BP Series I Rigid Ram balance point.

[SJorgensen]

Ok this question is pretty specific but if anywhere anyone knows the answer it will be here. I've found a truck to move my mill. The truck is used in moving decorative stone pallets and it has a hydraulic lift arm that is near the cab rated well over 4000lbs. I plan on slinging the mill this time from the rigid ram arm after removing the nameplates on the arm. I'm told there is a hole through the arm under the plates. The mill is 7'3" and the door openning is 7'10" so I hope that I can place it where it needs to be. I only wish I knew ahead of time where that balance point will be so that it will lift level. Should I set the mill down on a sheet of plywood or a sheet of 1/4" steel for dragging purposes? It might not be that big a deal, or the whole job can turn into a bitch quickly. It's always easier after the first time. The last time the machine was moved on the forks of a forklift and they were set narrow. It was tippy and nerve wracking. I want this to be a no brainer.

[Rustybolt]

There is no real balance point. The idea is to get the center of gravity as low as you can. Nomatter what you do it's gonna want to tip forward because that's where all the weight is.Push the ram as far back as it will go while the head is tilted as low as it can go. Lower the table. Sling it around the ram , not the head.

[JRouche]

Probably not much help but my dovetail ram has a tapped hole for a lifting eye bolt. The hole would be pretty much centered over the column with the ram moved all the way back towards the rear of the machine. Does your ram have a tapped hole also, that would be the center of gravity on yours? JRouche

Also,it sounds scary, but if your lift is sufficiently strong, personally I would not have a problem dragging the mill (I'll prolly git grief for this one) with a piece of plywood or sheet metal firmly attached the bottom. You would only be dragging it enough to clear the ceiling, not down the street. The mill would have to be tipped over severely but in reality that is not a problem. A lift strong enough to safely move the mill should also be able to lift it from a horizontal position as well as place it horizontally (slowly) without breaking a sweat..


[This message has been edited by JRouche (edited 11-10-2004).]

[wierdscience]

If I read your post right,it is a rigid ram mill,I.E. no moveable ram like on a regular b-port,so in that case the balance point should be right over the vertical way that the knee rides up and down on.If you can sling it over that you could adjust your CG by moving the table in or out.

As far as moving it once its on the ground,if you have a level floor or driveway the method I use is a series of 3/4 or 1" steel pipes,about six is a good number,set it down on those and roll or pull it Egyptian style,you can even steer the machine by laying each free pipe on a slight angle.
Another method is the one John S uses, where he sets the machine down on two lengths of small steel rod like 1/2 or 5/8 and prys it along with a pinch bar.All of this works assuming you have concrete or asphalt.

[This message has been edited by wierdscience (edited 11-11-2004).]

[Rustybolt]

What weird says about the pipes. Make sure the floor is swept really clean. It only takes a small chip or piece of debis to halt the whole operation.

[JCHannum]

Stick with pipes or similar method of moving the machine. Sliding greased angle or flat bar works well too.

Do not tip or tilt it if lifting with an eye bolt. These are designed for straight lift. If you tilt, you are apt to bend and break the bolt.

[ibewgypsie]

I did have a dozen 5/8" solid bars.. Now I have used them to build a couple handicap controls.

Solid bars will not crush, THE old shaper I have, I moved it to the non heated side of my building. It crushed 3/4" water pipe like nobody's business.

Woke up with a metal sliver or something else in my eye.. No shoptime for me today.

There was something in the manual about slinging bridgeports.. I use on a vram the ways with a 2x4 under them on top of the forks. SInce yours does not have that, I think a dual sling w/chain fall on one end to adjust load like a drawbar-balance bar on a cherry picker.

Once you get in down, I'd set it on the solid bar and take a pinch bar and inch it inside.

Don't get in a hurry and everything will be alright. When you get it into place, have help smart enough not to put thier fingers under the rollers as you pinch up w/fulcrum to lift machine by one end. If machine drops on rollers while fingers are between them and concrete, goodbye fingers.

If'n you was close by, I got this set of dollies.. It is a good time for six foot pinch bars and johnson bars. A real dolly would not work since you have close doorways.

IF you have "no" rollers do you have a piece of 4" or so flatbar? It'll skid on that a lot easier than concrete. I hate scratching the concrete thou. ALways a chance.


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David Cofer, Of:
Tunnel Hill, North Georgia

[ibewgypsie]

Ohh yeah,, if the rollers go off in a direction all thier own, take a 2 lb shop hammer and steer them by tapping them.. easy to do once you try. I have knocked solid rollers back to the other end..

Would'nt it be nice if we all had toe jacks, johnson bars, forklifts and all the other things to make life eaier? The more you do, the more tools you accumulate.

I could have sold the dollies I made recently but not at the 1/2 day labor it took to make them. My time is worth something more to me than a few dollars a hour. WHY sell it cheap?
They are laying outside and are getting rustier.. HA.. soon will look cheap..

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David Cofer, Of:
Tunnel Hill, North Georgia

[SJorgensen]

Thanks guys. I'll try to post pictures after I get down to business. I haven't been inside the garage yet but it is very old and on a hillside. I'm betting the floor is uneven and cracked. I have some 3x3 angle iron lengths that might work as slides to move it from the entrance to further in. I hope to sling the load at the arm and place it inside the door on these rails. Then use a come-a-long and prybars to put her where she's gonna be.

Thanks,

It's always easier with the help of your experience.