farmer12888 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 My 75# Fairbanks is arriving soon on a pallet. It weighs about 2500 pounds. I am putting it in my 2-car garage. I have hired a forklift guy to unload it from the semi and bring it to the house, but he can't actually get into the 7 foot garage door. How do I get the hammer into the garage? I will have to take it off the pallet, since the hammer is 84 inches tall and the door is 84 inches. Once it is in the garage, how do I get it elevated at all to get it onto any type of stand? I need advice soon.:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 hi farmer - i just had to do something similar - i got the hammer forklifted off the truck to the door and then kind of prised it along the floor by putting nice long flat ended heavy bars under each side. it took a while but it worked:) once it was in place we did something similar and raised it slowly by putting increasing height wooden chocks under it on each side and prising it up with the same bars. mine was about 750 kilos tho - so dont know if that is any good for your beast ! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Have the fork truck put the hammer close to the door. Remove the hammer from the pallet and place it as close to the garage door as possible. The real problem is getting 84 inches of hammer into 84 inches of hole. This is where being a blacksmith will come in handy, you will find a way. Do not let the fork truck leave immediately as it may come in handy. Once inside pipe or solid round will help as roller bearings to move things around. Save the tinnie till after it is inside the garage and you are finished for the day. I can tell you NOT to ask the wife to hand you the 20 ton jack so you can raise the garage and roof just a 1/2 an inch. She will jump ahead, WAY AHEAD and kill the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGropp Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 If the clearance is really that tight getting through the doorway, you can slide it on a film of oil , talcum powder or graphite dust on a clean smooth slab. It's amazing what you can slide on a smooth surface if you can break the friction. Have something on hand to clean up the lubricating medium immediately afterwards to avoid slips/ accidents . Pull with a comealong with a chain or sling around the base of the hammer . A heavy bar or timber spanning a well anchored doorway at floor level can make a good pulling point . I used this method to slide my 6000# Beaudry into my shop, it was like a joke it went so easily. Be careful, think the moves through ahead of time. Keep the loads and forces as low to the ground as possible. Is this a one piece hammer ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 What I did was hire a tow truck with a boom because that is the way everyone has done it around here. The tow truck operator reached into the old building through the door, grabbed the power-hammer on the end of his boom by the tow chains that I had wrapped around it. He then drove 30 feet over to the other building and lowered it onto lengths of 3/8 inch bars that I had previously cut and placed there. After that it was a matter of pushing the hammer a couple of inches forward, removing the bars left behind, and placing those bars in front of the hammer for when the hammer reached that point on the floor. Sort of like the ancient Egyptians moving those stones to build pyramids. I arranged the chains so that the hammer turned to a partly horizontal angle so that the hammer would clear the door of the old shop, because the hammer was much taller than the door. It was so quick and easy that he plucked out everything else that weighed over 100 pounds and moved that as well. We all learned this trick while visiting one of the local blacksmithing tool dealers when he hosted his yearly blacksmithing event. He would rebuild power-hammers, and when he needed to load to or from a truck, etc, he would call a tow truck with a boom to move it. The booms on those trucks are much longer than they look, because they extend quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions so far. The pipe and lubricant ideas may be the way to go to move it on the floor once inside. I have a seam right at the door and porous concrete on the outside that will make lubricant difficult to use outside and while clearing the doorway. The hammer has an anvil that can be removed, but it must weigh 1000#, and it looks like it must lift out over the frame. I don't know how I would get it out, even if it would come out. It is essentially just a block with one ear and no real lifting points. I may have to try to take the flywheel off to get it into the door for height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Thanks Unicorn for the tow truck idea and arranging the chains so the lift points tilt the hammer for height clearance. Great idea-I was getting to the point of breaking out the saw for the top of the door if I had no other choice. The forklift guy is already $225, but I guess a tow truck bill in addition is better than rebuilding a door header. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 ... The forklift guy is already $225, but I guess a tow truck bill in addition is better than rebuilding a door header. The tow truck guy charged me $50 to move everything. Took him about 15 minutes, since he did not have to load and unload his equipment from a trailer. Couldn't you cancel the forklift guy, since the forklift guy will not have anything to do but watch. $225 is a lot of money to pay someone to watch you do all the work. