some portions edited (email removed, etc...):
From: Milton Watkins
Date: Sat Jun 7, 2003 3:49:07 PM US/Pacific
To: LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA
Subject: Re: tip of dismantling a paper cutter
Reply-To: Letterpress Discussion List <LETPRESS@unb.ca>
I completely dismantled a manual paper cutter, I have to move it on my
own before I owned some lifting equipment, my paper cutter stood with
clamp fully up about 7 foot high by about 4 feet wide, it was one that
operated by turning the handle round to activate the knife via a couple
of large cast iron wheels on the left-hand side of the machine. All that
I did was take notes on how I pull it apart and make sure every nut went
back on the same bolt and put it together using my notes in reverse.
I don't use this paper cutter any more so I am dismantling the rear
table and welding the gears together and painting it using a special
clear paint that they use on ships so as it wont rust and sitting it out
the front of my shop as a garden ornament.
Good luck on your move
Regards,
Milton Watkins
Ballarat Bookbinding & Specialist Printing
312 Albert Street
Sebastopol, Victoria, 3356, Australia.
Phone/Fax: +61 3 5336 0057
Mobile: 0438 876 467
Email: ballarat@
Website: http://www.bookbinding.com.au
Do not dismantle that sweet cutter!! I think you'll be sorry soon if
you do.
Better yet, learn, study the art of moving heavy stuff! Get a copy of
MOVING HEAVY THINGS by Jan Adkins, or similar help. If you are going to
stay in the Letterpress "business" you may as well get used to moving
heavy stuff - BTW, I have moved presses, cutters, steel make-up tables onto
a pickup - using levers, bricks, concrete blocks, 2x4 wood studs, and of course,
3" round pipe! If they can build a Pyramid, then I can . . .
JohnC :]
----- Original Message -----
To: <LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA>
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2003 6:30 PM
Subject: tip of dismantling a paper cutter
John,
I agree it is better to move something without dismantling it but some
people do not have the ability to move something that big, when I moved my
very first machine it was that paper cutter I mentioned and a 1857 Albion Iron
hand press, I was to scared to move them as a whole, if I dropped them or they
fell I and the machine would be shattered, so I felt the safest way to move
it was to dismantle them, and now I have some lifting equipment I would very
rarely dismantle anything now except for my Albion, dismantling is the safest
thing to do with this item.
The paper cutter is a very basic machine and disassembled and assembled
correctly will make sure it transfers safely, plus paper cutters have
feet not bases so 3 inch pipes are out of the question, but great for other
items, I actually used 3⁄4 inch pipes to move my Intertype.
Regards,
Milton Watkins
Ballarat Bookbinding & Specialist Printing
312 Albert Street
Sebastopol, Victoria, 3356, Australia.
Phone/Fax: +61 3 5336 0057
Mobile: 0438 876 467
Email: ballarat@
Website: http://www.bookbinding.com.au
You are right, Milton. It is done every day, I know. Everything
I learned was as a learner, always ready to learn, so I made mistakes, but
learned to "cut my losses" and so I took advise from "every
printing man in sight" when I was in a MOVE situation. There is
more than one way to do every job - thankfully - because them jobs get done
everyday - all over the world - in different ways!
It's good hearing from you "down under" - what would I give to come
see you and all that you've done!
SPEAKING OF MOVING THINGS - I wish I could move (bring) myself and my
wife to where you are - and get to say "Hello" in person. Meanwhile,
this'll have to do, friend!
JohnC :]
From: John Carroll
Date: Sat Jun 7, 2003 5:08:59 PM US/Pacific
To: LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA
Subject: Re: tip of dismantling a paper cutter
Reply-To: Letterpress Discussion List <LETPRESS@unb.ca>
Yep, Lee, I have found the "roll-back" car carriers to be a great
help to
the letterpress equipment mover!
Not at all expensive for short runs.
