Give me a lever, and a fulcrum on which to place it

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Ok everyone, I have/had been looking around for a bigger/better/more robust lathe for my “retirement shop”.

Now my “plan” is/was to buy the “big tools” while I am still “working for the Man” and I have been earnestly looking for the “Mac Daddy” lathe.

Well I got a little carried away at the last auction, (which is damn easy to do BTW) and this little fella “accidentally” got bought.

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Ok, full disclosure: I am not sure/doubt if this will actually be my “forever lathe” as promised to Mrs. RWS, but it is probably the biggest one I could actually fit down the stairs.

Kinda like that 44 Magnum Henry rifle that was gonna be my “last gun”…but I digress…

I “guesstimate” that it weighs in at a “svelte” 1,000 lbs’ish

But first things first.

I am pretty sure my stairs could handle the weight, but this picture of me and my “new to me” lathe, crashing through the stairs and landing in a crumpled heap of blood and twisted metal kept flashing in my mind.

So I decided to “hedge my bets” and “shore up” the stairs.

Last time I did this (for my big safe) I used a series of 2x4’s cut and placed strategically. here is the area before.

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instead of timber I decide to use my “hoist jack stands”.

But the small “footprint” is not sitting well in my already crowded mind…

Hmmmm…what to do?..what to do???

Ah ha!!! It’s off to the “newly organized” scrap pile…

And they they are…the remains of the “failed PHD stand”

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This is will give me a “bigger footprint” but I am still not “lovin it”

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I decide that they would be better employed on that middle “stringer” so off to the drill press to make some mounting holes.

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Then I attach them to the middle “stringer” with som lag screws/bolts?

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This gives me that “warm and fuzzy” feeling I was looking for.

After that, it’s out to the garage.

So I borrowed my BIL’s “cherry picker” to get it on the porch. (what an odd name…Cherry Picker)

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then make a ramp to get it into the “foyer”

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It is at this point, where I am at a “cross roads” of sorts.

I originally planned to just use two 2x8’s to protect the tile as I roll it “Egyptian Style” across the floor; but again, the image of me hearing that “pop!” sound as I crack a floor tile, then envisioning Mrs. RWS going from "calm and nice, to Full Blown Apeshit Pissed Off at the speed of light, goes though my mind.

So its off to Home Depot to grab 2 sheet of 3/4" plywood to lay down as “insurance”.

(Next house is gonna have a 1st floor work shop, for sure!!! I am tired of this downstairs BS)

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Well all is going well, but the legs of the “cherry picker” do not allow for me to get as close to the porch as I would like.

And pulling it “by hand” is a “losing battle” for my old fat ass. (I swear I could have done it 25 years ago?)

So it’s off to HF to get some help from Nicholi Teslea.

I am having a hard time figuring out how to “anchor it” but after 2 “botched” attempts, I place the board across the opening and use the walls and use a 2x8 to bridge the gap.

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It’s about this time that the “safety Nazi” in me, goes on break for a while.

The damn “safety lever” keeps tripping the hoist due to the angle, so after abut 20 times of stopping , I decide to employ the “angle grinder”.

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From there all is going as planned.

I cut down 2 aluminum bars to act as rollers and she pulls across those 2x8’s and plywood floor protectors like “butter”.

It took longer than expected to turn 90 degress, so about 30 minutes later and we are “transitioning” to the “down slide” part.

Here is my grandson “giving me and grandma advice” on how to proceed…[image]

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Now the the moment we have all been waiting for…“The Descent”…

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I do not like the idea of a “single smallish Chi-Com cable” being the only thing between the anchor point and my 1K pound lathe as it decends.

So when I was at HF, I also picked up a 2 ton “chain fall” to act as a “safety stop” in case things go “kaddi-wampus”

Just like I did when I put the “big safe” down there years ago, I decide to use the walls as an anchor point.

To avoid damaging the walls and paint, I grab my soft “Snatch Strap” and use the ends to attach both “Teslea” and the “chain fall”.

Although I dislike using the same anchor point for both my “main” and my “secondary” hoisting machines, I reason that the snatch strap is rated at something like 15,000 to 20,000 lbs, so we should be good. (I can’t remember the actual rating but was in that area)

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OFF WE GO!!!

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Here is the Mrs. “manning the chain fall”, and doing a fine job!!!

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Slow and steady wins the race here.

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The Eagle has Landed!!!

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As you can see, I had to use Teslea again to pull it when it got to the base of the stairs, I tried prybars but could not get a “bite on it”.

Now I gotta get that damn cherry picker down the stairs to lift it in place this weekend.

I also have to decide on the fate/placement of the other 2 lathes.

I am not good with “change”, but some difficult decisions have to be made soon.

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@Cletus would love this

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All I can say is you are equipment moving machine. My back hurts just looking at the pics🤣

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You might as well plan to have a Murphy bed in your next shop. I am afraid you might need it!!!

They have got to be related

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If I fits I sits.

Basically @RunsWithScissors

Nice job.

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Hell yeah!! :rofl: :rofl: :beers:

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@RunsWithScissors Great job.

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RWS: Just so you know why we are comparing you to Cletus, here is a picture of his process of bringing his new machine in his shop thru the kitchen:

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Thanks @ChelanJim for the clarification.

If his shop was a little messy’r this could be a case of “separated at birth” :rofl: :joy: :sweat_smile: :beers:

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I’m never gonna live that down, am I? :rofl:
But, that caper was pulled off soooo smoothly! :rofl: :rofl: :beers:

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You guys need to meet up and share ideas🤣

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This is exactly how someone’s car gets put on top of a storage container when it parks blocking the shops doors. Lol

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Nope. You and RWS have now entered the official Darwin wing of the Langmuir Museum…Oops! Wrong wing! Langmuir “Where there’s a Will there is a WAY!” Wing.

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For some reason this thread reminds me of this:

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i have the same lathe, grizzly G4003G, i bought mine new about 8 years ago. good lathe. bought a 2hp 3ph motor and VFD about 5 years ago for it, yet to put it on. also bought the taper turning attachment about 3 years ago, its still in the box… have a Jacobs rubberflex collet chuck and a 5c collet chuck for it. going to scrape in the crossslide when i get time. the ways are not parallel. the compound ways are also needing a good scraping. if youre not using the compound slide i’de machine a slab of iron to take its place. and dont ever take the ways out of the bed gap. it will never go back the same.

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@Dirty_Bill

Thanks for the advice.

I was thinking about trading out the motor as well, but have decided to give this one a shot for a while just for finance reasons.

I originally wanted a “big lathe” for my future “retirement shop”, but I got a little carried away at the auction, so this one will have to do for the next little while I guess.

I got it from an “estate auction” but the guy before me had already removed the “gap bed” :rage:

So I will have to see about trying to remedy his mistake.

I mean really man,… it clearly states in the manual that if you remove the gap, you will “probably” not get it back in place!!! But he did it anyway. :rage: :rage: :rage:

All in all, it should be an improvement over my 10 inch Craftsman that has no “quick change gear box”.

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i cant image why you would remove it, the only way you could spin something that big would be from the faceplate or between centers with the chuck removed. not to mention the cross slide doesnt have enough travel to face anything that large.

if you dont have one already get a good machinists level. these may seem like they are rigid enough but they will twist if not properly leveled. the starrets are expensive, but a Stanley #34 is comparable to a starrett 98. and theres a couple on ebay for a reasonable price.

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And after what it just went through, it’s going to need to relax for a little bit in level position and then check it every couple of weeks

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