moving equipment up high?

[stinkity stoink]

I have a moving in question.

I am moving my shop and need to get a 10" lathe, jet mill, and 60 gallon compressor into my loft area. I can get it all on my truck in my shop using my lift. The problem is getting it off when I get to the new place. The other problem is getting it in the loft area in the new place (about 8' 6" high to deck). There are no stairs only a step ladder.

The best idea I thought of so far was gantry crane. I am just to cheap. Harbor freight has one ,but it will still be about $700 by the time I am done. I called the local rental place and they have a bobcat with forklift blades on it. It wont lift to the height I need though. They had another machine ,but it's to tall. My garage door is only 7' high.

Any one have any clever ideas they might have used.

Thanks....

 

[csp]

See if a rental shop has a utility tractor (I don't mean a Bobcat) with a bucket that has the lifting capacity you need. The rollover protection bar on them can be lowered to get under your garage door.

 

[930dreamer]

I'd look at renting a fork lift, you could bolt the machines down on pallets, lift to the loft, unbolt and move to the final position.

 

[Kurn]

Seems like the only way is renting a forklift or hiring a rigger.

 

[bimmer1980]

a small forlift is going to be your best bet....

Mine will just barely squeeze under a 7' door.

luckily I got mine off craigslist for $400......

 

[stinkity stoink]

Man I am calling around for forklift rentals. Best price so far was $550 for the week. That includes $delivery and pick up. For another couple of bucks I could get the gantry crane . I am just not sure how easy it will be with that. It will pick it up ,but I still need to get it on the deck some how.

 

[pgreen]

Dumb question here, but are you sure the floor up there is rated for that kind of load? It would **** to go through all the effort of moving the equipment to find a structural issue...

If it is not an issue, how about a simple chainfall attached to the roof rafters temporarily? How heavy are the mill and lathe? I would assume you are not talking a full-size Bridgeport size mill?

 

[kursplat]

Dumb question here, but are you sure the floor up there is rated for that kind of load? It would **** to go through all the effort of moving the equipment to find a structural issue...

If it is not an issue, how about a simple chainfall attached to the roof rafters temporarily? How heavy are the mill and lathe? I would assume you are not talking a full-size Bridgeport size mill?

you could also disassemble the major components to make lighter loads

 

[Strouty]

I vote disassembly, then use a hoist from the rafters to get to the upper level. The amount of time you have commiserated about this, you could have disassembled it and had the parts up there and reassembled.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Dumb question here, but are you sure the floor up there is rated for that kind of load? It would **** to go through all the effort of moving the equipment to find a structural issue...

If it is not an issue, how about a simple chainfall attached to the roof rafters temporarily? How heavy are the mill and lathe? I would assume you are not talking a full-size Bridgeport size mill?

That's not a dumb question at all. I was trying to wrap my head about having a mill and lathe in a loft area myself. If they are benchtop models, maybe. If not, well......... A lathe can set up a cyclic action that can make a wood floor move in sync to the rotation of the lathe, especially if the lathe is jackshaft driven. That's for starters. A small mill usually has a vertical spindle, so it's a little different as far as transferring action to the floor.


RJ

 

[mmhouse]

I've rented a small hand operated forklift. I'm not sure what max weight it would lift (I just used it for some wood beams) but it worked slick and was cheap and relatively small.

Like this...

http://www.ur.com/index.php/equipme...category=Forklifts+&+Material+Handling&id=285

 

[OccupantRJ]

I've rented a small hand operated forklift. I'm not sure what max weight it would lift (I just used it for some wood beams) but it worked slick and was cheap and relatively small.

Like this...

http://www.ur.com/index.php/equipme...category=Forklifts+&+Material+Handling&id=285

That is typically known as a duct jack for installing HVAC ductwork.

 

[jjkrjh]

Using a forklift sounds like your best choice.

On your rental, if all the equipment is there it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to set the stuff up there. Try all your forklift dealers and tell them what you need done. Most have daily, weekly, and monthly rentals. Some will even use the delivery driver to bring the forklift, operate, and haul the lift away at an hourly rate.

Another option is a towing company.(big truck) They can either crane it up with the boom or might have a forklift for load shifts on semi's and recoveries, that they would bring out and move your equipment.

Pickup and delivery is the highest cost on a short term rental. Depending on your location, being flexible on when it needs done can save a bunch of money. Waiting for when a lift is being moved in your area by a dealer, they could stop and do your job and go on to their next job. Saves them time and money.

 

[stinkity stoink]

Thanks for the advice .

The floor I am quite certain will handle the load. It is framed with 2x10 16" O.C. It is supported by a 10w -33 steel I beam it is rated for 33lbs a square foot. The mill is a jet mill it weighs 457lbs. + put it on my stand about another 25. The lathe is also somewhere around 500lbs. I will lay some 2x6 lumber under each of them to spread the load out over a few joists also.

I was thinking of taking the stuff apart, but not sure. I still might go that route. It is probably the cheapest.

Hooking a chainfall up and using the rafters I am not to keen on because all the sheet rock is done. I know if I cut it open it will probably stay that way for the rest of my life. There are too many other things going on.

 

[lawfarm]

With the gantry crane, unless you have some part of the loft that protrudes and that the crane can straddle, you will be able to lift the loads, but not set them down on the loft (because the wheels of the crane will hit the wall below the loft before the load is over teh loft floor). A small forklift would be the easiest and safest route.

 

[IndyGarage]

Personally I would find a 1 day rental on a forklift. Then again $550 for a week seems pretty reasonable. However consider how you would get the thing home - you'll probably have to rent a trailer also, and maybe a truck also.

 

[Mattlt]

Maybe some kind of A-frame crane / hoist? Not quite sure how you clear the floor to slide the equipment onto the floor?

You'd think you'd be able "work a deal" with a loading dock manager nearby? Maybe a garden center, or landscaper. In my neck of the woods this project wouldn't cost more than a case of beer.

 

[stinkity stoink]

OK I think I have the way. I have to rent a lift gate truck right now because I forgot my lift was ******* with a 53 chevy roof. That will make getting everything in the truck easy and I can probably do it in 1 trip instead of 3 or 4. The truck will run me around $100.

I than have a friend with a forklift. He says I can use it if I want. That means I just have to get it there. He has a buddy with a flat bed truck that will take it for about $100 round trip. I figure that isn't too bad. I will get the stuff here and than call for the forklift. I will probably need it for only 1 hour .

The gantry crane would have been a pain to get the stuff up. It would be dangling in the air and not over the deck.

 

[930dreamer]

Post some pics of the adventure