Fred.Rowe
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- May 2, 2004
- Messages
- 6,848
We were on the road by 4am, headed northwest, with a full tank of gas in the GMC.
Theres not much conversation, takes place, at that time of the morning; just the smell and taste, of hot coffee, trying to break the cobwebs of too little sleep.
We had been up late, the night before, discussing how we were going to load the new machine onto the truck.
" 2300lbs should be an easy load for your pickup to handle" Jeff said.
I had my doubts; but said nothing.
Conversation got moving about the time the suns rays started to warm the inside of the truck.
We stopped for a coffee refill and to pass some that had already been enjoyed.
With cruise control set, we anxiously covered the last sixty miles to our destination.
We were rite on time, 8 o:clock sharp.
We backed into the warehouse perpendicular to the lift truck that held my new Bridgeport mill posed to be loaded into the back of the pickup.
It looked awfully big to be riding in the back of, what now, looked like a mighty small truck.
A smile came to my face, along with a sigh of relief, when the forklift operator called out; " looks like your machine tips the scales at 1980 lbs"
I new the Jimmy could handle that, easy.
WE were back on the road within half an hour; the truck slung low, but not yet down on the helpers. Just enough weight to make it ride good.
The trip back home was a lot more lively, with discussions about the possibilities, presented, by the new machine.
WE made the round trip, of 320 miles in just over 7 hours with time to load the machine.
Its still sitting in the back of the truck, parked under the carport so it doesn't get wet.
I'll start clearing space for it in the shop tomorrow.
Roadtrips are great, especially with a good friend.
The mill is a three axis cnc that came out of a high school.
The control is by Robotool.
It was built in 84 and retrofitted in 2000 with the cnc.
It came with books for the mill and the controller.
I am looking forward to learning to use it.
Fred
Theres not much conversation, takes place, at that time of the morning; just the smell and taste, of hot coffee, trying to break the cobwebs of too little sleep.
We had been up late, the night before, discussing how we were going to load the new machine onto the truck.
" 2300lbs should be an easy load for your pickup to handle" Jeff said.
I had my doubts; but said nothing.
Conversation got moving about the time the suns rays started to warm the inside of the truck.
We stopped for a coffee refill and to pass some that had already been enjoyed.
With cruise control set, we anxiously covered the last sixty miles to our destination.
We were rite on time, 8 o:clock sharp.
We backed into the warehouse perpendicular to the lift truck that held my new Bridgeport mill posed to be loaded into the back of the pickup.
It looked awfully big to be riding in the back of, what now, looked like a mighty small truck.
A smile came to my face, along with a sigh of relief, when the forklift operator called out; " looks like your machine tips the scales at 1980 lbs"
I new the Jimmy could handle that, easy.
WE were back on the road within half an hour; the truck slung low, but not yet down on the helpers. Just enough weight to make it ride good.
The trip back home was a lot more lively, with discussions about the possibilities, presented, by the new machine.
WE made the round trip, of 320 miles in just over 7 hours with time to load the machine.
Its still sitting in the back of the truck, parked under the carport so it doesn't get wet.
I'll start clearing space for it in the shop tomorrow.
Roadtrips are great, especially with a good friend.
The mill is a three axis cnc that came out of a high school.
The control is by Robotool.
It was built in 84 and retrofitted in 2000 with the cnc.
It came with books for the mill and the controller.
I am looking forward to learning to use it.
Fred
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