Lathe Moving

[Robbo3]

I need occasionally to move my AT1628VS lathe a few inches away from the wall to allow the headstock to rotate.

I would prefer to lift & drag in one operation rather than lift & place the legs on skates, move, lift, remove skates then reverse the process to move the lathe back.

Anyone already cracked this problem?

 

[Jacob]

Leave a skate permanently under each end? Two bits of 2x3" with locating holes for the feet? Depends what sort of floor you have to drag it over I suppose.

 

[finneyb]

Place 4x2 or similar shown in red.
Lift and pull in the direction of travel. 4x 2 will rotate about the point on the floor .
You may have to re- level the lathe, but you may get away with it.

HTH

Brian

 

[finneyb]

Alternatively, bolt a trailer jockey wheel to the headstock end. Wind it down to move.
Not as cheap as a piece of 4x2

Brian

 

[Robbo3]

Should have said in my original post ..... floor is screed over concrete & space is tight. The head stock end is about 75mm from the wood burner so no access for a 4x2.

Like the idea of a jockey wheel especially if it's like a unicycle rather than a pivoting castor. Might even be able to devise a long bolt that screws down onto a skate.

 

[CHJ]

Can you fit 4 wheels (ex castors) to lift the legs to just clear of the floor and two jacking bolts on the front legs to lock it in position when moved.

I have a bench in my garage fitted with wheels that uses wooden wedges to lock the legs (lift the wheels clear) when in position. You might get away with wedges under the front legs rather than jacking bolts.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Perhaps stating the obvious but why not just leave it a few inches away from the wall so you don't have to move it?

 

[Robbo3]

I should also have said that space is at a premium. As I get older & wider I'm already knocking items on the floor as I squeeze through gaps that I used to pass through with ease. Losing 3" permanently is something I can't really afford.

Some ideas & their costs :

£74.40 Transport Rollers with Handle

£82.80 - Mechanical Jack Set 1000kg Capacity

There are also pivoting pry bars with rollers which are somewhat cheaper & could possibly adapted to suit.

 

[Deejay]

Morning Robbo

What about a car trolley jack?

Cheers

Dave

 

[Robbo3]

Other terms for searches are toe jack & toe claw. The claw converts a bottle jack into a toe jack. This has a lip on the side, often at the bottom allowing lifting from much closer to the floor.

Also farm jack. A high lift rachet jack with a botton toe.

Mobile bases have also been mentioned elsewhere on the forum :

Mobile stand by Steven M. Vaught
- https://vaughtwoodworks.wordpress.com/2 ... -and-such/

Mobile Bench - Popular Woodworking
- https://www.popularwoodworking.com/work ... ch-mobile/


I will probably end up with DeeJay's suggestion (thanks) of using a trolley jack.

I had passed over the idea worrying that any sideways movement would cause the jack to topple but I can add timber bracing to the legs that will cradle the pad (mine is flat with upward sloping ends - thus slippy) & also lower the jacking point.

 

[Robbo3]

Update:
The lathe had crept sideways a couple of inches due to pulling it away from the wall & pushing it back on previous occasions.
Lifting the headstock end a few millimetres off the floor with the trolley jack inline with the lathe axis, allowed me to push it back to its original position relatively easily. Considering that I've been in considerable pain from suspected kidney stones, but diagnosed as muscle spasms, means that if I can manage it, almost everyone should be able to.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Dalboy]

With what has been said about the room that you have I think that working on the lathe in such a tight environment is not the best of things to do and in some instances can be unsafe. If you can't afford to move the lathe out permanently because of such a tight space then I think you need to seriously look at how the layout of the workshop is done. Sorry to be so negative but you need good escape routes in case of problems.

 

[Robbo3]

With what has been said about the room that you have I think that working on the lathe in such a tight environment is not the best of things to do and in some instances can be unsafe. If you can't afford to move the lathe out permanently because of such a tight space then I think you need to seriously look at how the layout of the workshop is done. Sorry to be so negative but you need good escape routes in case of problems.

Derek, the problem is that all my static tools are mounted on wheeled storage units, ie bandsaw, chopsaw, planer thicknesser & shop vac. To use them, I have to juggle them around like a sliding tile puzzle. It's one of the problems of having a long but narrow concrete garage as a workshop

 

[Robbo3]

I came across one of these dollys at Toolstation so I fashioned a wooden insert on which to stand a bottle jack.

I already had a block to increase the lifting height & a wooden ring to prevent damage from metal to metal contact from previous jobs.

This is much more convenient, to both use & store, than the trolley jack.