JohnC :}
From: Lee Smith
Date: Sat Jun 7, 2003 7:39:10 PM US/Pacific
To: LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA
Subject: Re: tip of dismantling a paper cutter
Reply-To: Letterpress Discussion List <LETPRESS@unb.ca>
What I've done to move heavy stuff like cutters and presses, etc., is
to
hire a local towing service to come with a roll back car carrier, with
which
they can winch on the machine, then transfer it to your truck. The same
can
be done when you get it home to unload it to ground level..
Lee Smith
Homestead Printingworks
Fultonville NY
From: Milton Watkins
Date: Sat Jun 7, 2003 9:10:54 PM US/Pacific
To: LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA
Subject: Re: tip of dismantling a paper cutter
Reply-To: Letterpress Discussion List <LETPRESS@unb.ca>
Just looking at the pic of your cutter, it's not the same model as the
one I dismantled but I have another similar to the one in your pic, I
am
not sure how far this one would dismantle as the one I did most of the
separated parts could be placed on a bag trolley and lifted by one
person. I think this one might have a frame that would not come apart
there fore would take a few if not more men to lift. Sorry I cant be
of
more help, if you didn't want to disassemble it you can always hire or
find someone with a fork lift. Put it on a pallet and away you go.
Regards,
Milton Watkins
Ballarat Bookbinding & Specialist Printing
312 Albert Street
Sebastopol, Victoria, 3356, Australia.
Phone/Fax: +61 3 5336 0057
Mobile: 0438 876 467
Email: ballarat@
Website: http://www.bookbinding.com.au
From: "Roland A. Paquette"
Date: Sat Jun 7, 2003 9:18:03 PM US/Pacific
To: LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA
Subject: Re: tip of dismantling a paper cutter
Reply-To: Letterpress Discussion List <LETPRESS@unb.ca>
The F150 or Better yet find an F250 or F350 Dually.
There is more iron in that Cutter than in the VW Golf.
Also probably like any Floor Press...VERY Top Heavy and easy to Tip.
And
I Guarantee that if you tip it over in the truck it WILL cause serious
body damage...other than that caused by the owner of the truck when you
return it all dented up...
Call a Towing Company and ask them to send out a Medium Duty truck
(generally referred to as a Class B) with an extendable boom along with
a pair of short Recovery Straps that can be wrapped around the cutter
and used to lift it. A double pair of Motorcyle Straps would probably
suffice. This eliminates chains.
A Class B has a boom strong enough to pick the cutter up at full
extension and is also hefty enough that it can carry the weight if
necessary for the truck to move around and get over the pickup. A
smaller towtruck while probably able to pick it up may be trapped where
it is by the necessity of deploying jackstands or outriggers for
stabilization. Not a problem if you can back the pickup under the load
but a problem if this is not possible.
A flatbed (Car Carrier) would work if the cutter was on large castors
and you have very thick sheets of plywood to line the pickup bed with.
Trying to manouver a Pallet Jack onto a pickup bed which is NOT
perfectly flat...remember the ridges...and the 1 to 2 inch drop off the
bed of the carrier is EXTREMELY dangerous. They (Pallet Jacks) are NOT
designed for this and the wheels will get caught/jam and the load will
possibley tip over.
Also remember that the hinges or straps that hold the tailgate on are
NOT strong enough to support the cutter so if needs be remove the
tailgate first.
~ R
Whose Family owns a Towing/Machinery Transport Company and Salvage Yard.
Roland A. Paquette
Orchids's Letterpress
I move printing presses around the world as a business. I first moved
a Relience hand-fed cylinder 30 years ago. We ran it to support ourselves
at University. (College in USA) Most student protest posters in Queensland,
Australia during the early seventies were printed from linocuts on the
Reliance.
I now move large multilmilliion dollar presses from Europe & USA to China & Australia.
A few points to remember:
All presses are made from cast iron. That means you must avoid shock
or twisting. Cast iron is wonderful stuff; it is stable when machined, cheap,
very strong , hard wearing and corrosion resistant. However it has very little
ductility and is quite brittle, it shatters easily.
