!!! :) Hoping to get it all done soon and move onto better things... like finishing knives!!! :D
 
I thought the dog was gone Nick. But your other helper looks like she could handle it all by herself anyway while you and the dog take a nap. Errrrr Angie flex those muscles! I'm gonna have to come visit and figure out where in the world you are putting all this stuff. You must have knocked down the wall into your dad's woodshop.
 
shop WIP!
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
:D
 
Is that a Bridgeport or something? Those are cool.

We moved one into where I worked once- with the loading dock and doorways it was an experience.
 
Nick your a big boy just pick it up and move it

Please show more pics of your girlfriend :D
 
Yep, I'm a very lucky man! Cute as hell and likes knife making!!! Angi's pretty decent herself! :foot: ;) :D

Mr. Bill...when I started this project I told Angi it all boiled down to fitting 8 gallons worth of rock into a 5 gallon bucket! :eek: :D
 
A beauty like Angi who also moves machinery, doesn't get much better than that my friend. She's definitely a keeper. ;)
 
Ohhh man, I'm in love...!!!! :eek: :thumbup: :D

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A Bridgeport Vertical Mill, Model 'J' circa 1952. I wish the table wasn't blocked so I could see if it was a 36" or 42" table. :mad: :confused:

;)

Tell your charming rigger, don't break those long fingernails. :p

Coop
 
Ha Coop! I was going to post the same thing!

Heck, those little machines are easy to move around:D
 
The 9X42 is fairly cooperative... it's the "big" Cincinnati that's a bear. And it's a baby as far as Cincinnati mills go... but a short, stout 5,000# machine is pretty stubborn when it's in a small shop with almost no room around it to dig in with a cheater bar.

Oh, and Gary... that's not a skirt, it's Shadow's girlfriend!!! LMAO :D Apparently an arctic dog needs an "artificial friend" more than he needs a blanket over cold concrete! ;) LOL
 
Nice pics Nick. Good to see you've been busy in the shop....

Yeah, Joe you are a dog...... Bad Boy!

Oh,BTW, Does Angie have a sister? I just got a steam hammer I need help moving!
 
You have some EXCELLENT helpers Nick! But with those guns of yours, I would think you would just pick up those machines and place them where you want them:D

Must be exciting getting new tooling!

Peter
 
Sorry Coop, I missed part of your post! "Unfortunately" this is not a real deal Bridgeport. I looked at MANY Bp's, and most of the ones I found around here were clapped out, nasty, beaten up machines. The ones that weren't, were the odd ones like the one that was made brand new in 2000 and never even taken off the pallet. But also $12,000. Kind of hard to justify that for a knife shop.

This mill is an Exacto... a Taiwan knock-off that is the closest to a Bridgeport in every detail that I've ever seen. The man that owned it, was a hardcore engineer/machinist/fabricator. He bought it brand new in 1982, and used it until 1990 when he quit working at the age of 82 or so. It sat untouched in his shop since then. Everything is very smooth and tight....very little backlash in this machine. I got a TON of tooling with it and the lathe... things like a rotary table, indexing head, Sandvik facemills....

I wanted American iron, but when it boiled down to it... IMHO, the only thing about this particular machine that isn't better than all the others I looked at was resale value, and I bought it to keep it, not sell it. :)
 
Used to do it like that for many many years.........

Now my son has access to a small fork lift and some really trick rollers that his boss bought for moving 4 ton transformers into place........

You can put one under every corner and insert a t bar and pull it right into place.

Wish I could had that 25 years ago!
 
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