...............I bought a 10" rotary table and tailsock, 2 milling machine vices, and a tilting table (to name the heaviest things) almost 2 years before getting the mill, and they've been in the way big time. They each weigh right at 80 lbs apiece. The idea of costructing shelves on the wall opposite the mill didn't apeal to me as I figured I'd have to brace them on the concrete floor, and floor space was at a premium. Besides, I STILL have to lift them off the shelf, turn around and step to the mill and then set them on the table.
I had seen photo's of how guys had made a shelf around, or on one side or another of thier mill to set such heavy things on. Again, I just did NOT have the room. I'd gotten a flyer from Harbor Freight with a 15% off coupon, and it also had a 1000 lb capacity hydraulic lift table on sale for $169 or so.
The orange part is the Harbor Freight partI used 1" Black gas pipe for the corners and connected them with 3/4" angle. The pipe at each corner was welded to a 1" x 3" strap that was then bolted through the bed of the lift table with two 5/16" bolts each. Then there are 2 pieces of angle across from side to side under each shelf. I then laid 3/4" 7 ply oak plywood inside the angle iron. Setting bare machined steel surfaces on wood isn't good, as the wood will suck the oil off and possibly collect humidity. In any event, to make the stuff slide easier I glued a sheet of 1/8" acrylic plastic over the wood of each shelf.
The mill table will drop down to 36" off the floor so the top shelf was made to be 36" off the floor also. The angle iron laying on the 2nd shelf had been 'C' clamped down to compress the acrylic down while the glue set up and I just didn't remove them before getting the photo's. The shelf unit had been painted a nice satin black and those white looking patches are actually the very bright afternoon sun shining in through the open garage door reflecting off some acrylic sheet scrap that was lying on the floor!
In the left photo I've elevated the lift table so the 2nd shelf is just shy of equal with the mill table height. The mill table isn't dropped as low as it will go. The right photo shows how the VFD was originally mounted . While the arm the DRO and VFD are mounted on will swing back, due to the wiring for the VFD it wound't go far enough if the hydraulic table was pumped up all the way. So the VFD had a new mount fabicated to put it above the arm and closer to the mill.
The curved arm sticking out is what you pump to lift the table, and loaded with all that cast iron you DO have to use the leg muscles to pump it up. The table originally had a chrome handle on the end so you could push it around. It would have been in the way so I cut it off and then sectioned out the piece with the pressure release handle and mounted int down on the bottom left corner of the base. It doesn't move up or down. So you can easily stand in front of the mill table and pump the table up, but there is plently of room under the table to squat down and squeeze the lever to lower the table. When I need to mount the rotary table or swap off vices the hydraulic table can be moved to within a scant inch or so of the backside of the mill table. Much close rthen it is in the pictures.
I still have some stuff up on shelves I need to put on the table, as it's much more convienient. These additional things aren't items I'll be using all that often but the freed up shelf space is needed for even less used items that are now in the way.
So that's ANOTHER little "To Do" that can be struck off the list. Another done and only a couple hundred others to go!
................Buckshot
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All kidding aside-That's the sign of a true craftsman!
