Moving machinery up stairs?

[Birdman89]

I have a small 10x20" lathe and a mill/drill machine located in my parents basement. I need to move them out to set up in my new shop. Looking for ideas on how to get them up a flight of stairs.

We got the machines in by strapping them to a moving dolly and then a rather large friend and my dad helped me bump the dolly down the stairs, one step at a time. That friend is no longer available and we will be working against gravity this time, so I'm looking for ideas.

The lathe is around 370lbs and the mill/drill will be a bit over 400lbs. I can strip the mill/drill down a bit by removing the head and table, but there isn't much I can do to lighten the lathe.

I have a 2 ton shop crane available but don't see how to use it up stairs. I thought about using a come-along somehow but there isn't anything suitable to secure it to at the top of the stairs. Any other ideas would be appreciated! If all else fails I can hire a moving company but that will come with its own set of headaches so I figured I would at least ask here first. Thanks!

 

[1969]

Ever watch the world's strongest man competition? Muscle, much muscle.....lol.

 

[nine4gmc]

Could you put a 4x4 or larger piece of wood across a doorway at the top of the stairs somewhere to secure a come along to?

 

[kwschumm]

Maybe you can rent an Escalara stair climbing forklift. I use one to move 3-400 lb. pinball machines up and down stairs. Safe movers also use them.

 

[MikeF2316]

Brothers. Friends. Beer. Pizza.

Solved all my muscle problems. So far.

 

[echerbst]

call some real dudes, lol. 400 pounds is nothing. Something that small no need for any big equipment. Get a set of over shoulder moving straps that u can put under if u feel the need.

 

[kwschumm]

FWIW, the Escalara stair climbing forklift comes in 700 lb and 1200 lb capacities.

 

[FigureItOut]

When I need manpower, there are always TONS of guys hungry for a couple hours work that can be found on Craigslist. I've gotten mostly good guys, out of work, for whom $40 can really make a difference.

 

[Technologyteacher]

How wide are the steps? I got a pool table with a one piece one inch thick slate down a narrow staircase. That was with 6-7 friends helping.

 

[matt_i]

Refrigerator hand truck, strap machines to that and then its just 1 stair at a time. No subsitute for multiple people with strong backs in this case.

 

[derosa]

Plywood ramp to cover the stairs and some dollies, shouldn't take more then a couple guys and a rope. Hoping for a move in a couple months and plan to do this for all my tools, at 200 lbs my bandsaw is the heaviest, tablesaw close behind, and getting them down there was a 1 man job with no real strain. Just make sure to ratchet strap the dollies so it doesn't slide off.

 

[bert1913]

if you have a homedepot nearby, there's plenty of labor at the main entrance waiting for work

 

[harleybear66]

are these inside the house stairs or bilco hatchway stairs?

 

[rsanter]

For the lathe, remove the chuck, motor, tailstock, compound, etc
Anything that is an easy remove without effecting the accuracy.
I am a fan of removing some of the levers as there is less to catch on things and get damaged as you are moving it.

Sometimes it is good to hire movers. On the last move I moved everything that was small, light or easy. I hired the movers to move the piano and a couple of the large heavy pieces. They charge my the hour and I had everything prepped and ready for them. They were done in no time

Bob

 

[TK-421]

I'd remove everything you can to make it as light as possible, and then hire movers to get them up the stairs, and then do the rest of it yourself, if that will save you any money. But if it doesn't save you any money to have them stop at the stairs, might as well have them take it all the way outside.

 

[crab]

Call a moving company, they will charge you a 4 hour mini and be responsible for any damage. Probably cost ya 250. If they know what they're getting into they'll send the right guys out and make it look easy.

 

[justanengineer]

JME but homes tend to be a bit too fragile for me, so I usually rely mostly on brute force and ignorance when it comes to moving heavy items in them.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Honestly, I'm a big fan of doing as much as possible by myself, but for somethings it's just better to hire those who do this for a living. Movers tend to be pretty cheap if you just need an item or two moved (even if large and heavy) up and outside or something like that. If they damage anything (and they are actual movers) they have insurance and coverage for that. And they have the experience and equipment to do it. It'll go faster and easier if they do it for big stuff.

