I live in an area where it would be impossible to back a semi tractor-trail rig up my driveway. I spoke with the freight company about having them deliver the lathe in a "bobtail" truck but they said that it was either a semi truck or I pick it up myself. So I drove 25 miles to their freight yard and they fork lifted it into my pick up. It is important to block up the lathe so that it doesn't slide forward when you stop or backward when you accelerate. When a 600 pound crate slides forward and hits the box, it feels like you've been rear-ended. Luckily the air bags didn't go off. I unloaded the crate myself using an engine hoist and a ramp. Then I put the bed on a pair of furniture dollies are rolled it into my shop. I used the engine hoist and a friend to attach the legs. One of the holes in the bed had to be drilled out (crud/swarf) to get the fastener in.
BTW, save the crate until you've checked out everything on the lathe and are satisfied. Check that the motor is firmly attached. My motor was loose and was listing at about a 15 degree angle. It was literally hanging on my a couple of threads on two of the four mounting bolts (I found the other two were missing and were found inside the casting at the bottom). One of the two bolts holding the motor tightening lever had fallen out and were rattling around in the crate. The bolts that are supposed to tighten the legs against the bed for shipping were loose and the bottom leg had the paint worn off where it slid across the bed. I would be interested in knowing whether your spindle threads look really nice and professional or whether they are ragged/rough and perhaps with a wire edge on the leading and trailing edges. I think that it is something that Grizzly may be currently addressing as a running production change.
Mine sat in the crate for a couple of weeks, until I could muster the courage to attempt it by myself. When it was delivered, I pryed the top open and inspected before the driver left. He was kind enough to use his pallet jack to lift it onto the 2 4-wheel dollies I bought from HF. After the 2 weeks of fretting, I knocked the crate apart carefully. Then I removed the tail stock, and the power head, and rotated the bed so I could attach the legs sideways, and tightened it all up. I was able to stand the bed & legs up on the floor and removed the base of the crate. Putting the tail stock on was no problem. I waited for a friend to come over to hoist the head stock onto the bed. The joint effort was well worth the wait, as I could not budge the headstock off the floor by myself. I hope you have strong helpers, and make sure to inspect for damages prior to signing off. Mine was secured properly, but others had loose legs in the crate that marred the ways.
I did mine solo and you can too if need be. Just go slow because it is very heavy. You can break it down in pieces as mentioned above and assemble in the workshop from there. Good luck and enjoy. Red
I decided to pick mine up at the truck terminal. This way I could back up to my shop door and unload with a little help from the young man across the street. I removed the two stops on each end of the bed, but I could not slide either the headstock or the tailstock off the bed due to the large screw that sticks down between the ways. Both of them where 1/16" to long to pass the end of the bed. I just unbolted the entire bed from the wood frame and pried up each end, one at a time, to reach under the way and screw off the big nuts. Before I put the tailstock back on I trimmed off about 1 thread off the end of the bolt to make sure I can slide the tail stock off anytime I need to in the future.
That large screw is meant to be a safety stop. You can easily take off tailstock or headstock by using a screw driver in the slot, and taking it out temporarily. If you were to not be thinking and slide the tailstock to the end of the ways, and off the end, that will not be a pretty sight. I recommend that folks leave the safety stops in, and if they need to take the tailstock or headstock off, then remove the stop temporarily.
The shipping weight of the headstock is around 220 pounds - - perhaps the heaviest single component. In theory, you could remove the motor but that would entail disconnecting the electrical connections or cutting them. The shipping weight of the two legs is 140 pounds (so maybe they weigh 120 # together or 60# each). I would guess that the tailstock weighs in the neighborhood of 80 pounds. I'd guess that the bed weighs around 150 but that is just a guess. I have an engine hoist, so I used that to pull the ~ 650 # crate from the back of my pick up truck (my shipper would not - - for some unknown reason - - provide lift gate service). I used a furniture dolly to roll the bed (with headstock) into my workshop. I used an engine hoist to lift the bed to a height the allowed me to attach the legs. end pt. 1
Pt. 2: I had help keeping the bed level while we were attaching the legs. It might be been possible by myself but certainly more difficult, especially attaching the first set of legs while the bed is dangling semi-level. If you can somehow line up some neighbor or friend to help, that will reduce your chance of damaging something or injuring yourself. Take it slow, methodical and don't take any chances.
I live on a dead-end street and the shipping company would not come down my street. I went to the terminal with my utility trailer, and they were very nice enough to use a fork-lift to load it for me. I strapped the crate down so the crate wouldn't shift for the 35 mile trip back home. I bought an engine hoist ( on sale at HF for $99 ) and disambled the crate and lathe on the trailer. I then strapped the headstock to a furniture dolly and the bed to two dollies. I then backed the trailer to the steps of the shop, lowered the gate, rolled them up the ramp and in the door. The tailstock and legs followed on a two wheel cart. Inside the shop I used the hoist to lift the bed and bolt the legs on,, then lifted the headstock in place and the tailstock last. I'm 71 and have a bad back. I had no friends or neighbors to help and I have to learn to do those things on my own. The $99 for the hoist was money well spent. Love the G0766 Jay
Jay I am in the same boat you are in but I am 77, so when I ordered my lathe I also ordered Grizzly's hydraulic table lift and it was my extra help to get everything assembled. The table also helped me load my older Nova lathe on to the biers truck to help with the sale. Even with my son here to help we still used the table. The table is not a waist because I have used it for other projects and as it turns out to be money well spent. I also used the table to lift the lathe from the assembly area to it's final resting spot.