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Unicorn-The problem is that the hammer is being shipped long distance on a semi. The semi will only deliver to a business. I am putting the hammer in my garage at home, so I have to have a way to get it unloaded at a business and then brought to the house. That is what the forklift guy will do-unload onto his smaller truck and bring the hammer to the house and unload it at the house. I don't think the tow truck will haul it on his boom, although, maybe he could set it on the bed and bring it to the house chained down????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 (edited) Unicorn-The problem is .. I don't think the tow truck will haul it on his boom, although, maybe he could set it on the bed and bring it to the house chained down????? Boom versus bed, two different types of tow trucks, so likely two different trucks. The tow truck guys can do incredible stuff. After all, if they can go to an accident where a car/truck has crashed into someone's living room and pluck that vehicle out of the building, they can do pretty much anything. It all comes down to what you have available, and what you want done. Whether you own a truck, can rent a U-haul truck or U-Haul trailer, or whether you are totally at the mercy of people you have to pay at each step of the delivery. If you have access to a truck, especially if you own a truck, I would investigate having the hammer transported by a company that has a terminal where not only can you pick it up, but also a trucking company terminal that will forklift the hammer on to your truck without charging you for it. That is what I did, I had Yellow Freight pick the hammer up at the manufacturer and take it to their terminal. I then went there with a truck, they loaded it into the truck for free, because that is what they do, and I then drove it home. They placed it horizontally in the back of the truck with the base towards the tailgate. I then backed the truck up to the door of the building, removed the tailgate from the truck, wrapped a chain around balance point. I then attached the hook from an engine hoist to the hammer and slid the hammer out the back and down slowly through the door and onto floor, while supported by the hoist. Now the hammer is basically in the building with the top of the hammer resting on the back of the truck. Here comes the tricky part, where I had to move even slower and more carefully. I tilted the hammer to its balance point, using the engine hoist, where it is just about ready to want to sit itself on its base. Then when everything including body parts were clear, tilted it upwards. Having learned from the experience. I would next time have the trucking company arrange for me to pick up the hammer at their terminal, have the trucking company place it in the truck, drive it home and call a tow truck (with a boom) to place it into the building, as that would probably be most cost effective and safest way to do it. After all, trucking companies already have fork lifts and are likely to load the hammer into your truck as part of their normal way of doing business. Since they already have to move your hammer from inside the terminal building to where your truck is, it is only natural that they place it in your truck. Even renting a U-Haul for a day should be cheaper than paying the fork-lift guy. The most difficult part of this process, as I see it, is finding a trucking terminal in the nation's transportation hub. :D Edited October 2, 2009 by UnicornForge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 A thought just occurred to me. I *really* hope that your two-car garage is not physically attached to the foundation of your home. I also hope that you are going to cut a hole in the floor of your garage and construct an independent foundation for your hammer that floats separately from the garage's foundation and therefor does not transmit shock to either your garage's foundation or especially to your home's foundation. Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Unicorn: Yes, my garage is attached. Yes, I am going to saw the slab and put in a foundation for the hammer - probably 3 feet of concrete or a combination of concrete base with wood beams on top. See any concern there? I have called a number of tow truck companies. Nobody will touch it - either their boom is supposedly not heavy enough or they won't think about tilting anything at all or they are not willing to chain to anything and lift it. I guess they make enough with towing cars so why mess with anything unusual. I went to a rental place this afternoon to see what they could offer. Only thing they could suggest would be a forklift rental at $125 a day plus $50 for a heavy tilt trailer to haul it on or $150 more for delivery and pick up. I have contacted the seller to see if the shipper they are using has a local terminal to see what options that could give me.:mad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 ..Yes, I am going to saw the slab and put in a foundation for the hammer - ..See any concern there?.... Sounds reasonable to me. Good job.......I have called a number of tow truck companies. Nobody will touch it - .... Bummer. I guess I was lucky to find a guy that owned his own truck. I can only hope that the reluctance is