[outsider787]

For those of you that have taken apart your BF20/G0704 machines, how do you handle the weight of some of the components all by yourself?
I remember when I got my BF20, I had to take the column off the base to get it in my basement, and it was not easy to put the column back onto the base, and I had a buddy with me.

Do you set up a hoist in the ceiling? Do you just take it apart in small manageable pieces (as opposed to taking apart in half and then trying to join the 2 halves)?

I'd like to do some work on my machine, but the thought of not being able (physically) to put it back has kept me away.

[Fastest1]

Are you talking about moving the whole machine? Or how to remove specific parts (like the head and or Z column) to work on them? IIRC, Hoss used the Z itself to offset the weight during disassembly and reassembly. Do you have possession of your machine yet? I was concerned about weight but found it pretty easy to deal with, alone. That being said, I was in the floor covering business for many years, waking up every morning to move a whole house of furniture or the floor covering itself taught you a trick or 2 about not lifting if you dont have to. Wood dowels, laminate plastic upside down or even the doormat upside down can allow you to move the world! Well almost.

[dugpits]

Outsider,

I'm not a big guy, and I had no problem with the G0704 mill all by my lonesome.

I would have had TONS of problems if I had only broken it down into 2 pieces - column/head and table/base.

Break it down to head, column, table, and base.

At this level none of the parts are overly heavy - a bit awkward to get a handhold maybe but definitely manageable.

Good luck and be careful lifting - wear steel toes if you've got them!

-Doug

[Mystichrome]

Outsider,

I'm not a big guy, and I had no problem with the G0704 mill all by my lonesome.

I would have had TONS of problems if I had only broken it down into 2 pieces - column/head and table/base.

Break it down to head, column, table, and base.

At this level none of the parts are overly heavy - a bit awkward to get a handhold maybe but definitely manageable.

Good luck and be careful lifting - wear steel toes if you've got them!

-Doug

+1 This is how I did it as well and I'm also not a big guy at 5'3, 130lbs. Easily manageable this way for anyone with average strength. Getting the column back on is the only thing that's challenging by yourself. Stacking some wood or other material underneath the column to put it at the right height to line up with the bolt holes makes a huge difference. Disassembling and reassembling the machine is completely possible by yourself, you just need to work smart instead of hard.

-Kevin

[LUCKY13]

I have used a engine hoist & a come along hooked up in the celling. Both work but the engine hoist is easest. One of my Mills is a RF-45 so I had to break it down to each part as meantioned. I cant lift much if any and I completely moved this big mill myself. Now it took a long time but when it comes to stuff like this better to use time than get hurt. Short pieces of chain, plus tie down strapping like yuo would use to haul a motorcycle help the a hold of the odd shapes of the mill.



The first thing is to remove the spindles motor and electronics so you dont damage them, or have a hanging wiring get you introuble right in the middle of a handsfull moment. Then you need a bucket or something to hold all the little bolts/parts so you dont loose somethign you need.


One thing I have am doing is buying one of these lifts made to bolt down in the back of a pickup truck that Harber Feight sales. This could be mounted on the bench if its strong enough and the mill could be dissasembled and moved very easy just by using the bench mounted lift. The lift would also come in handy for loading vices, rotory tables, indexers or big heavy stock. These lifts are less than a hundred dollars and I myself could not manage without one. Even just the vice is more than I can handle, and even a healthy person should not be loading one of these 75lb suckers without help so the lifts are worth installing. Heck it would not be hard to CNC such a lift either to make it automated.


Bottom line, one way or another if you take your time and put some thought into it this job can be done very easy. Break it down and use something to help with the lifting.


Jess

[paulsv]

I broke it into 2 pieces (column / head and base / table), moved it from my garage to the basement shop with an appliance handtruck (3 steps up and 14 steps down, with a tight turn at the bottom), and reassembled it by myself, and I'm 60 years old.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I've completely disassemble my Bridgeport clone (more times than I care to think about...) entirely by myself, without so much as a hoist or engine crane. You just have to think about what you need to do, and how you can do it without killing yourself. There's always an easy way.

Regards,
Ray L.

[Connor]

I borrowed a engine hoist from my neighbor and install some unistrut in the shop. Worked great. After a gave him back the hoist, I had a need to move it again, ended up using some rope around the Z axis and cranked it down until it lifted itself up. (I had to turn the chip tray around.. Doh!)