HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

[Alistair Hosie]

I bought my milling machine and a lathe as most of you know a year ago last may.
I have been sitting with it under my carport for all that time finishing my woodshop (well almost finished) .
This year I was determined to get my machine shop made which I am converting from my carport.
Which I never use for the car.
I have been busily making it from the inside as most of it is already up and standing but this means moving machinery doing a bit and then moving it again.
Several weeks ago a major landmark was achieved, when I got a platform made at the back and the mill and all the other heavy stuff, apart from my lathe, was moved onto it.
I have one major problem which is from the rear of my carport to the front there is a very large gradient as I live on a steep hill.
In was almost beginning to think that I would need to wait till next year, as many people who promised me they would move my lathe which is a ton and a quarter have repeatedly let me down (typical tradesmen).
The latest guy who promised to move it,I have been waiting patiently for nearly two months as he has a forklift which has a long reach but as we all know like most workmen he is always away somewhere else and never comes when he promises.
Anyway I was getting a bit down and feeling that I would not see any action as my lathe was sitting at the front of my carport and stopping the construction of the new floor.
I had a visit today unexpectedly from my best friend Irving we go way back to schooldays together he was my best man at our wedding etc, after lunch took a look at it,( he works with heavy machinery).
He is an engineer with hydraulic bus lifts/ramps you know the kind you drive buses onto to be fixed well he said to me (I couldn't believe it)it looks quite heavy Al what is it a ton ?I said a ton and a quarter .Where do you want it to go he asked there I said pointing to a spot some six to eight feet away meaning the lathe would have to be turned also He took off his jacket and said never mind the forklift in any case it won't work on this steep slope.
A point I had not thought of, I will soon move it for you he said,I said you're joking that thing is heavy.
Within the hour it was sitting where I wanted right from the start.
This has pleased me more than anyone will know and I am now able to build around it and get my workshop finished Alistair grinning like a cheshire cat

[WJHartson]

Alistair,

Glad that you got the machinery all in place and that you can get the rest of the shop floor finished. Know you will be glad when the shop is complete and you can start doing some machining and build the things that you want.

Joe

[Allan Waterfall]

Alistair,

Just think, if you'd been in America you could have paid him in GREENbacks.

Allan

[Evan]

Alistair,

Just how did he move it?

[Guero]

I'm with Evan. How did he move it?

[Mike W]

Yeah, can he also bend spoons by looking at them?

[Alistair Hosie]

He simply put a heavy five foot pry bar under it and used brute force.I swear,I never believed a human could move such a weight by them selves, but he did.
Eventually when he got it off the boards it was on, he put rollers under it or asked me to do that when he lifted it at the front.
In any case I am over the moon all this time this guy is athird dan judo man with a lifetime weight lifitng experience behind him still that's alot of weight.Alistair Ps I can't tell you how relieved and happy I am at being at last able to move ahead.

[Allan Waterfall]

You'll be wanting to know what he wears under his kilt next.

Allan

[John Stevenson]

Wimp

[Pete Burne]

Alistare:

My experience with riggers is that they were all 5-1/2 feet tall and 5-1/2 feet in diameter.

I would walk over to their pry bar, lean on it and my feet would come off the ground. They would walk over to the bar, push their belly over it, grunt, and the machine would rise up; and their heels never left the ground!!

I gotta eat more pasta and drink more beer!!

Pete