HIGHSIDER Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Hello All, 20 years plus picking up & restoring old machines, this has to be one of the most spirited or daring one to date...... I picked up a LANG lathe recently where it was located in a tiny little shed. This lathe has sat in the same shed for 60 or so years where a housing estate was built up around it ruling out all possible extraction options be it fork truck or rollers. There was no option but to hire a crane and lift skywards, over the house and onto an awaiting trailer. It a sight to behold....terrifying in fact! Here's the old girl.....a beauty of an old LANG lathe....all 2.5tons of her.... The heavy lift arrives and sets up.................. Oh look at the strain on that mast....a little worrying at this stage... lol.... It It was nail biting stuff where the lathe cleared a house and hovers directly over a car.....the owner at his window looking out and wondering what the hell???!!! ...LOL Thanks be to God, safely down to earth, tied up and ready for the road....... In position and ready for a good clean down and new oil. She needs an electric motor and some set up but its in top order. She's a real beauty. Delighted with the day's work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Some times paying the Pro's is the cheapest way to go. When I bought my large screwpress I cheerfully paid a rigger US$35 to load it onto my vehicle---even though I had only paid $50 for the beast to start with! (appx 7' tall with a 42" toroid, Hopkins #2). Every other vehicle on my way home avoided my truck making the trip much smoother if slow... That lathe looks like it *wants* to do a good days work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIGHSIDER Posted November 15, 2017 Author Share Posted November 15, 2017 Absolutely agree with you there Thomas. This case I had no choice, there was no way out. That said. Enter an area of risk and you take on something like that and get brave with a lift and move.....it can kick you big time. Not a chance would I touch it, way too dangerous. Pro's exactly, set up, lift and on my trailer in less than an hour. I'm really looking forward cleaning this lathe up and getting it going. It's done very little work, backlash is minimum, slides good and tight...a good clean and oil up and she's ready for work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 What many people don't realize is that the primary cause of major damage to machine tools is *moving* them. They get dropped, the trailer turns turtle, their binders fail, etc and what was once a glorious piece of machinery becomes low grade scrap metal---and if you are LUCKY it doesn't involve an A&E/ER visit! (Had a friend moving a 250 pound LG powerhammer in a truck designed to haul rock. He was going to use the hydraulic tilt bed to set it down upright; but it caught in the very dinged up floor. He went in to see if he could help it with a crowbar and it suddenly shifted and he was 15' away on top of the cab of the truck. No indication of him moving between the two locations. None! Then he agreed to my suggestion and rented a semi wrecker that for US$50 set it up in place *safely*.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIGHSIDER Posted November 15, 2017 Author Share Posted November 15, 2017 Underestimate a lift and that can happen, very easily. These old girls don't like moving so at the least give it the respect by a generous factor of safety with lifting tackle. This lift was planned a week ago where the crane men were out to access the project. A risk assessment if you like. One week later the gear arrives and the job was done. I couldn't be happier. Professionals at their best. Top class service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Shimanek Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 Nice lathe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genesaika Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 That's a fantastic looking piece of equipment. It's fate that this comes back up as im considering buying a lathe soon haha, admittedly much smaller... Like a mini wood lathe. Also, that crane wasn't stressed at all. I spent many years as a heavy equipment mechanic specializing in cranes. Those booms bow like that just under their own weight. If it had been stressed you would have heard the strain in the motor for the wench, and the cable itself, first because those booms are rated at about 20% more than the crane is. Another thing, when making lifts please get professional help. All it takes is slightly worn strap and your whole day is ruined, if you survive. I am a certified rigger, operator, and instructor for both certifications, and I have even had some scary situations. There is nothing that will make you watch your rigging gear and safety quite like having a 20+ ton boom section snap loose while being installed and land feet from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I used to work in the oil patch; add 20000 psi natural gas to that mix... I remember in one of my classes they showed the results of drilling into an over pressure zone in LA; there was a section of drill pipe sticking about 5' out of the ground; impressive till the professor said "oh BTW, that's 3 joints of pipe" so about 90-100' of pipe went up far enough to bury itself about 85' in the ground... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I was talking to the head of the piano technology department of the conservatory the other day, sharing war stories of scary piano moves on his part and furniture deliveries on mine. He told me about one company in Boston that specializes in otherwise impossible jobs that no-one else is willing or able to handle: Death Wish Piano Movers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Like this lang? I do piano moving and restorations too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIGHSIDER Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Wow!....that's a beauty! What a lovely piece of kit...and its a LANG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleave Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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