Pushing a quarter ton up a hill

[Brian Kent]

When I got my Grizzly bandsaw (418 lbs shipping weight) and table saw (508 lbs), I gave the driver an extra 40 bucks and he wheeled the tools up to the garage. I am a few years older with a shorter, steeper driveway and don't take things for granted as much. Getting a 584 lb lathe crate up the driveway is something I need to take seriously. Suggestions? No, I don't have a tractor, a truck, a winch, or a forklift in my back pocket.

Also, I asked tech support about the spindle height on the G0766 and they said "47-3/4 inches". I thought they had changed that.

[Brice Rogers]

Brian, when I got my G0766, I had to pick it up at the Freight trucking company. Maybe it was because they couldn't deliver with a semi truck given the angle of my driveway, etc. I asked the Freight company if they could use a shorter truck (e.g., "bob-tail") and they said no. I also recall reading something that for the semi delivery that I needed to be prepared to offload the lathe myself and that I couldn't rely on the truck to have a lift gate. Maybe you have something better lined up.

So, if you pick up the lathe at the freight yard yourself (rent a Home Depot or U-Haul pickup or a friend with a pickup ?), your problem would be largely solved regarding getting up your driveway. Alternatively, if you had a pickup at your address, perhaps the freight company could offload into the pickup?

Some other alternatives - - break down the lathe into lighter components. The headstock weighs about 200 pounds. If you remove the motor, each piece probably weighs around 100#. The bed is probably 150 - 175 #, the tailstock - maybe 75#, the legs - - perhaps 50 pounds each. So, maybe you could use your car to "ferry" the individual pieces?

Height of the lathe/bed - - yes it is about 2 inches shorter - - assuming that they are sending you a new-stock lathe. If you read the new specs you'll see the new height. If you get one that is taller, complain and require them to ship you a new set of the shorter legs. But, I don't think that you'll have a problem.

Let us know what you eventually figure out for your issue.

[Roger Chandler]

Brian..........simple solution......rent an appliance dolly or get a larger handtruck from the same folks. Sand that lathe on end, motor end down, and strap that thing to the handtruck/dolly and have a friend there to help you. Keep it balanced on the wheels and they will carry the weight. You should have a friend there to help you uncrate and assemble the legs to the bed, and put the headstock on anyway.........trust me on this!!!

You can get lift gate service from Grizzly .....likely UPS Freight, but that will cost you extra. Depends on if you can get the semi backed up to your garage door, and if you have the room for the driver to do it fairly easily.

Brices idea is good as well. I picked mine up at the freight depot, some 40 miles away, and carried it back on my trailer, backed the trailer up to my shop and uncrated it on the trailer, and had arranged for a friend to be here when I got back.......it took all of 40 minutes for us to unpack and assemble the thing. Of course I already had the experience of unloading my former G0698 onto the back of my former Dodge Dakota pickup and used a couple of boards as a ramp from the end of the tractor trailer into my pickup bed......lots of ways with a little thinking.......work smart, not hard!

A couple of furniture dollies, one for each end, and push it up the driveway. The freight truck driver needs to be able to take a pallet jack and lift it high enough to allow getting the dollies underneath. That might require lift gate service.

[Roger Chandler]

Brian....the revised manual has 46.25" for spindle height. The Specs sheet has the old 47.75" and likely the tech you spoke with just took a quick look at the spec sheet.......the info one gets a times is a bit confusing! One poster over on the GGMG measured his against a friends [both 0766's]. And his friends was gotten in December 2015....his in June 2015, and his friends is 2" shorter.

It appears some changes to specs were made after the first two shipments, but not all info was updated accordingly....at least that is how it appears at this point. For what it is worth, I put my leg castings down all the way on the foot pads with both nuts on top, and my spindle height is 46-5/8". But this will only work if the location of the lathe is flat, and the foot pads need no adjustment from dead flat position. I was one of the first to get the 0766, so mine is the original height, exepting I did not follow the manual and put one nut under the leg casting, and one over the hole.

[Doug Ladendorf]

If you find yourself totally stuck (plan B or C) call a towing company with a rollback wrecker. Those are the flatbed trucks with a big winch. They could pull it up, move it, then slide it off. Might be $50 or so. I did this with my 3000 lbs Oliver and it worked like a charm.

[John K Jordan]

I've moved several heavy lathes several times, from the Jet 1642 to the Powermatic 3520b. What I always do is open the crate(if new) while it's still on the truck bed, disassemble everything possible (easy with sliding headstock) slide the pieces off the bed onto a little carpet-covered furniture dolly (or two), and roll it into the shop. This assumes you have it on your truck and there is a driveway all the way to the shop. If not, I'd still use the small hardwood furniture movers and push or pull it up the drive.

Disassembling it as far as possible also makes it easier to set up, especially working along. (I did have to use a car jack and build a stand to put the PM3520 together!)

But for your situation, I think some help would be good. I would buy some friends if necessary to come over, put it on the dollys, and use some rubber chocks to keep from losing ground or watching a run-away crate. A car or 4-wheeler with a rope could easily pull it up the hill. Is there a friendly farmer down the road with a tractor? I've happily moved very heavy things for neighbors with my tractor or bobcat.

You might also call a local furniture mover or piano mover to come do it, might be cheaper than you think since they don't have to haul it somewhere across town. I've had my baldwin grand piano moved which weighs way more than the lathe (close to 1100 lbs I think). Two BIG boys carried it down the steps and set it on one of the little furniture dollys.

Edit: I really like Doug's rollback truck idea!

JKJ

[Adam Herman]

i have moved heavy things like this and much heavier using some steel tubing such as fence posts and pushing it up or using a rope and pulley to haul it up an incline. tubes underneath for "wheels" and you are good to go.

[Clint Bach]

A word of caution here. The headstock or tailstock can hurt you if it is not clamped to the bed and one end of the bed is raised or lowered. It can slide on the bed and shift weight drastically. How do I know... Unexpected trip to the doctor.

c

[robert baccus]

Invest in a snatch block and slide the thing into your shop on a piece of plywood or a skid. A car will provide the pull and the block reverses the direction of pull. Need more pull--buy 2 snatch blocks and double your pull. Better yet borrow them both.

[Bob Bouis]

Take it apart and bring it in piece by piece like John said. No individual component will be so heavy that two reasonably healthy men can't move it. A hand cart or dolly or wheelbarrow might be nice to move the bed a long ways, though.

[Brian Kent]

Grizzly also sent me a second communication and said when the time comes they can see if any of the available shippers can do inside delivery for a little extra. I appreciate their extra effort. Otherwise I'll go for the friend(s) and a furniture cart or pick it up with a lift-gate truck. Thank you everyone.