Looking to borrow a chain hoist to remove the large riser from bridgeport milling machine

[David Ortiz-Grob]

I have spoken with Bill Piepmeyer, the owner of the large mill in the metal shop and have secured permission to take the 8" spacer out from beneath the head of the bridgeport. This will accomplish several things. It will allow smaller projects to be attempted on the mill with more accuracy since the quill will not need to be fully extended to get close to the table and it will make the mill vastly more accessible to makers. Even I, a fairly tall person, struggle to get tools in an out of the quill and changing speeds on the belts is impossible without a chair. Taking it off the pallet would also make it more useable and a lot more stable.

Assuming we can find a chain hoist, who's in? 

[Ben Hibben]

I have located a hoist that can likely do this work.

I would strongly object to taking it off the pallet, though, as it will no longer be able to be moved as easily if necessary.

Blenster

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On Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 2:46 PM, David Ortiz-Grob <david.or...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have spoken with Bill Piepmeyer, the owner of the large mill in the metal shop and have secured permission to take the 8" spacer out from beneath the head of the bridgeport. This will accomplish several things. It will allow smaller projects to be attempted on the mill with more accuracy since the quill will not need to be fully extended to get close to the table and it will make the mill vastly more accessible to makers. Even I, a fairly tall person, struggle to get tools in an out of the quill and changing speeds on the belts is impossible without a chair. Taking it off the pallet would also make it more useable and a lot more stable.

Assuming we can find a chain hoist, who's in? 

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[David Ortiz-Grob]

That was my first thought at well. Removing the pallet was suggested by Bill.

[David Ortiz-Grob]

I wonder if there is a wider/lower/more sturdy pallet we could put it on instead removing it entirely

[Kevin Price]

Is the pallet under the bridgeport a safety issue? I don't know much about pallet dynamics, but what happens if the pallet cracks or gives out in some way, no matter how unlikely? 

[Ben Hibben]

We can perhaps swap it for one of the other pallets; we have several solid ones that should allay any concerns folks have.

Blenster

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[Tim Miller]

having it on a pallet makes it less safe to operate. taller than it should be and the controls are further out of reach.

[Ben Hibben]

We could put another pallet in front of of the unit to stand on to ease that issue.

Blenster

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[Luslugger]

I use an engine hoist rather than a chain hoist.  Harbor freight has the hoist for less than 200.00.  T
he 2inch square bars are mine.  Be sure you have the bolts used with no spacer
Bob Setree

[Tim Miller]

now you have another shelf in an already crowded room

[Ben Hibben]

It's a lot less crowded with the re-org that's been done; it's looking much better these days.

Blenster

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[Tim Miller]

anything laying on the floor with the sole purpose of being a step is a trip hazard.  moving this piece of equipment is not really an option without an expenditure to rewire an outlet.

[Kevin Price]

Aren't mills like that usually bolted into the floor as well? 

[David Ortiz-Grob]

They can be bolted to the floor for very heavy use but usually the shear weight (~2200lbs) is enough. I think a good solution would be to put/bolt the mill on some heavy steel skids that extend forward of the current base. The skids would be the minimum height for a pallet jack to get underneath it so that it can still be repositioned if need be and extending them forward would give the mill more stability in the most critical direction (towards the user) and not be at risk of crushing like a wooden pallet can be.

[David Ortiz-Grob]

Removing the riser will solve 90% of the accessibility issue since the table can be positioned much lower. We can put a step stool by the machine to help with tool changes etc. if the need arises.

[Patrick Joyce]

The main reason for the pallet still being there is that step one for removing the pallet is lifting the mill. It's been sitting in the same place for over a year now with no real reason to move it, it's a bit unnecessary to require that capability now.