[RTP_Burnsville]

Hi,

Has anyone here taken their PCNC1100 apart into say three pieces for moving? A move across country is in my future and the mill will be my main headache as I have no assistants especially on the destination end. I am likely to us ABF trucking to transport the stuff from point A to B. Basically they drop off a semi trailer for a couple days, you load, they deliver, you unload for a couple days.

Yes, one can rent forklifts etc on both ends.... However, then the real cost out weights any advantage to moving the mill rather than just selling it before the adventure begins.



Thanks,
Robert

[smokediver576]

Hey Robert,

Even broken down the mill is a pretty hefty chunk of steel. Do you have a lift gate on the trailer? I know there are several folks who've broken down their mills to move them into a tight space (I think Michael Henry moved his down a flight of stairs with a pretty cool contraption). I would certainly weigh the option of selling first. Consider the amount of time/days it's going to take you to break the mill down to move. The other option is your forklift option. Yes, you're going to spend about $400 on each end but you could also put your belongings on pallets making your loading/unloading pretty easy.

Hopefully someone on here can weigh in on breaking down one of these mills. I think Tormach has a video on breaking down a mill to move through a tight door opening but I cannot find the link.

Good Luck with the move. Where are you moving to?

Later,
Awall

[RTP_Burnsville]

Hi Awall,

Thanks for the response.....

I don't believe that you can get a liftgate, but I have a small Kubota tractor and loader but its not able to lift a complete PCNC 1100. It can handle everything else in my shop except the mill. I woke up this morning thinking that maybe I should sell it and eliminate the joy of moving it.

As to where I am heading.... Hopefully Wyoming just as soon as I can find a place to call home. Searching for a place with room for a shop has turned into a much harder adventure than I ever dreamed. It will happen just not sure of the exact date. In the mean time its sort and get rid of everything not worth moving.

Thanks again,
Robert

[smokediver576]

Just found this video. I'm sure it's not "Tormach endorsed...." But at least it's a start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCbb3xg0RxA

I've got a Kubota BX25 with loader and I think it would handle the mill broken down.

[rowbare]

Mike Henry took his apart to move it down stairs. He documented it here: Tormach PCNC 1100 CNC Mill

bob

[RTP_Burnsville]

Thanks guys, making little pieces out of big pieces looks like the way to go....

Appreciate the response,

Robert

[MichaelHenry]

There's no video, but here's a photo narrative of how my wife and I disassembled an 1100 and moved it to our basement.

Tormach Disassembly

If stairs didn't need to be dealt with, I'd be inclined to separate the mill into stand, table, head, electrical cabinet, and base+column and move the mill that way, but it really depends on your own logistics.and how much weight you can lift to truck bed level. Not many engine hoists can lift the mill base+column up to truck bed height.

In the past I've used a local car towing service to offload a 1,000-lb surface grinder from the back of a pickup truck and that only ran me $75 or so.

[keen]

Hi - I bought a cheap pallet trolley/jack and now I can wheel my 1100's around by myself easy as.

Have you seen theses videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EchELgqGz-c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm4qQ76RJs8

keen