Ok found a milling machine---> how to move it

B

Black Jack

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Ok guys, found a BusyBee milling machine in perfect condition with a lot of extras that would cost me a few penny to buy. It's a model B096 #30. I think it's gonna be a good one to start with and upgrade one day if I need too.

Now, this guy has it in the basement and it's 600lbs to move. It's on the bench that Busybee sells for them. I wanted to lift it from the base but there is a lip on the stand and if I try to support it on the lips I will damage the stand. I brought the head down as low as I could to lower the center of gravity. It's a type that you have to change the belt position on top to change the speed. It looks like it's gonna be top heavy. Second idea was to lift it with an engine crane from the bolt holes design to bolt on the stand. That won't work because the housing around the belt drive is larger than the base of the mill. Another idea and if it's ok, everything would be fine. Could I support it from the head?? If I would put a piece of angle underneath the head between the mill part and the shaft part I could lift it safely and would not damage anything. If I can do that, I could bring it anywhere I want and since the basement only has 4 stairs to the garage, I could probably drop it straight on the garage floor from the basement. I forgot to look for that but is it possible there would be a hook on top somewhere to lift if from? I don't want to try to move it and damage something important. Tks

First picture is a milling same model with same bench. Flimsy 45 deg lip on bench. Would not hold

Second pic is same type. Arrow points to where I would like to support it (behind the handle :)


B096_milling.jpg


milling_machine-2.JPG
 
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best bet would be to try and find the owners manual and it should tell you how to lift the machine.
Some machine tools dont like being lifted improperly it could damage them .

An engine hoist is plenty strong to lift a small mill like that one.
 
I would avoid lifting it by the hand. The bearings/sleeve isn't designed for lifting forces.

In would go around the head.
 
to install my milling and lathe in their spot in the garage, I used a scafold with swivel weels , a beem made of 4 2x10 and a chain hoist
the platform is there only to keep the 2 sections paralel because I had to remove the cross support on one side to push the lathe in position
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if your milling is similar to my PDM30, the frame of the head is hollow between the spindle and the column so you can insert a 3/4 or 5/8 threaded rod with lifting eye on top and a piece of angle bar with wood padding to lift

the weight will be almost perfectly balanced
 
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Dero338 your PDM30 is almost identical to this milling, I checked them too before finding this one. You are right, the head body is hollow right between the spindle and the shaft. The way i'm talking about doing is the same. Just that I would not go through it, I would lift it from the same spot though. The way the exploded view of the parts breakdown is showing, looks like the only thing the weight would be doing is forcing the shaft of 4.5" to bend. Don't think that would happen with half or 2/3 of the weight already in the head. I will still check with BB to see if they have a better idea. BTW the guy who brought it downstairs is deceased. It's the family who had it for sale and they are not in any shape or form to help me. Tks
 
Defiantly check the owners manual if there is no info on how to sling it call BusyBee. I have one of their lathes and milling machines. the lathe manual had instructions on how to lift it. the mill did not.
I strongly suspect that who ever put in the basement had to disassemble it and carry the parts down the stairs.

Remove the motor remove the head remove the column maybe the table too. A few pictures may help with reassembly.
Don't even think about trying to move it on the flimsy bench.
Bring some helpers a few cases of beer go a long way.

When you put it back together replace all the bolts with good quality fasteners. I have read that this helps greatly with rigidity.
Congratulations on your purchase! Check out some of the amateur/hobby machinist forums some amazing work is done on these milling machines.

Terry
 
TAC PRO said:
You should be able to easily remove the entire head from the column as one unit. Then remove the column from the base.
Click to expand...

That is how we moved a similar machine to a basement, as well the motor can be removed from the head. Just make sure you look for shims where the column bolts to the base and put them back properly and check the head to base after for square and level.
 
I bought mine new and mounted on a pallet. Had it delivered by a truck with a hydraulic tailgate and then into the basement on rollers. The support table is light and came separately. I put a pair of those woven nylon cargo slings around the head to lift with and bolted a sort of I beam to the floor joists over where I wanted the machine then lifted it with a come along and lowered it onto the table

cheers mooncoon
 
It's as simple and taking the machine apart.

