• Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details)
  • Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Paul May for "Checkerboard (ver 3.0)" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 25, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Unpacking new Robust lathe

Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Messages
51
Likes
256
Location
Stuart, FL
To the Robust owners out there, my new AB will arrive in days and I’ve been looking at different ways to uncrate and get my new toy safely off the shipping pallet. I came across this video of Tom Silva ( from This Old House) . Hard to get detail in the video but it looks like he cuts away the small section of pallet beneath where the jack fits for using the wheel kit , has installed the jack and then cuts away enough of the pallet to install the wheels. Looks pretty safe and relatIively easy Just wondering what those of you with experience think. .https://fb.watch/7Mn7RvGnYr/
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Messages
1,174
Likes
1,268
Location
Haubstadt, Indiana
First, Congrats on your new Robust lathe!

I watched a different video. You bTube I think. I unpacked mine outside. I took ends off and then loosened the top from one side and flipped it over. No wheels, used my tractor to move it in the shop.



F991FC77-92D6-45B3-A881-60719A2DEBAE_1_201_a.jpeg0B859C2E-60C3-4497-AE1E-9B846A0DAC73_1_201_a.jpeg
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
5,436
Likes
2,792
Location
Eugene, OR
Hmm, mine came on a pallet, but not in a box. Can't remember, but I think I used a 4 by 4 to lever it up and remove half of the pallet, then used the same approach on the other end. If you are on a level surface, it should be fairly simple. You may want to recruit some friends to help...

The mobililty set up help make it simple to wheel around. One person can do it, but it is nice to have some one on both ends...

robo hippy
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
1,948
Likes
996
Location
La Grange, IL
Hard to get detail in the video
Yeah, but it's pretty clear that he's happy about it. Wonder if he's a club member.

I think the method would work, but you'll have to think your way through the operation when you get your machine on the particular pallet that you get (may not be the same as Silva's). I would put some blocking from the underside of the bed to the pallet to take the load if needed. A bottle jack is another thought.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
694
Likes
498
Location
Lummi Island, WA
I can't help much - picked mine up at the Symposium in San Jose several years ago. Brent prepped it with disconnect fittings on the headstock so it could be easily removed and put into the trailer for the trip back north. The bed and ancillary parts are easily manageable but the headstock is a big, heavy, awkward bugger with that Leeson 3hp on it. Get some help.
That said, enjoy; its a great piece of equipment...
 

Roger Wiegand

Beta Tester
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
Messages
790
Likes
916
Location
Wayland, MA
Website
www.carouselorgan.com
I borrowed a mobility kit, made a couple of ramps and rolled it off the pallet to where it needed to go. Easy peasey. When I moved it again later I lifted it end by end with a chain hoist, slid a piano dolly under each end, rolled it to the new location and then used the same method to pull the dollies out. I don't expect to ever need to move it again.
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2018
Messages
841
Likes
935
Location
Penrose, NC
Well...I don't know if it is the best way to go about it...but We needed a bigger tractor - because I want to build a pole barn....to put the tractor in... :D. And driveway maintenance, and ditch clearing...AND log moving. So this is a Kubota L47 - a true backhoe tractor - with a hydraulic thumb on the backhoe for picking up logos and rocks. And a 4 in 1 "clamshell" front end loader. It can also grab logs and move them. Fun machine, but a little intimidating at first - with the ability to customize the sensitivity of the hydraulics....
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
124
Likes
160
Location
Barneveld, Wisconsin
Website
www.turnrobust.com
Have to admit I'm guilty of owning three Kubota's - the largest an L48 loader backhoe (older version of the L47 Tim refers to). Anyway, short of a lathe, they are pretty handy to have around :) . We have info on moving lathes under the support tab on our website (none of it involves using a tractor...). Anyone moving a larger lathe might find the info helpful. Brent at Robust Tools.
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2016
Messages
2,326
Likes
1,105
Location
Nebraska
A chain hoist rigged from rafters in your shop or garage can be used to lift one or both ends of the lathe while you install the wheels.
A fabric tow strap wrapped around the bed is the safest way to lift the machine without scratching the paint.
I have a attic access door that I position a 4x4 across the opening on top of the rafters to spread the weight across several sets of rafters that I rig the hoist to.
I use the chain hoist to unload lathes, mills, large table saws, large billets and logs from my truck.
You can usually rent these kind of tools or go to Harbor Freight and buy them for under a $100.
 

Timothy Allen

Beta Tester
Beta Tester
Joined
Sep 11, 2019
Messages
212
Likes
148
Location
Maine
To get the pallet out from under my Sweet 16, I used a combination of 4x4's, blocking, and jacks, to lift the lathe enough to slide the pallet out, and then lower the lathe to the ground...
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2018
Messages
116
Likes
79
Location
Nashville, TN
Tim...looks like a mobility kit attached to a strong chew/pull toy and those beautiful boxers will pull it anywhere you want...you are definitely a fortunate fellow.
 
Back
Top