How do you store heave acessories?

[hacklordsniper]

Despite my young age i have noticed quite of back pain after lifting that 250 mm heavy camlock chucks or large mill vises (40 kg +) from floor level (stored in machines bases).

I planning to make a heavy duty table on wheels and have all of them stored on it so the acessories will be always at my ~ chest level and easier to bring and mount to machine.

But i wonder, how do other people do it? Except avoding work that requires a chuck or vise change

 

[Silvergoose]

Hack, When I first read your post I did not read your location. If you have access to a McMaster-Carr and or Grainger Catalog you will find several hydraulic lift tables. If nothing else you can see the lift table designs and build or buy one for yourself.

I use a 1500 lbs lift table that was bought at Grainger. It is overkill but the table size and the lift height are great. The lift I have uses a foot lever to operate the hydraulic cylinder, if you build one you may opt for an air over oil cylinder. I have an air over oil cylinder for my 30 ton press and it is great.

I have noticed at least one member using a small hoist mounted to his mill to lift a rotary table. Many options, but the best one is the one that work for you and your shop.


Good Luck

 

[deverett]

In my advancing years, I have realised that I don't have the strength of my youth. This was brought home to me not so long ago when I tried to lift the table off my Thiel milling machine, almost with dire consequences.

My workshop is a single garage with quite low headroom so that the usual 3 wheeled engine hoist can't be used. Aldi/Lidl sometimes have powered hoists for sale, but again there is insufficient headroom for these.

From years ago, I have a Haltrac mini-hoist, a 14 -1 tackle originally used (in the 1960s) for lifting engines out of cars. I bought two 6ft lengths of mainsheet track from a yacht chandler and screwed one piece directly to a joist above the milling machine table and the other to a piece of 2 x 1" which in turn was screwed to the joists 90 degrees to the other piece.

The hoist can be slid along the track and transferred easily between tracks as required.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77656&stc=1&d=1435618028

I can now lift a heavy object from the floor to either the lathe or milling machine or between the two machines. Good enough for anything I am likely to need to lift.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[Hopper]

One old dodge is to use a smaller chuck held in the larger chuck.
For instance, if you have your 250mm three-jaw chuck in the lathe, but need to use a four-jaw chuck, you can clamp a 100mm four-jaw chuck in the jaws of the larger 3-jaw and avoid having to remove the larger chuck.

But definitely your idea of a table set at the correct height to simply roll the chuck off the table and onto a wooden bed protector and vice-versa is the cheapest option. If it is made to the matching height of the lathe it should take most of the dangerous lifting out of the job -- ie the bending over/squatting and lifting from floor level.

Same with the mill, if you can set the table the same height as the table, you should be able to slide the vices straight across.

Steel top on the bench makes sliding easier. But you will need some brackets etc to stop heavy chucks and vices sliding off when not wanted!

 

[deverett]

snip

But definitely your idea of a table set at the correct height to simply roll the chuck off the table and onto a wooden bed protector and vice-versa is the cheapest option. If it is made to the matching height of the lathe it should take most of the dangerous lifting out of the job -- ie the bending over/squatting and lifting from floor level.

Same with the mill, if you can set the table the same height as the table, you should be able to slide the vices straight across.

Great if you have the space available for a table, but I am chock-a-block as it is. Don't have any more room even for a power band saw, which I would dearly like.

Dave
The Emerald Isle