Dismantling a Rapid E outsole stitcher machine head from table for transport - HOW?!

[Vinculus]

So I am looking to get an old Rapid E outsole stitcher from a friend of mine. Problem is, I live in an apartment up a single curved flight of stairs. I don't think there's any way to get enough manpower to lift and carry the whole 620+lb. thing in one single pice up the stairs.

My friend tells me it's possible to separate the machine head from the table for easier transport. Has anyone of you ever done this before, how hard is it - and is it worth it at all? I'm basically getting the machine for free since she's having such a hard time selling it, although it's been serviced and adjusted. I currently don't have a three-phase outlet to power the machine, but it will mainly be "in storage" at my place and I'll hand crank it for a while until we move to a bigger place. In the meanwhile I'm used to hand stitching outsoles on my shoes and boots anyway, and this is an investment for the future.

Thoughts? Advice? Step-by-step guides? Anything is welcome. The only thing I know is I can't bear the fact that the machine is currently sitting outside under a tarp when winter is coming.

[mikesc]

First of all, are you sure that your apartment floor can take the weight of the machine concentrated into the area of its "footprint" ?
( unless the floor is made of steel reinforced concrete, it may not be able to support the weight, and you could find it suddenly again at ground level )

Secondly, can your stairs take the weight ? even split some of the parts may weigh one or two hundred pounds, two hundred pounds carried by two strong guys means that each of them will probably have a total weight of 250 pounds to 300 pounds ( or more ) that is their own weight plus t the weight they are carrying, that means each of their steps is placing a total weight of 250 to 300 lbs on each stair riser, concentrated in just the area of their shoe sole..

Thirdly..you might want to talk to your insurers first, because if anything happens, they will not consider placing such a weight on the stairs or the floor as "normal", and thus may well refuse to pay out if there is an accident , involving damage or injury, during or after the heavyweight acrobatics.

My father had a removal business after he retired from the military, I was involved for a few years, in order to have such a business ( or certain kinds of transport businesses ) one has to have in the UK ( and most other EU countries ) what was known in the UK as a "certificate of professional competence"..( requires a quite stringent examination to be passed and to gain the certificate, we both obtained the qualification, and all the other licences, HGV artic' , forklift etc )..These were the kind of questions I would have asked anyone who approached us to move such a weight into an apartment via stairs..or even into a house at ground floor level..the floors in most domestic buildings are not designed ( nor are they capable of ) supporting this kind of weight when it is not spread out over a reasonable area.If someone could not prove to me that they were insured for such, and that they had had an architect "sign off" on the exercise..I would have politely declined the task, and left it under the tarp..on terra firma. :)

Edited November 19, 2017 by mikesc

[brmax]

You would save a lot of time and effort keeping it stored safely on a ground level, unless an industrial type building imo. Anyway this kind of large equipment could be moved by rolling on solid rod or pipes in stepped diameters carefully placed. I would look around your area for lift gate trucks with the capacity to lift this and haul it. They likely have hand operated fork lifts so to move around pallets say from truck to the other close area. Thats my .02 cents

 

Good day

Floyd

[CowboyBob]

Yes,it would be easier to take the head off,I can't tell you what to do,I have done them before but it's something you can look at & see what connects from the top to the bottom.one thing when you take it off is the tension mechanism will be hanging underneath by 3-4 in & you need to set it down & lay it on the backside so you don't damage it.There's 4 head bolts ,a screw through the foot lift arm to takeoff(or maybe a cable)

IDK if it's that heavy,I once delivered a Landis Model E myself,wheeled it out of my trailer on a ramp & into the shoe repair shop on the 2-wheel cart.

[480volt]

If you’re going to have to pay someone to move it, they might as well move it in one piece. It looks top-heavy, like a lathe. A good many lathes have been wrecked by  inexperienced people not understanding this fact and tipping them over. If it were me, I’d bolt it to a pallet and try and talk a friend into letting me store it in their garage. Maybe make ‘em some shoes. If it’s going to sit in an un-heated space for a long time unused, there is a product called Boeshield that was designed by Boeing to prevent rust on bare metal surfaces.

[Vinculus]

14 hours ago, mikesc said:

First of all, are you sure that your apartment floor can take the weight of the machine concentrated into the area of its "footprint" ?
( unless the floor is made of steel reinforced concrete, it may not be able to support the weight, and you could find it suddenly again at ground level )

Secondly, can your stairs take the weight ? even split some of the parts may weigh one or two hundred pounds, two hundred pounds carried by two strong guys means that each of them will probably have a total weight of 250 pounds to 300 pounds ( or more ) that is their own weight plus t the weight they are carrying, that means each of their steps is placing a total weight of 250 to 300 lbs on each stair riser, concentrated in just the area of their shoe sole..

Thirdly..you might want to talk to your insurers first, because if anything happens, they will not consider placing such a weight on the stairs or the floor as "normal", and thus may well refuse to pay out if there is an accident , involving damage or injury, during or after the heavyweight acrobatics.

My father had a removal business after he retired from the military, I was involved for a few years, in order to have such a business ( or certain kinds of transport businesses ) one has to have in the UK ( and most other EU countries ) what was known in the UK as a "certificate of professional competence"..( requires a quite stringent examination to be passed and to gain the certificate, we both obtained the qualification, and all the other licences, HGV artic' , forklift etc )..These were the kind of questions I would have asked anyone who approached us to move such a weight into an apartment via stairs..or even into a house at ground floor level..the floors in most domestic buildings are not designed ( nor are they capable of ) supporting this kind of weight when it is not spread out over a reasonable area.If someone could not prove to me that they were insured for such, and that they had had an architect "sign off" on the exercise..I would have politely declined the task, and left it under the tarp..on terra firma.

These are all great points. To address your first issue, the floor of our apartment is made out of a couple of feet of steel reinforced concrete. This is the student village, so the buildings are very bare-bones with the "innards" made to last and they just replace the floor coverings and such as needed. As for the stairs, they are similarly built. I think this will be the least of my issues. I already have an old Adler 68 on a huge cast iron table as well as a skiving machine in the opposite end of the room and combined they probably weigh around the same - although the footprint is definitely a larger surface area.

However, you have got me thinking. After some further investigation, we do have cheap storage units here in the student village on the ground floor of a heated building. After having a look at the machine later today, I might just book one of those store units and keep it there.

Thank you for your input, it was most valuable!

 

[Vinculus]

How this ended up going:

Gave up on the idea of getting it home. Rented a self storage space and arranged for having it transported there while I wait until we move to a bigger place. Gonna be a real nightmare to move it from Finland to Norway when the time comes to move though.

But it got it for €350, so I can't complain.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

[thunter9]

yes

 

[Vinculus]

Since I already have the thread here, I guess I can ask a question regarding the motor.

Right now it's fitted with a 380V motor. I'd like to change this to a normal 230V motor, as that's just way more convenient. Can I just get a 1000W/1HP servo motor for regular industrial sewing machines, or does a curved needle sole stitcher require a particular type of motor?

[brmax]

Just to be curious, first.

What hp motor is on it now, and what dia. pulley is on the motor at present. 

Do you have a photo of the back gearing/pulley arrangement possibly. 

Good day

Floyd