I would never recommend dragging any press onto a car trailer, all presses
are top heavy!If you have to drag one accross a level concrete floor, hire "machinery
skates" from a hire shop and lever it onto three of them (not four) and
gently push it to where you need to go. (each skate will support 20 tonnes)The
next step is to hire a self loading truck with a "Hiab" crane attached.
The hourly rate for one that can lift 9 tonnes alongside is quite small. (~US$45/hour)
Iron hand presses are particularily brittle because they were cast during
a time when castings had much more carbon in them. The structure of a hand
press is also not braced for sliding the machine anywhere. I would dismantle
it or, if lifting whole, sling around the feet, with a stay to the bed
track.( the same applies to a hand cutter)
This should be done by an experienced rigger or truckie with lifting
experience. Old hand pressses or cutters are largely held together by gravity,
lifting can create stress forces and component separations the machine was
never designed for. An experienced rigger will make sure that the lifting stresses
are vertical, in the direction of gravitational forces the machine was designed
to support.
These old machines did not survive by accident or amatuerism, think carefully
and use good advice. Your average truckie with a self loading truck understands
lifting heavy metal.
Charlie Scandrett
Brisbane Australia
I just picked up a similar hand lever guillotine in Sydney, 4 hours drive
away.
It was picked up by a Hiab and put onto our single axle box trailer,
front to the tow bar. With the table overhanging at the back we braced some
timber to hold the back and tied the front to the tow bar and used a strap
across it plus ropes, it moved a little but travelled fine. The towing car
was my 1986 Toyota Tarago. Be very careful as they are top heavy.
I have also moved a 1250 Multi and a Ludlow on the trailer and the Ludlow
was the worst a lot heavier than the others. Arthur Johnson at Gulgong
Australia
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Moving machines is always a problem for us as most are at least 4 hours
travel away.
One of our museum volunteers has a 4 ton truck and we have used it to
pick up the Linotype and the Intertype, but he is a farmer and is not always
available. We have a carrier in town that if you are not in a hurry to pick
up gear is very good to the museum, the trouble is you have to get someone
with a Hiab to pick it up and take it to his depot. It's good to get given
machines free but the cost of moving them can be high. This is why I have moved
a lot of gear in my old trailer. Will get our Guillotine unloaded on Tuesday
and clean it up ready to use.
On our Vertical it is not turning the cylinder when the paper is fed
into the grippers, we found one very rotten air hose and will replace it tomorrow
and I hope that will fix it. I will replace all the flexible air hoses when
the hardware opens on Tuesday.
Arthur Johnson at Gulgong NSW Australia.
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From: George Chapman
Date: Sun Jun 8, 2003 6:47:24 AM US/Pacific
To: LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA
Subject: Re: moving a paper cutter
Reply-To: Letterpress Discussion List <LETPRESS@unb.ca>
Twenty or more years ago I was offered a "free" paper cutter which
was soon
to be walled in, in a basement location. An Acme Gem, it was larger than
the
one I was using and had a handle that was in one piece (a cheater pipe
had
to be used with my C&P cutter).
Best of all there was an elevator, although an old hand powered one.
Rolling it to the elevator was no problem and as I recall we got it on
the
elevator without any problems either. Then the truth hit...there was
no way
the ancient lift would lift the weight of this "gem."
Back to the drawing boards: dismantle and take the parts up in smaller
units. That worked and we wheeled the unit down the street one block
in
pieces, put it back together and it has worked fine ever since (or at
least
until I sold the business 13 years ago. Now it sits unused.
Yes, it is better to move machinery intact, BUT, many times there are
circumstances that preclude this and then you do what you have to.
George Chapman
The Bruin Press
Silverton, Colorado
George P. Gordon, C&P, Baltimorean, and Multigraph
http://diuguid.homestead.com/TheBruinPress.html
(Still living in Murray, Kentucky: Doesn't someone want a nice 1895 brick
Queen Anne?)
www.diuguid.homestead.com
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