tricks for moving a bridgeport?

[OccupantRJ]

I moved mine last weekend, I did not disassemble anything as we were only going 6 miles; if it was farther I would pull the head, besides removing the DRO, I spun the head 180, brought the table back up to support the head, rented a cat skid steer with forks and trailer, picked it up from the side under the ram with wood 1X under the ram on either side of the column, loaded it on the front of the trailer drove the skid steer on the trailer tied everything down, took it back to my shop and unloaded, very safe! we spent less than 3 hours total.

My mill sets very high with a 12" spacer and mounted to 1" X 6" angle with wheels, I also have leveling screws in the angle when its in position in the shop, with the wheels it makes it nice to move and clean behind.

Care to share some pics of your support frame setup on your mill?

 

[Joe From NY]

:shrug: why not? If that bridgeport comes down on a pair of steel toe boots it's only going take that much longer scrape up what used to be your feet.

i would never use steel toe either, but any suede or leather between skin and that wood frame could help.

 

[Joe From NY]

Why don't you explain how you got your Clausing lathe out from that basement? I saw the post on Practicalmachinist.

At least in my case nobody was in the direct line of harm should the cable have snapped or something else failed.

Not trying to start an argument here, but if you're gonna be the safety advisor, at least practice safety yourself!

I consider the way I moved my Bridgeport to have been safe. There's always some risk involved, and I felt it was small enough to go ahead an do it that way. I'll be picking up my second Bridgeport soon, and the unloading will be done in much the same way I did the first one.

I am surely not a safety adviser or expert. As you remember, i got scolded on the other site for my unsafe machinery moving methods. i am just passing along safety-minded comments that were sent my way. you will recall my narrative of how i finally got it up the stairs: It came up the stairs vertical with two strong guys pulling the handtruck one step at a time and resting, and one strong guy at the bottom assisting the lift at each step. We didn't intend for a guy to be under it, but he just wound up there after the start of the move. It is resting now for awhile outside covered until we start the trip down again.

Then you will recall the advice from Greg upon reading my story: You got lucky. Defrost a chicken thigh, put it on a cinderblock, and smash it with a 5 lb hammer- your guy's leg or arm or neck could've come out looking like that. You should not have proceeded until you could do it safely.


I was only passing along what was told to me by concerned bredren. your mileage may vary.