Hi all! I just bought a PCNC 770 that’s in another state. I’d like to move it myself to save money. I know I’ll need an engine hoist, a pallet jack, and the lifting bar kit.
Once the mill is off the base, can I get it inside a small enclosed U-Haul trailer? The ceiling is only 4ft 9in high, and I worry the engine hoist won’t clear the ceiling of the trailer to lift it onto the trailer deck.
Does anyone in Colorado have a lifting bar kit I can borrow?
Thanks!
Once you get the mill off the stand you should be fine just rolling the mill into the trailer. and then you can lower it onto some wood to get it off the pallet jack.
Just keep in mind if it tilts past center of gravity it’s probably going all the way. If you bolt it to a couple 2x4 then it can sit on those all the way and it makes a nice wide base. The stand is a lot easier as it has the cutout.
Anchor the bolt at the top of the column to the floor at least 3 places, don’t use flimsy anchors on the trailer walls unless there’s no other option. and no bat turns.
You might have to use some chainfall or winch or a couple big guys to go up the trailer ramp.
You can also investigate if your engine hoist will roll under the bottom of the trailer (assuming it has no ramp tailgate or one can be removed). That gets you a bit more height to work with, unless the trailer roof is only 4’9” from the ground which might be very tight.
I found a Tormach page with drawings of the mill, including one showing that it’s approximately 57” tall with the lifting bar installed. The door opening on the biggest enclosed U-Haul trailer is only 61” high. (There’s no ramp.) That will be a very tight fit, unless I can omit two of the shackles to get the lifting bar closer to the lift point.
Can anyone measure the distance between the holes on the lifting bar? Perhaps I will make my own low-profile version.
It wound up being much cheaper than I expected to pay professionals to move the mill, so I went that route. As for the lifting kit, folks on the Hobby Machinist forum suggested using an adjustable leveling bar from Harbor Freight. It’s a fraction of the price of the OEM lifting bar, and I can buy it in person instead of paying for shipping.