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This was a job; it's very top-heavy. I used an overhead crane.
The overhead crane/awning I built at Airco came in very handy. We offloaded the lathe in the crate from the 18-wheeler into the bed of my pickup. Then, drove around back and picked it out of the pickup with our crane. Transporting it to my home shope and geeting it off the truck there was even more difficult. We used cribbage.
Here it is, finally set up and operational.
One last picture. I sure enjoy machining.
Les went to Alabama to get the Bridgeport Mill from the eBay seller. After stripping and painting the base, Les (left) and Stanley (right) helped me transport the Bridgeport mill from the shop to the house. We used an engine hoist tor get it off the trailer and into my shop.
Here it is in its final position in my shop. I removed the head and stripped it down to hundreds of parts. Then, I either fabricated or purchased new parts where the old ones were worn out. Also bought new table screws and X/Y crosspiece to remove the slop in the table motion cranks.
Always wanted my tools organized. This was my chance. It's a lot of trouble, but worth the effort I believe.
It hasn't looked this clean since the picture was taken 2 years ago.
For once in my life, everything I need is at my fingertips. No excuses.
This was a job; it's very top-heavy. I used an overhead crane.
I didn't know 35 years ago, that I was a "tool person". I only accumulated
tools for which there was an immediate need. Occasionally, acquisitions included
lasting quality pieces; but not often. Good tools are more expensive than
cheap tools.
Over the
years, I learned that cheap tools don't work well or last very long . Just
when you need it the most, the cheap tool will fail. True craftsmen can create
fine furniture using nothing but a brace/bit, hand saw, and coping saw. For
the rest of us, the better the tools . . . . the better the finished product.
In the past 10 years, I have restricted my tool acquisitions to more durable,
long-lasting, and higher-quality pieces.
The crowning
additions to my home shop are the 12x36 lathe and 42" Bridgeport mill.
One cannot imagine how useful they both have been in my hobbyist endeavors.
I find uses for each that I didn't even have before they entered the picture.
