Precision Mathews PM1440E-LB

[arvidj]

Now that I have seen the lathe spindle turn under its own power I feel comfortable calling it a lathe.

When I left this thread ... http://www.metalworkingfun.com/showthrea...4#pid38194 ... I was at the stage where the lathe motor issues had been resolved but the DRO power cable had not been crimped properly so the DRO was DOA.

I have this crimper ...

   

so I put new ends on all three wires ...

   

I know the two forked connectors should have been either tabbed or round but that was all I had on hand and I really wanted to see it work. Sorry Ed.

Hooked everything up, plugged it in and it works. A quick reversal of the scale connections on the back of the lathe [the cables were unmarked and tough to trace so I just took the 50/50 chance as to which one was X ... and got it wrong] and things are working fine.

Now on to Phase 3 ... getting the lathe off the dollies and onto the floor.

[EdK]

Arvid,

What are you going to use to get it off of the dollies? I used an engine hoist to get mine off of the pallet and up onto the stand I made.

Ed

   

[arvidj]

(11-23-2014, 02:38 PM)EdK Wrote: Arvid,

What are you going to use to get it off of the dollies?

Ed

The term "Not exactly sure yet" definitely applies.

I can't get the skid steer in thru the basement door so that's not an option .

I thought about dragging the engine hoist from the garage around the house and into the basement. The reason I don't "just do it" is that I envision the forward extending legs on the engine hoist conflicting with the cast iron base and foot brake of the lathe. I think the only way I would be able to approach the lathe with the engine hoist would be from the end and I think space constraints will then prevent me from doing anything meaningful with the lathe after I had picked it up.

I going to noodle over this for a while .

Arvid

[stevec]

arvid,  where there's a will there's a "weigh" how much does the lathe weigh?

[EdK]

Arvid,

How about coming in from each side with the engine hoist and blocking them up one at a time so you can get the engine hoist under the middle section of the lathe?

Ed

[f350ca]

Arvid,
One of these is great for lifting and shoving things around.

Think the rating is at the tips, back at the pivot they'll lift, push, bend, squash an amazing amount. With lots of small blocks you should be able to lift the lathe with one of these one end at a time and get the dollies out. My Summit lathe came on a skid made up of 6x6's down the length. Once in place I cut out the centre section with a sawzall then lifting one end at a time pulled out the end sections and set it back down a little at a time.

[Mayhem]

(11-23-2014, 01:11 PM)arvidj Wrote: ...I know the two forked connectors should have been either tabbed or round but that was all I had on hand and I really wanted to see it work. Sorry Ed...

In that situation I would bend the tips up and if necessary use a smaller washer. If you put a spring washer on you should have no problems. If a connection screw comes loose, it will cause issues whatever type of connector you have used.

[dallen]

biggest reason a screw comes loose in a electrical panel is because the screws were not tight to start with

[arvidj]

After some noodling and Goggling, two trips to Harbor freight, one to Menard's and one to Home Depot I determined that the plan with the most likely chance of success would be the original one ... drag the engine hoist from the garage to the basement and have at it ... i.e. just get started and work thru the issues as they come up. Luckily HF, Menard's and HD have excellent return policies so items related to 'not my best ideas' were easily returned.

At first glance that would seemed to have been the intuitively obvious answer but there are several "wrenches in the works".

One is the space constraints in the basement. While there is enough room to attack the lathe from either end in some areas of the basement there is not enough room in the lathe's final location. In the final resting place the engine hoist would need to be "from the front", not "from the end".

The "from the front" then has to deal with the foot brake. It runs all the way across the front of the lathe and would be a little over 4 inches from the floor. While the long legs of the engine hoist would fit under the foot brake when it is on the dollies, allowing me to easily pick the lathe up, the legs are 7 inches high so setting the lathe down on the floor would be a challenge. I have to admit I am rather proud of myself in that I measured before I tried rather than the "pick the lathe up, remove the dolly, try to set it down, oops" I would have normally used.

Given that the plan was to "figure it out as you go" the foot brake issue was tabled and I started to do what I could.

Starting with the head end I put the 1 inch pipe into the two holes conveniently placed in the base, lifted the head end of the lathe, cut the pallet in half with the sawsall and then set the head end back down on the dolly.

   

With the head end having gone smoothly I addressed the tail end. I took the 1 inch pipe and put it in the hole on one side of the base but it would not come out the other side. Both holes were the correct diameter but for what ever reason they were not co-linear. I could easily put the pipe into either hole but it would not like up with the other hole and come out the other side. It was "darn close", but not "close enough".

   

About 20 minutes of work with the Dremel and coarse sanding drums and the holes were converted to "close enough".

It now became obvious that the back splash would be in the path of the lifting strap so I removed it. "One Person" removal was not a big issue but I anticipate "One Person" installation with the final resting place very near the wall will be exciting. Anyway I eventually managed to get the rest of the pallet off the bottom of the lathe and set it back down on the dolly.

   

Confident that the end was insight I began installing the foot pads.  I had purchased 8 of these ... http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAG...&PMCTLG=01 ... for another project so 6 of them were re-purposed for the lathe. A quick measurement told me that the stud that comes with them was too long to safely fit in the pocked of the base but a quick trip to the garage, the 4x6 band saw and the belt sander resolved that issue.

I lifted the tail end of the lathe, installed the foot pads and set it back down on the dolly. Wash, rinse, repeat at the head end. I then rolled the lathe over to the final resting place and made some measurements for room and squareness to the wall. Some quick calculations and with the pads under the base I figured that the foot brake to engine hoist leg interference was now only about an inch ... or to put it in other terms it was now something I thought I could manage if I extended the engine hoist arm all the way out to the 1/2 ton position [given that I was only lifting one end of the lathe at a time I thought even the heavy end would be safely withing that specification] and had a suitable pry bar for last second position tuning.

A little while later the process was complete ...

   

I will now spend Thanksgiving putting stuff back on the lathe, running the gearbox thru the break-in procedure, then changing the gearbox oil and cleaning everything up. That will be co-mingled with occasionally helping Bev prepare our Thanksgiving meal and eventually a great turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and wine.

Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions!! 

[Dr Stan]

Very very similar to the method I used to bring my 14 X 30 Logan into the shop. Always go slow and steady when moving heavy objects which you obviously do. Nice job.