Shipping and moving a lathe.

[Maistrow]

Hello,
Would anyone know of a shipping service to transport a Scully lathe from the east coast to the west coast?
Or would have any other ideas of doing this move.
Thanks
Maistrow

[dietrich10]

Need someone East coast to build the crates first.

[jjgolden]

Is renting a truck and driving an option?
I was quoted by two places around 6k a few years ago for custom crating and shipping from NJ to Ca. (complete vms 70 with amps and VG rack)
I decided to fly there, rent a penske tuck and drive it back myself. This cut the cost to less than half that.

JJG

[dietrich10]

I have shipped lathes aprx 1500 miles in USA for under 2k not including the crating. It can be done

by why not a van and yourself?

[ROLANDJAYS]

contact " freight quote " they have good prices and will work with you.
but you have to get the item in a crate .

[Greg Reierson]

After hearing about a few recent disasters I'd definitely make the trip and do it myself. Then you can see how it all fits together, etc.

[jjgolden]

After hearing about a few recent disasters I'd definitely make the trip and do it myself. Then you can see how it all fits together, etc.

That was one of the main things for me. There are a lot of things that can get messed up if they are not disassembled or held down correctly.
It takes somebody with the knowledge to oversee the entire disassembly/packaging process to be sure it's all done right.

JJG

[Maistrow]

Thank you J J and Greg and everyone else. I too have been told stories about lathes that were destroyed by different shipping companies. I will look into the van rental and driving back to California.
If anyone has any ideas or other suggestions, I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
Maistrow

[concretecowboy71]

Cost me around 5k to move one from Netherlands to USA. People who built the crates did a great job. In the states, I would rent a cargo van from Enterprise and do it yourself.

[jjgolden]

I had a hard time finding a Van rental one way cross country. It should all fit in an Econoline 150, but they just don't rent them one way that distance.
I ended up renting the smallest Penske truck they had. Basically an Econoline front end with a boxy back cargo area.

JJG

[Maistrow]

Hi JJ,
I will check it out. Do you recall if the Penske truck had a
lift gate to raise your lathe into the truck?
Thanks
Maistrow

[jjgolden]

As I remember it didn't have a powered lift gate. It had a slide out ramp and the back end was low enough that 2 of us could lift the bulky items in without a problem.
I had it about 90% disassembled, so the biggest/bulkiest part was the main frame which was not heavy with the lathe removed from it. I used a dolly for the lyrec motor.
I had packing blankets and tie downs to hold the lathe frame against the back wall, the lathe carriage itself was disassembled, wrapped in a lot of bubble wrap, and tied down to the side wall as well, this is one of the big fragile items. The amps were removed from the racks,bubble wrapped and placed in cardboard boxes. All of the other bits and pieces were placed in boxes and wrapped with bubble & paper.
Basically I just packed everything like I was going off-roading and it worked out well.
No hotels, just gas stations and rest stops. There were two of us driving so we drove 8 hour shifts from NJ to CA in 46 hours.
I walked funny for a week after that as the seats didn't recline!
It was a fun memory for me.

JJG

[dietrich10]

Cargo Van will be a lot more enjoyable drive than the smallest box truck. also you can avoid any weigh stations I believe that way.

[opcode66]

I drove from NY to Chicago in a small cargo truck. Ramp on the back, no liftgate. Totally doable. No weigh stations.

You can't find anyone that will do a one way van rental. I searched and searched. Gave up. Went with the truck. Get a good lock for the back door of the truck...

[jjgolden]

Yea, Same here, no weigh stations. Just agricultural check point when entering California, they had me open up the back, too a quick look then let me through.
JJG

[petermontg]

I wish I was going on a lathe road trip. Anybody fancy flying me over for this

[gold]

A VMS70 with SAL74 rack will fit in a mini van if there are only the front seats. It has to be loaded carefully but there is plenty of room. I've done it a ton of times.

A Scully would be too heavy even if it fit.

[leo gonzalez]

For a belt driven scully, a regular cargo van will cope well but loading it / getting it off can be very dangerous if you dont have a good ramp. plywood boards and dolly as ramp can be risky.

you can put casters / wheels on the legs if you can find 4 that match the thread and size of the legs.
if not, you can put the casters through a board and then use the leg scews to attach the board to the tub or legs.

but above all....
may the force be with you..

[dietrich10]

Is anything removable on the Scully to ease the weight load?

[Maistrow]

Yes Leo, the loading of the lathe into the van can be dangerous.
the Scully is VERY heavy. This is the main issue. Off loading it won’t be
that bad since I can use a fork lift. I am not with the lathe at this time so
perhaps I can go look at one in my area and see how castors can be mounted to the legs.
You can remove the horseshoe - sled top portion of the lathe very easily and
this would reduce some of the weight. Also, does any know exact weight
of the Scully lathe? I heard it was about 900 LBS. approximate. Is that correct?
Thanks again for the info.
Maistrow