not a trend. ...... I have contacted the seller to see if the shipper they are using has a local terminal to see what options that could give me.:mad Sorry to hear that you are having so many challenges. One option is to check with the local terminals, and then find out if the seller is willing to ship using one of the trucking companies that you have found most amenable. Have you talked to other guys in your area to see what solutions they may have come up with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 OK. Some progress. Yellow Freight would not even unload it at their terminal, since they are not shipping it. RAC Transport wanted $290.00 and maybe would discount if I paid in advance. I found a local trucking/cartage company that will unload it and bring it to my house for $80. That is very reasonable and about what I had hoped for from the beginning. That only gets me on the pallet in front of my garage, however. Somehow, I have to get it off the pallet and in the garage and in position. I found a 2-ton engine hoist at Harbor Freight for about $189 that will extend pretty high, and I think I can lift the hammer with it and chains. I may buy it with the money saved on the delivery and have it for the future, since it folds up some. Renting a concrete cutting saw for the slab is $125 for the day plus about $50 for a blade, at a local rental store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 OK. Some progress. .... I am very glad that you are making good progress. Sounds like you pretty much have it worked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Farmer- There should be a porter bar hole aprox. centered in and clear thru the anvil mass for lifting it out of the machine if needed. May be covered by the upper strap that holds the anvil to the backbone of the hammer. HOWEVER power hammers are VERY top heavy and tippy, especially when the anvil is removed. One mistake and it may fall over, breaking the hammer or crushing you or both. I'd remove the anvil only as a last resort, and then you'd still have to move the 1000# block, and still have the headroom issue. How are your carpentry skills? You could remove the trim (if any) along the top of the door to gain another 3/4" or so, or temporarily brace and remove the door header if you need more space. Or if you are really handy with contractor skills, strip off some of your roofing and sheathing, and hire a boom truck/crane (any tree services in your area?) to pick the thing up and drop it in from the top of the building. I'm skeptical about lifting and positioning a hammer bigger than a 25# Little Giant or so with an engine hoist, I have a cheap Chinese one for moving smaller loads and it sure starts to groan if you try and pick anything more than 900 lbs or so. Also, the max lift on them is only available with the boom retracted as far as it will go, dramatically shortening the tip height. The load also needs to be centered between the two front legs, so if the base of your hammer is wider than the legs of the lift you are out of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Another thing to consider. All the engine hoists I ever used were rated 2000 in the first hole, 1500 in 2nd hole, 1000 in3rd hole and only 500 extended all the way out. Used a blue HF unit today. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Please reconsider the engine hoist idea. I picked up a acorn platten (2000#) with an engine hoist and destroyed all 6 original wheels in a 20 foot move across a smooth concrete floor. IF you do go with the engine hoist idea, BUILD outriggers to keep the thing from tipping over. After I replaced the wheels I unloaded an engine from the back of a pickup and one wheel caught on something and started the engine swinging. It tipped over and pinned me between the garage door and the wall, in a little bitty space that all my body could not fit into. The bruises went away in several weeks, but it could have been far worse. The new rules here are as follows: The rating on the hoist is a joke, figure 1/2 the weight indicated as a starting point. Attach outriggers before any lift. NO MOVING the hoist if the load is in the air. YOU MUST rest the load on the legs with no tension on the hoist arm before you move the hoist. Everyone has a clear predetermined path and a hole to jump into if anything goes wrong. Now back the truck into the garage, hook the hoist (with outriggers in place) up to the load, lift the load, move the truck - not the hoist, that is pull the truck out of the garage, lower the load to the floor, and then decide what to do next. This is where all those old rubber tires you have been saving come in handy. Lay them down so if anything does go wrong the load has at least some cush and shock absorption and does not crash into the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks everyone for the tips and advice. This is the value of these forums. We don't all need to crushed one at a time. The reality is that the hammer will be standing on a pallet sitting in front of my garage doors. It won't be in a truck laying on its side which would make placement easier. Somehow, I have to get it off the pallet, onto the ground, through the door of exactly the height of the hammer and in place about 20 feet up in the garage. The question is how to safely accomplish all of that. I can't come up with any way to lift it off the pallet except an engine hoist. I could move it once through the door with