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Moving lathe pull it completely apart?

djberta

djberta

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
So my issue currently is that the Standard Modern 9 inch lathe I got at the beginning of the summer is far to heavy to get in to my basement. The question is should I take it completely to pieces? I have already removed the cross slide. Apron. I am hesitant to remove the gear box and head from the ways. Any help will be appreciated as I am dying to get back to my projects.
 
I would be hesitant to remove the head casting as realignment can be a real bear and it may never be as good as it is now.
 
I took my 9" Utilathe into the basemen in pieces. Dropping the QCGB is no issue. Take the lead screw off first obviously. The brass shear pin holding the lead screw to the QCGB is tapered so keep track of that. Mark the GB and lead screw so that the taper can be realigned. The head has a V that matches the bed and went back together no problem at all.

I think you'll find your cabinet/stand is the heaviest item to move.

Craig.
 
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I'd resist taking the head off if you can. Take the rest of it off the cabinets and then find a bunch of guys to help you move it downstairs.

A 9" lathe should be doable.
 
Susquatch said:
I'd resist taking the head off if you can. Take the rest of it off the cabinets and then find a bunch of guys to help you move it downstairs.

A 9" lathe should be doable.
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I used to install furnaces decades ago, back when I was young and strong. I was removing an old heavy oil furnace with a welded steel heat exchanger. I was lifting the bulk of the weight from the bottom while my helper was just holding the furnace enough to take a little weight and to keep the top of the furnace from catching on a stair tread.

Without any warning my helper just let go and the furnace pushed me over and landed on me. Needless to say that was that helpers last day and I never again trusted anyone I didn't know to move anything on stairs heavier than a loaf of bread.

A lathe is heavy enough to kill. mitigate the risk by sliding it down the stairs on scaffold planks. If you can find an anchor point use a winch to control the descent
 
I have some experience in this area, having helped to move a 3800lb lathe down to a basement as well as a 7X42 Bridgeport mill down there as well. I then brought almost the entire shop back up those stairs.

We reinforced the stairs, as bringing the 975 lb main column for the mill went down those stairs, and had to go back up the stairs, as well. Everything except the 8' long lathe bed went up the stairs as well. The short story is there are options. The move going up took 2 months to plan, 2 months to prepare for, and 1 day to execute.

I need to express a serious and potentially controversial point. there is NO room for 'opinions' in this matter. Moving things this heavy done wrong are life threatening situations. If you rig a lathe wrong, you can bend a lead screw or injure your crew.

If you are in/near Calgary, I can have a look at your situation, and perhaps help you out.
 
I have taken two SM lathes down to the component level (10” Utilathe and 11” Utilathe). They are very straightforward machines. The entire lathe breaks down into pieces that one person can carry (at least it was for the 10” & 11” lathes). The base cabinet is the heaviest item - it would take two people. Of course when assembling make sure everything is clean. The bed extends all the way under the head stock gearbox - it is very simple to align (make sure both the bed and mating surfaces are clean and free of burrs). If need be it would be easy to shim adjust (except I found it was not necessary for the two SM machines that I worked on).

There are several SM lathe folks here on CHM that can help talk you through taking the typical small SM lathe apart. Shoot me a PM if you want to talk through any of the details.
 
[update] I see you are in the Leduc area. This is a little far to properly help out in real time. We might have a video call and I can help to plan your move.

BTW I regretted disassembling my 12X37 lathe when I moved it - 35 years ago.. That was before I had built up more moving experience. I now know a lot more about moving lathes and mills.
 
TorontoBuilder said:
Without any warning my helper just let go and the furnace pushed me over and landed on me. Needless to say that was that helpers last day and I never again trusted anyone I didn't know to move anything on stairs heavier than a loaf of bread.
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Had this sorta happen carrying a dead guy in his coffin at a funeral. Fkn Kid at one end just let go and the guy next to him had been trained to drop and jump...... I ended up with 1/4 (maybe more) of the load in my hands and back. Good news is that unlike the young guys, I have old man strength - I didn't drop him and a lady jumped in to take their spots.

Gear box oil is one thing, but can you imagine breaking a coffin open? And I was on the door side! HOLY FK! Everybody still talks about it years later.
 
I wouldn't hesitate to pull the headstock, after checking to make sure its the common type that registers on V ways (almost sure it is, but haven't owned that exact SM model). The only reason it wouldn't just perfectly bolt back into aligned on the inverted V was if something was serious wrong with the lathe and it had been shimmed. That is highly unlikely, and if so, you've got bigger problems. Standard modern scraped the headstock into alignment on the V and the mating surfaces don't wear.

Take lots of photos as it comes apart. I'm current on the same mission with the 102VM, complete with cast iron chip tray and stand. That is a complicated machine lol!
 
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Susquatch said:
Had this sorta happen carrying a dead guy in his coffin at a funeral. Fkn Kid at one end just let go and the guy next to him had been trained to drop and jump...... I ended up with 1/4 (maybe more) of the load in my hands and back. Good news is that unlike the young guys, I have old man strength - I didn't drop him and a lady jumped in to take their spots.

Gear box oil is one thing, but can you imagine breaking a coffin open? And I was on the door side! HOLY FK! Everybody still talks about it years later.
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I know it probably wasn't then, but time has passed. That is funny stuff right there......or, maybe I am just a morbid SOB. :rolleyes:
 
140mower said:
I know it probably wasn't then, but time has passed. That is funny stuff right there......or, maybe I am just a morbid SOB. :rolleyes:
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Never met you but I'm pretty sure your sense of humour and mine are so similar.

Truth is that it wasnt funny during the funeral but it sure as hell was at the reception after the funeral. The guy on the bars opposite me took great pains to describe the look on my face in exquisite detail. As he put it, you could literally watch the mental calculations happening in real time as I realized which side the hinge was on...... Nobody had a dry eye after that. The guy in the coffin was famous for practical jokes and his wife said he prolly planned the whole thing in advance.

You should never put teenage guys on the ends of anything except a sharp stick.
 
Use a heavy duty 2 wheel dolly & strap the lathe bed to it with some ratchet straps and moving blankets/cardboard.

After removing the tailstock/carriage/leadscrew/(headstock IF needed.)

2 people could easily do it, afternoon job. Should be able to use it for the cabinet too if you get the ones that movers use on fridges etc. Or rogersrentall has powered stair climbers for $85/4 hrs

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My shop is basically a large shed in my yard so to get all my machines in and out over the years they all were taken apart until the peaces were manageable for 1 or 2 guys and a 2 wheel dolly. 1 lathe 8 feet long from the 1800's, 1 lathe about 5 feet long but twice as heavy as the other one also from the 1800, a 10" atlas lathe, a RF45 clone mill, and a very heavy homemade mill mad mostly out of plate.

Just make sure you take your time taking things apart. Play close attention to how things fit and take lots and lots of pictures from many angles of how you take it apart and how the pieces fit. And make sure the pieces are manageable before you start moving them on stairs. Like others have said the dangerous part is the stairs.
 
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