[kae]

I am considering buying the Tormach PCNC1100 and I want to put it in my basement. To do this I will need to removed the head and column. I have been talking to the tech at Tormach and he is not saying I can't but he has some reservations. I know that the 770 is designed to come apart but I want the extra travel of the 1100. I already have a small bench mill with the travel of a 770 so there is no advantage to me getting another machine like it. The head and column are pinned so assuming everything is machined accurately, it should all go back together the same as it came apart, in theory anyway. The tech's biggest concern was tram but he admitted that he has never had one apart.

Does anyone have any experience with this and what did you run into? I am not new to the machine trade.

[Scott_M]

Hi Kae

I know this has been discussed several times. And did a search and got these results.
CNCzone.com-The Largest Machinist Community on the net! - Search Results

I know Mike Henry took his apart. I just moved the crates to my basement.

Scott

[GLCarlson]

Much discussed, and reportedly done several times, especially in the early days with the 1100. Tormach's position was that they don't recommend it and it voids the warranty. Never saw any report that doing so had failed, though. It's a case of don't drop the big pieces and be sure you get everything lined up again- well within the capabilities of any experienced machinist.

Scott M's search goes to a blank page. Scott, could you publish the search terms you used?

[Scott_M]

whoops

I searched ( in this forum ) for "moving a tormach to the basement"

Mike Henry's "Saga" is very well detailed.

Scott

[lwoestman]

I took my 1100 apart to get it through a narrow doorway. The pieces were still quite heavy, but putting it back together wasn't too hard. You do have to disconnect some wires, but Tormach's documentation shows all of the information that you need to connect them back up. I also tagged them as I disassembled the 1100.

[kae]

I forgot my first rule, search first, ask questions later. Thanks to all those who have replied so far. Please continue replying with your own experiences. I found the following link. Mike Henry pretty well covers everything concerning putting an 1100 in a basement. The link is as follows:

Tormach PCNC 1100 CNC Mill

lwoestman, did you run into any problems with the tram of the head after re-assembly? Mike Henry's machine was way out but mostly due to bolting it down to an unmachined base cabinet. He was able to shim it back in. Tormach has since solved this problem.

[Jerry McFarland]

I moved my Tormach 1100 to my basement several years ago using Mike Henry's info which was very useful. Mike separated the X-Y base into 2 parts, and used a hand truck to move the parts down. I did not want to take part the X-Y base which left a 500 lb. part that was too heavy for a hand truck. So I ramped my steps and made a heavy duty dolly cart to go down the ramp, taking the lightest parts first. Head, cabinet, column and x-y base last, tilted on its side and clamped down to the cart.

[kae]

Jerry,

Did you have any tram problems after the move?

[lwoestman]

I was able to get everything aligned to close tolerances by putting a couple of shims between the mill and the base cabinet. I don't think I lost anything by taking the 1100 apart and putting it back together other than the warranty coverage.

[Jerry McFarland]

> Did you have any tram problems after the move?

I never trammed the mill before or after reassembly and I do not have a gauge. I have not noticed any problems after 2 years, with a 1 1/8 face mill I get overlapping cuts with no ridges.

In retrospect I think I should have trammed the mill before disassembly and again after reassembly. But I was anxious to get the mill running and worrying about any problems later. I did run it in the garage for basic checks before taking it apart.

[Jerry McFarland]

Just thought I would mention that in moving my mill to the basement I bought a Pep boys engine hoist, and harbor freight chain hoist for use in the basement and winch for moving the dolly down the ramp on the steps.

[Spinnetti]

Do you have to go down stairs or no? i put mine in my finished basement, but I have a walk out. I had to take the cabinet and table off, but left the column on the base.. I got a Harbor freight cart that I welded reinforcement to, then put 2 2x4's screwed to the top to spread the load. Used a cherry picker at the doorway to put it on the cart (sans cabinet and table) then rolled it across the carpet through a narrow door and into the shop... couple more of those trips, then disassemble the cherry picker, reassemble in the shop and put the parts back together... except for getting the mill down the hill in the back yard (neighbor did that for me with his tractor), I did it all myself without problem.

[kae]

Yes, I would have to go down stairs. I built a ramp on my stairs and using a come-along, was able to take a 1300 lb lathe down by myself. I made rollers to bolt to the base of the lathe and it was effortless. I have a wide stairway and a straight shot down the stairs from the outside. I have been thinking that if I can lay the mill on its back and build some sort of wheeled dolly, I should be able to get it down. I am sure I would have to disassemble the control box on the side and possibly remove the head. The head is pinned so if it was correct when it was pinned at the factory, I have to believe it would be correct afterwards. The tram problem seems not to be so much that the column is not perpendicular to the base but that the base is bolted to a distorted lower cabinet. Mike Henry says that Tormach now machines the cabinet base so that it is in one plane.

The bottom line seems to be that this is doable.

[MichaelHenry]

Jerry,

Did you have any tram problems after the move?

I'm one of the folks that disassembled a PCNC 1100 and moved it to the basement. I ran all of the mill certification checks (tram, etc) before disassemnly in the garage and after re-assembly in the basement and got essentially the same numbers. Some of the key components are taper pinned in place, which should really help keep things aligned. Be especially careful about cleaning any dirt or deburring dings off mating surfaces before you re-assemble.

Mike

[kae]

Thanks for responding Mike.

I want to compliment you on a great job documenting your dis-assembly/re-assembly. It will be a great help. I am becoming more of the opinion that I will not have to remove much if anything. I have a straight shot into the basement from outside. My exterior door is 36" wide and my basement stair well is 48" wide. I would need to lay the machine over on it's back onto a custom built "dolly" and then ramp the stairs and let it down slowly with a come-along or such. I know that the y axis motor mount is on the back but it should be no problem protecting that. Any further comments you have would be much appreciated.

Are you still happy with your purchase (any regrets)?

Regards, Kent

[Steve Seebold]

I am considering buying the Tormach PCNC1100 and I want to put it in my basement. To do this I will need to removed the head and column. I have been talking to the tech at Tormach and he is not saying I can't but he has some reservations. I know that the 770 is designed to come apart but I want the extra travel of the 1100. I already have a small bench mill with the travel of a 770 so there is no advantage to me getting another machine like it. The head and column are pinned so assuming everything is machined accurately, it should all go back together the same as it came apart, in theory anyway. The tech's biggest concern was tram but he admitted that he has never had one apart.

Does anyone have any experience with this and what did you run into? I am not new to the machine trade.

A few months ago someone posted a way to get a 1100 thru a 32 inch door without taking it apart.

[Spinnetti]

A few months ago someone posted a way to get a 1100 thru a 32 inch door without taking it apart.

unless its got a big free space on the other side, that is quite a trick. I put in through a 32" door too, but took the cabinet off and the table, but left the column and base in one piece. I got a harbor freight cart, welded on reinforcements and just pulled it into my basement shop, then reassembled with a cherry picker. It was a one man job essentially, but my wife "helped" by telling me it wouldn't work.