Moving a Bridgeport

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

I am picking up a new (to me) Series 1 Bridgeport this weekend. Although the vendor can load for me, once I get it back I will need to move it with a pallet truck. To do this I'm going to bolt it to a custom made pallet. Given its shape I wondering if it would be most stable lifting it from the front, back or side? I intend to rotate the head down and perhaps position the table to try and balance it. Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks Colin

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

[Michael CallaghanParticipant @michaelcallaghan68621]

Hi Colin. A mill is a nightmare to move due to its CoG being so high. You need to reduce has much weight as you can. The answer to your question all depends on what equipment you have. Along with bolting to the pallet I would also strap the belt down each side to keep the mill more sable, if it starts to go you will never hold the weight. You need to keep the weight on the bed so front or rear to the truck handle not side to side. It would be better with two people one pulling the pallet truck and one pushing to counter any movement during a turn etc. Remember pallet trucks need a good flat floor and can become a pain on uneven floors. Just take care and your time.

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

Funny, just watched a YouTube video by Dominic Chinea moving a Bridgeport, worth a watch to give some idea of mass involved, although his lift looked a little hairy.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

From what Iv'e seen on the net, lower the table right down & rotate the head as far round as possible to get |C of G down & be careful.

Tony

[10ba12baParticipant @10ba12ba]

Took mine in bits to get it up a 7" step and through a 3' wide door. Much use of 3 strong men and scaffold pole as rollers/prybars. Once the column and knee were in the shed/ workshop I rebuilt it with the use of an engine crane and got necessary spare parts from Hendrix in the USA. Good luck with your move !

H.

[Yngvar FParticipant @yngvarf]

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

Posted by HOWARDT on 10/01/2022 12:28:39:

Funny, just watched a YouTube video by Dominic Chinea moving a Bridgeport, worth a watch to give some idea of mass involved, although his lift looked a little hairy.

I saw it as well. Just wished I had a fella with a HIAB

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Yes definately invert head and lower table. I made a frame with wheels to widen. Bpt bolted down (you can see the 4 holes) When in place the wheels were removed and replaced with screw down mounts to level machine.

 

Next pic shows "crane" used to lift head (still inverted) to fit raising block.

 

Edited By KWIL on 10/01/2022 14:07:25

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

Posted by KWIL on 10/01/2022 14:04:10:

Yes definately invert head and lower table. I made a frame with wheels to widen. Bpt bolted down (you can see the 4 holes) When in place the wheels were removed and replaced with screw down mounts to level machine.

Next pic shows "crane" used to lift head (still inverted) to fit raising block.

Edited By KWIL on 10/01/2022 14:07:25

That is the rolls Royce of solutions!! Thanks for sharing

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

Posted by KWIL on 10/01/2022 14:06:52:

Is the mill lacking in height?

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

The fundamental problem with a pallet jack is that the narrow track of the steered wheels makes it, for all practical purposes, a three wheeled vehicle. Hence the area of stability is much smaller than it appears at first sight so any sideways movement of the load C of G in a generally towards the steered wheels direction will cause it to tip.Because you are pulling via the steered wheels any attempt to turn tends to try and pull the front out from under the load. Especially if an obstruction such as a small stone or even expansion joint is hit.

A Bridgeport falling off a pallet truck makes a very impressive bang! 20 ft away was quite close enough to watch the disaster unfold from thank you.

I have a monster castor dolly that moved my Bridgeport in a satisfactory, not too scary, manner. Frame is 3" by 1" aluminium bar of similar size to the Bridgeport base with a top made form the waterproof chipboard underflooring sheets. The slightly rough surface is very good at reducing slip. The four castors have small diameter wide wheels maybe 4" by 2 1/2" diameter and load capacity over 2 tons.

I took the head right off and removed the turret which usefully reduced weight and tippyness.

Having a 90° off camber right angle bend to negotiate round the side of the house I arranged rectangular 2 x 2 timer frames towards the outside ends of the table and dropped the knee to give an inch or so of ground clearance to minimise any tipping. One frame did settle onto the ground when negotiating the off camber bend but the machine sat there nice and stable whilst we figured out our next move. There were a couple of other undramatic touches too but all resolved by carefully applied anti-tip pressure in the right places. Due to the small angles involved I guess the actual tipping force was probably only about 20 lb or so.

An engine crane does fine for re-fitting turret and ram but best way to re-mount the head is to set it on an R8 taper spigot affixed to the table via a decent size foot. Manipulating the table and knee screws makes it easy to align the head with the ram fixings.

When tilting the head for the first time on a new to you machine its prudent to arrange extra support for the head so it cannot fall should there be issues with the tilt rotation worm and wheel. Failure is not unheard of and significant wear quite common. Mine wasn't in the first flush of youth. The upper part of the wheel showing significant wear so I'm rather glad I didn't try to invert the head. I've no reason to expect that it wouldn't ahve been OK in practice but ….. To me the worm and wheel seem quite small for the loads involved.

Clive

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Colin,

I just needed extra "daylight" for what I wanted to machine. Hence the raising block added an extra 6"

[garyParticipant @gary44937]

scaffold tubes and a long crowbar are good if you have a flat surface. i moved my bridge port which weighs nearly 2 ton into my shed in no time no need to take it to bits, also saved the hassle of getting it off a pallet gary

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

There is an eye bolt hole in the top of the slidebehind the head with a 3/4 inch Whitworth  thread it is made to lift the whole machine with a crane with the table round down and head inverted. You can use an engine hoist with sufficient capacity.

