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QUESTION:I have been thinking of converting a corner of my basement into a metal
shop, probably starting with a slip roller, but ultimately going to a
mill, etc. The general question is how to get a heavy piece of
equipment down the stairs? In my case I need to get it up two steps
from the attached garage, across four feet of linoleum (sp?) and then
down a dozen carpeted steps. If you want to be specific, let's talk
about an Enco Slip roll, 50 inch by 16 gage capacity, weighing 528 lbs,
according to the catalog. Obviously a mill or lathe would weigh more,
but it might be feasible to break it down to pieces 500 pounds or less.
I assume that I could skid 500 pounds on the level if I had to, or
better, put it on rollers. I could certainly get a neighbor or two to
help me, but I don't want to risk injury to anyone.
I have all kinds of clever ideas, including mounting the equipment on a
kind of skid, laying down wooden tracks on the stairs, and using a cable
hoist to lower it, but maybe there is a better solution that I have not
considered. Obviously, this is not something that I would do
frequently, but I would like a solution that was flexible enough to use
the next time I bought something heavy.
Moving equipment on the level seems straightforword, put it on casters.
I figure to buy an engine hoist that I can break down and pack away
when I don't need it, which I would use to lift up heavy machines to put
them on a stand, etc.
ANSWER: Many people are leery of giving advice in a situation where one dumb
move could easily kill someone. That having been said, I have skidded
600 pound machines down 2x4 ramps using a come-along. The only tricky
part is attaching the come-along at the top, and attaching the hook
to the machine.
Does your basement have any outside stairs? I had a lot of luck once
I found out about knuckle boom trucks. They can lower machines right
down external stairwells. I had one for a long time but sold it
recently.
Guy Lautard wrote that a friend of his chose a weekend when his wife
would be gone, and he cut a large hole in his living room floor, built
a heavy framework supported clear down to the earth, lowered in a lathe
and a mill, and then fixed the hole in the living room floor before she
got home.
I used to get guys to help me, but not neighbors. I picked guys who
had plenty of years in the construction trades, who have seen a whole
lot of heavy things moved by pro riggers. Basically, it comes down to
common sense. I moved my whole machine shop with just me and my partner,
Karen, whose dad was an engineer and who got to be a pretty fair rigger.
We did fine.
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