My parents recently asked if I would be able to get some guys together to move their large wine cabinet to have their floors redone (~500-600 lbs large wood unit). Very unwieldy and also prone to tipping forward when empty if the doors open. Ultimately decided a mover would be smarter. Took them 15 minutes to get it out of there with zero damage. Came back a week later and put it back in about the same time. $100 for that, but zero pain and risk. Got moved both times with no damage to it or the floors or walls or anything. It just makes sense for heavier more expensive items.

 

[BreeStephany]

Are the stairs carpeted, hardwood or just rough lumber? You could take some 2x6's, 2x8's or 2x10's and screw them down to the floor to make a ramp, allow for a walking space up the middle, strap the equipment up to a furniture dolly and start pushing with a lot of muscle.

Not sure of what things look like at the top of the stairs, but if there is any STRONG structure for you to attach a come-along to, it might be beneficial if one of the pushers slip or need a break.

We used to use this method to move 1500lbs+ up and down the stairs of my dad's business.

 

[CTyankee]

I'm gonna side with the folks saying to hire professional, insured movers for the job. As mentioned, dismantle whatever you can to lighten the load and have the area ready before they show up.

While I can understand those that think that hiring a few laborers or getting a bunch of friends to do the job may be a cheaper route....IMO you're opening yourself to too much liability in case of a mishap. Years ago it probably wouldn't be a consideration, but in todays sue happy society, I wouldn't take the chance.

 

[jhnlngn]

I just use my elevator.

 

[nes999]

I'd go on Craigslist, for 40 bucks I got 2 guys to carry a 14ft enclosed trailer filled with ****, including a 400 pound fish tank. This had to be brought up 2 narrow flights of stairs.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[rockwithjason]

many rental yards have these

 

[Birdman89]

I'm gonna side with the folks saying to hire professional, insured movers for the job. As mentioned, dismantle whatever you can to lighten the load and have the area ready before they show up.

While I can understand those that think that hiring a few laborers or getting a bunch of friends to do the job may be a cheaper route....IMO you're opening yourself to too much liability in case of a mishap. Years ago it probably wouldn't be a consideration, but in todays sue happy society, I wouldn't take the chance.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I'm fairly new here so I wasn't expecting so much response!

I've been doing more research and hiring movers is starting to seem like the best option. I've exhausted my favors from friends lately with house renovations and moving furniture, so I was hoping for a 1-2 person solution. The stair climbing dolly seems like it would work but I haven't found anyone local that rents them.

I should have explained that the stairs are concrete and outdoors out the side of the basement. There is no structure nearby at the top to secure anything, and the house has been sold so I can't afford to damage or modify anything. Not only that but I wouldn't want to get behind anything that heavy on the stairs in case it got away; someone could get killed. I could go with guys off craigslist but if someone gets injured I'm screwed. I'll dismantle as much as possible and probably build a little skid to mount the lathe on for transport so it doesn't tip over.

Thanks again!

 

[Teenager with old tools]

Two by fours along stairs side by side width of stairs with plywood on top put machine in shop crane use car to pull shop crane up the plywood ramp?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kctyphoon]

I have concrete basement stairs that go out through bulkhead doors into my yard. ALL of my machines are in my basement.. I "basically" laid 4, 2x4's down the steps, and screwed a plywood top to them to make a ramp..

You could do something similar, strap your machine down to the "back" of a hand truck, (hand truck laid down) and then pull the handtruck up. You can use a rope, a lever hoist, or a cheap HF electric winch.. I use all of the above.. got a 400lb bandsaw down their by myself like that..

I even built a wooden cart that has a HF electric winch bolted to it. Anything heavy goes in the cart, winch hook gets attached to my shed, plug it in, hit a button... I keep my 7500 watt generator in the basement and out of the elements. Chain hoist to the rafters lifts it up, slide cart underneath, plug in winch, hit button.. in the event of a blackout I just start the generator first and plug the winch into the running generator... I'm very use to figuring out how to do things alone. I hate asking for help, and always feel rushed if someone is around doing something they'd rather not be doing..

How heavy is this thing?? Things don't need to be nearby to use them as an anchor.. you can extend the anchor point using a rope.

My basement stairs.. middle of the ramp is hinged in 2 sections so I can flip it up and expose the stairs. Ghetto? Yes.. but it works.. my tracked snowblower climbs that ramp like nothing..

 

[climb.on]

Not sure there is an easy way, but the pros sure make it look that way. Check with Piano and Safe movers. Price might be the deciding factor, if you can find someone to do it for a good price. Might be cheaper than you think.