David

Edited By David George 1 on 10/01/2022 16:47:36

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Collin check your messages. I have sent information on a handbook.

David

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

If planning to use scaffold tubes or similar rollers remember that a Bridgeport will slide nearly as well along them when laid rail fashion as it will rolling.

Which can be handy if you don't have a straight smooth run. The relatively short base of a Bridgeport makes for a lot of running around swopping rollers too. About every foot. Alternative is to leave two rollers under it and alternately pry bar the ends up so the rollers can be moved forwards for another bite.

I've found that 6 ft scaffold pole with about 6 inches of the end flattened off invaluable when machine moving. Whether for easing up, applying a bit of extra ooph to keep it moving or simply holding it at the right angle so things stay put whilst your minions rush around sorting things out. The long pole gives plenty of leverage so no sweat'n strain. Lifting the pole is generally most of the work.

Clive

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Having found myself trapped under a small shaper, though luckily not hurt and also having a bridgeport all I can say is FOR GODS SAKE be very careful. When being moved it is inherently unstable and VERY heavy, if it starts to go, just save yourself. Pallet trucks on anyyhing but very smooth concrete will invite disaster. The machine will weigh just under 1.25 tons, so even dismantling will still leave you with very heavy bits. How do you intend to get it off the trailer, van or truck ? It's to heavy for most engine cranes ! Do you have the manual for the machine ? Good Luck. Noel.

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

Posted by David George 1 on 10/01/2022 17:53:30:

Collin check your messages. I have sent information on a handbook.

David

Thanks for this. Ivece.ailed you.

[colin hamiltonParticipant @colinhamilton16803]

Posted by noel shelley on 10/01/2022 19:54:09:

Having found myself trapped under a small shaper, though luckily not hurt and also having a bridgeport all I can say is FOR GODS SAKE be very careful. When being moved it is inherently unstable and VERY heavy, if it starts to go, just save yourself. Pallet trucks on anyyhing but very smooth concrete will invite disaster. The machine will weigh just under 1.25 tons, so even dismantling will still leave you with very heavy bits. How do you intend to get it off the trailer, van or truck ? It's to heavy for most engine cranes ! Do you have the manual for the machine ? Good Luck. Noel.

I have hired a bobtailed plant trailer. It has a full width ramp that's only 13 degrees. I intend to roll it down the ramp on the pallet truck controlled by a chain block.

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

That would worry me sliding down 13 degree slope. You would need to leave trailer attached to tow vehicle and I think pack under the tail. I think there is every chance it will tip. I would find someone with a hiab lift and get it dropped directly onto skates or scaffold bars. Mine was delivered by a hiab equipped wagon. I bought a toe jack to be able to lift it if rollers after moved it the last little bit.

best of luck but be very careful. My Colchester lathe was slid off a four wheel trailer but it ran away with us even on end of a winch. Luckily no one hurt or anything damaged.

If you have to roll it off the trailer I would do it on scaffold poles not using the pallet truck. If the steering wheel hits any tiny bit of grit it will change direction instantly and the pallet truck will swing round. 
colin

Edited By Colin Heseltine on 10/01/2022 22:08:39

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Rolling it off the trailer is frought with great danger and likely to end in tears, using a pallet truck is almost asking for trouble that could kill you ! Pay someone with a hiab to lift it off, the book gives 2 methods, strops or an eye bolt ! Please be careful ! Noel.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Like everyone who has shifted machines by knife'n fork methods I've got a selection of scary tales!

When I bought mine home a friend scrounged a knockdown type gantry lift which we assembled over the trailer. Big chain winch raised it straight up with no drama. Pulled the trailer clear and slid my big moving dolly underneath. Easy and undramatic. Given the choice that would be my chosen method if direct delivery via Hi-Ab can't be arranged.

As Colin said leave the trailer hitched to the vehicle and support the ramp. Got involved helping a friend who "knew what he was doing" (ahem!) and unhitched a trailer in similar circumstances. Which promptly lifted at the front as we moved the machine moved back a bit, turning into a ramp in an unplanned manner.

Ooops.

Even with a chainfall , winch or come-along its likely to be ill mannered sliding down the ramp. Two helpers, one each side, armed with 6 ft scaffold poles having the ends flattened, as per my previous post, will make life much easier. Plenty of leverage means the machine can easily be straightened out should it decide to deviate. With only a single point restraint it will try to twist.

Clive

[Alexander MossParticipant @alexandermoss]

I moved a Bridgeport up a 1 in 5 slope by bolting long, heavy, (8in x 4in) timbers across its hold-down points and making a secure fixing for a large Rawlbolt in the garage floor. I then dragged it into the garage workshop using a winch. I also hired a long crowbar which had small wheels as a pivot. This allowed me to raise the machine so as to remove the wood and then drop the machine in small steps onto the ground, about 1in at a time, using planks of wood as steps. If you can rig a rope or chain to a high point in your workshop, the Bridgeport has a threaded hole in the top of the ram designed, I believe, for lifting. My machine has a listed weigh of 19cwt.

Roy Moss

[Author]

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