Once you remove the top cap on the column you can run the head unit up and remove it from the column. But remove the motor first. Otherwise the head unit is pretty heavy. You'll still need two people to lift it anyway but removing the motor makes it less of a grunt.

With the head unit off the base and column is a little more workable. But likely as part of the set up you'll want to shim the column to base joint as needed to line up the column axis and table. So you may as well unbolt the column from the base and take it away as one piece.

If you find the base with table is still quite heavy it's quite easy to remove the table and cross slide. This is a little tricky as you need to remove the bolts from both the lead screw nut as well as the bearing block. By moving the table in or out fully you should expose the two fixing bolts for the cross slide lead screw nut. Loosen but leave in place for now. Remove the bolts from the front handle bearing block and screw the lead screw out of the base. Now remove the lead screw nut bolts and allow it to fall into the base. The whole table and cross slide unit should now be able to slide off the front of the dovetail. If it doesn't want to slide off with a bit of work then you'll need to loosen the gybe adjustment.

At this point there should not be any one piece that is too heavy for one or two people to handle. The re-assembly process is also a good time to perform a machine setup as well to check that the pillar and head is truly set up accurately. For that you'll want a dial guage on an arm which can sweep around and check that the guage is within less than a thou at the four points around the swing. The column to base needs to be shimmed as needed to set the trueness. And trust me, you'll need to true it.
 
The guys that are telling you to disassemble it, are on the money.

The machine will break down into manageable lumps, easy enough for two guys to get up a flight of stairs with on a furniture/appliance dolly.
Get a dolly with a strap that ratchets tight. Rent one from a moving supplies place if you gotta.

Remove the head (easy, straight off the top of the column), remove the table (some fiddly bits, but not rocket surgery) then the base assy of the mill with the column intact is a two person lift.
Don't try to carry this stuff up a set of stairs, eh. Your backs don't need it, and you only gotta drop on piece to hurt someone badly. Not to mention damage to the house, or the machine.

The sheet metal base should be last on the truck = first off. Assemble in reverse of the breakdown.

Got a dial indicator in the lot?

When you get the machine in place, post and say so, and you can get a bunch of info on setting the whole unit square and straight. Or search the term"Tramming a milling machine" on Google or youtube, to see what the drill is.

You might be lucky and have the mill be fairly straight, or you may need to shim the column a bit or a lot to get your alignment. Those are worries for later.

As much fun as it is to chase a bubble back and forth on a precision level, you don't need one bad enough to buy one. Having the head square to the table counts, having it square to the planet, well, that makes the coolant drain better, eh. If you can get both, great, but the money a good precision level costs (and the surface plate to calibrate it upon) is money better spent on tools you will use often. Borrow a level, if you can, and you feel the need. Otherwise, level it as well as you can with a carpenters level, and then square the head up, and it's good to go.

Try to keep in mind that you are not making parts for NASA here. Square and level withing a couple tenths is not as important as it is to someone that is. Withing a couple thou is going to be really good. Closer if you want to obsess, but if you are that hung up on it, you'll never be happy without spending the price of a house on a mill.

Village Press. Look for the mention of Mill-Drill adventures. Lots of great info there!

Cheers
Trev
 
I have a 16x48 lathe and a horiz/vertical grizzly knee mill. The mill was much worse to move, so damn tippy, at least the lathe has some length. The mill is still on the pallet because it is so hard to get off, I do have an engine hoist, it is just such a project. I braced up the pallet, it is working fine on it.
 
Disassemble.

I have a B096 as well.

I used cargo straps and a dolly to move the pieces around on my own.

1. Take off the motor (TAKE A PICTURE OF THE WIRING CONNECTIONS!!!)

2. Strip the head down (handles, cover, belt, etc) and raise it up, once it's as high as you can get it, 2 people can lift it up (or use cargo straps and ratched it up)

3. Unbolt the 4 bolts at the base of the column, and remove the column (easiest piece to move!)

4. Get 2-3 people to help move the base.

Good luck, TAKE YOUR TIME.

NS
 
burnt_servo said:
how many peices can you break it down into ?

even if you just take off the motor , and seperate the top half from the base you should have something that a couple guys can now carry out .
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking as well. I'd take the motor off, take the head off the column and the base off of the stand under it. Then the job is fairly easy.
 
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