pipes under it and sliding on them. If I try to elevate it on a pad, I need to lift it up again to get it on the pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Russell Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 " A " frame comes to mind . Lay it down inta pallet , , couple of long planks under pallet , 3 rollers of some sort , . Once inside & close to where you wanna set up use the " A " frame again to stand up , then it's just a matter of walking inta position ( if only it was that simple ) Dale Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've moved heavy things before by chaining or clamping(by any means possible) some bar's, beams, anything of strong enough support to the sides of the object and using the ends that stick out past the object for the lifting points. You have natural stops to reduce slipping up the machine by way of the anvil bolt tabs, or the hole in the frame..... put a beam of some sort through the hole and again you have lifting points on each end to lift the hammer. This will not be a perfect balance point and is not a way to lift very high but it can be done if kept low as possible. As in your situation this would be the best way to move it off the pallet and on the ground. A sheet of steel and some 1/4 inch rods will roll many things were they need to be over soft ground. Of course larger diameter rollers work better but when in need use what you have. The issue with the door and the close tolerance is tricky - yes for the most part one may tweak the upper opening enough to get you a 1/4 inch clearance by jacking it up a little - or like you said, removal of some parts on the hammer. Good Luck with the move - it's not as hard as it may seem - just have to use a little creativity and mechanical advantages. Work slow and methodical with heavy objects - JK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedwards Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've been trying to visualize your garage door. Is it an overhead door which when raised rests above the framed opening, or is it some other arrangement? Is there trim molding on the header? If the door itself or the header trim is restricting the height, can either be removed? If so it wouldn't give you a lot but maybe enough to slide the hammer through once it's off the pallet. I like the idea of chaining a couple of horizontal beams to the hammer for lifting. If you can get them secured at or above the lifting point a couple of inexpensive 4 ton bottle jacks and supporting beams/timbers will work to get it off the pallet. So the wrecker companies won't talk to you about coming out with one of their boom trucks to lift it off the pallet? That's a real bummer. When I lived in Albuquerque all the drivers were so safe those folks were begging for work. Good luck. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer12888 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Once again, a bunch of good suggestions. I love the idea of a couple of beams and 4 bottle jacks to lift the hammer, (other than the cost) but this is 2500# concentrated in a small base area. It would take some big beams to handle that weight in such a small area. There is no way to get a metal or wood beam big enough through the hole in the throat of the hammer. The door header is 84" without the trim. That is the exact size of the hammer. Laying the hammer down would obviously solve the height problem, but laying down a 2500# hammer that is bottom heavy would require heavy equipment to keep it from falling, not to mention how to stand it back up safely. I may have to brace and cut the header for clearance. I still need to get it off the pallet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) Are you sure your hammer is that tall? If it is, is there linkage on the top that can be taken off to make it shorter? I put a 100# fairbanks in my garage without tipping it. I have a seven foot door also. It's hard to imagine a 75# is taller than a 100#. I used a bobcat with a forklift attachment lifting on a 4x4 that was put under behind the ram. Put the 4x4 in place and drive as close to the hammer as possible, put a safety chain on so the hammer can't tip sideways or frontways or backways, then lift the hammer with the 4x4 on the tangs. Just lift a little off the floor and drive in. You should be able to do this with a forklift also if the mast doesn't rise too high. Be sure you use a safety chain so it doesn't slide off the tangs (tied back to the uprights on the forklift) or tip over. The safety chains must be used, even if it seems like you don't need them. You should be able to use the same arrangement to put it on wood platform in the garage. I also have just used forklift tangs to just pust hammers around into position while they are sitting on concrete. If the masts rise too high on the forklift to get in the garage door, and you took stuff off the hammer to make it less than 84 inches tall, I would sit the hammer down right in front of the door and just push it in. Use the tangs to push against the base right at the floor (tangs will be on the floor). Do not push any higher or you may tip it over. Be sure no one is close to the hammer when you are moving it. Edited October 3, 2009 by djhammerd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Or remove the crank. Personally I'd lay it down or take it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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