Scored a Pallet Jack (Lifting/Moving Machines)

[Stustoys]

Hi Bryan,
Just a couple of tips if you havent used these trucks before, although I'm not sure they will be an issue in your case.
Careful if you turn the steering wheels close to 90 degrees, the truck can tip pretty easy.
Lift as low as possible so if it does tip the corners will hit the ground.

To get what I mean, jack the trolley up a little, turn the wheels 90 degrees and stand where the arrow is pointing.

The pallet would normally act as a set of outriggers.

Stuart

[Cliff Rogers]

Can you get your 3T Engine crane there to lift it off again?

[Bryan]

Stuart, I had noticed the tripod tendency when standing on it to test the release. For some reason (stupidity?) I hadn't really considered it in terms of actually moving something. So thanks for bringing it up. I will pay extra attention to the pallet design in view of this.

Cliff, no that won't be a problem. But good question, thanks.

[Dave J]

Hi Bryan,
I moved my lathe a few weeks back and got a brain storm idea of using the cast wheels off an old 2 ton trolley jack. I used the fixed ones on the head stock and the swivel ones on the tail stock and welded to heavy angle which is bolted to the bases and hangs out past the bases 150mm each side.
It moves OK but you need to use a bit of force to get it going.

The reason I am bringing this up is because your poly type wheels may make it hard to move around even on smooth concrete.

Dave

[Toggy]

It should work ok. I moved my lathe weighing 1800kg in a similiar fashion (a pair of dollies under tailstock end) and pallet truck under headstock. Moved it about 6 metres and spun lathe around by myself and with a crowbar; as the poly tyres on the hired truck were soft and flaking off; especially when the weight and moving swelled them off the rims. Was sort of funny until you got to the lumpy bits. Managed the complete job in about 20 minutes (dicky ticker & all). I used a piece of 5/4 redgum post through the frame and lifted by two truck jacks to raise each end and remove skids and trolly.

Ken

[Bryan]

Dave and Ken, that's interesting about the wheels. These are the ones I bought: 4" INDUSTRIAL CASTORS | eBay. They have a solid wheel with a thin urethane tyre. Guess I'll see how they go.

[Sir Stinkalot]

I might be missing something but why not just lift it up on the engine crane, just above the extended legs, and then just wheel it from there?

I move a 1200kg jointer by myself without any issues like this. Perhaps a little easier with the jointer as it can be lowered back onto the extended legs which may not be possible with the lathe.

[Dave J]

Like you said see how it goes.
As Stuart said about the pallet jack tipping, I would try to get the head stock weight as close to the small front wheels as you could to avoid it tipping. Having all the weight at the back and no weight on the front is going to be risky.

Does the pallet jack fit between the legs?
I lifted my lathe like that a few times with a box on top of the pallet jack, lifting from up under the bed. If there is extra room have the pallet jack toward the head stock.

Dave

[Bryan]

Sir Stinkalot, there are 2 reasons not to move it with the crane. The first is that it's a cheap crane and it's ok at lifting but sucks at rolling, especially with a heavy load on. The wheels are appalling and the castors are appallingly appalling. The second reason is that I would have to move it side-ways and it won't fit (this applies to Dave's box idea too). Neither of these problems is insurmountable, but the pallet jack rolls and steers so nicely and I need to justify the floorspace it's going to take up forever by using it once or twice.

Dave, I will take your advice about loading the PJ nearer the front. My instinct said the opposite but I see I was wrong. This thread is helping me a lot.

[Dave J]

I had the same problem when I got mine, but found storing it under the end of a bench or under a machine gets it out of the way. As long as you can get the tynes under it's only the handle that sticks out.

My other one still hasn't arrived because he needs some one to help him with it onto his ute at 3am at the yard, but no one is around at that time. It will come but I will have to wait.
I am not sure where this one is going to be stored, One was bad enough to find a spot for, LOL

Dave

[Toggy]

The poly tyres that I had break away were those on the pallet trolley itself. They appeared to have been used around solvent/chemicals at some time making them soft and flaky.
At a later date I actually bought the pallet truck cheap from the hire mob. They had removed the tyres from the rims of the front small wheels. After sitting in my shed in mid 40'sC temperatures the tyres on the larger wheels ... just fell off. Removed the remaining scraps and now a bit noisy; but no flat spots any more. Hydraulics have never been a problem.

Ken

[Bryan]

Er, Dave? A man with two free pallet jacks may not get much sympathy for his storage pain.

[Dave J]

With the mate, I met him when I was 18 and have been close friends for 26 years as he lives 3 doors up. It works out that what goes around comes around type of thing. He is always dropping something off, or looking out for something I am after.
I do pay, but with work on his Harley or do some polishing/machining, or work on his car/house etc, so it evens out in the long run, but neither of us really expect anything from each other.

Last month he was telling me about a 1/2 semi load of pallet racking that was laying out the back at Brisbane, at one spot where he goes. After asking me if I wanted it, the next week he turned up to ask about it, and the manager told him he called the local scrap guy to just get rid of it, and said he could have had it if he asked.
It's amazing what some businesses throw out, pallet jacks are only disposable to them.

Dave

[Bryan]

This is how it ended up looking.





I reinforced the pallet with ply and added packers so the bearers would only be a few mm clear of the deck when travelling. I made sure the machine was level enough that the pallet didn't tend to swivel about, and all the wheels on the dolly were loaded. It worked pretty well, being quite stable and also manoeuvrable, as long as there was forward motion. The castors couldn't cope with reversing. Or maybe I just couldn't push hard enough.

So the damn thing is moved at last, and uneventfully. Phew. I will update the Graziano thread soon.

I will just add one thing about the pallet jack. further to Dave's comment on weight distribution and stability. At first I had the weight too far forward, and the steering wheels were skipping. So I had to make an adjustment to gain control. No biggie, just something to be aware of for anyone new to pallet jacks. Thanks again for everyone's input.

[Dave J]

Good to hear all went well.
Your setup looks as safe as you can get without going over board.
When you say you couldn't steer did you have the weight over each side of the front wheels?

Those pallet jacks can be real dangerous, the mate was telling me he had the wheel turned 90 degrees in the trailer one time when it was wet and on a slight slop. It slid on the smooth wet floor wedging him between the wall of the trailer and the 2 ton pallet. He said the only thing that saved him was the handle and was lucky someone was around to help him get out.

Dave