Changing the pallet for a 10x15 C&P

Hello friends,

My 10x15 is on a very old pallet, and I would like to change it to a new pallet. Is there any way to do so that doesn’t involve the use of a floor crane?

Thanks for any input you may have!

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Depends on the pallet it’s on - if there is clearance, you may be able to lift the frame with a hydraulic jack, some blocking and some 4x4s. Then you should be able to remove & rebuild the pallet in place.

Be very careful not to tip it - if it lands on something important, it can kill you.

This is a VERY dicey process and you need to be VERY careful when doing it not to tip the press, but twice now to move or re-palletize 12x18s, I’ve slid four two by fours through the bottom of the frame of the press, parallel to the crankshaft. With two pallet jacks (usually easy to borrow) you can jack up either side of the press slowly (just enough to slide the pallet out) and then slide another pallet under. Release the jacks and the press will be resting on the pallet. Not very good advice if you can’t find pallet jacks, but if you can, it will work.

Dropping press

Many years ago, the Chapel decided to put a display in the Labour Day parade. We borrowed a treadle platen press which was not being used, put it on the back of a truck; the idea was that a man would treadle the press, distribute [pre-printed] leaflets.

The truck driver went across some waves in a part of the road at an angle, we had not fastened the press down to the bed of the truck, the press rolled off. This cost the Union about equivalent to three weeks’ wages of one man, the owners had expected to be able to trade-in the platen if they ever bought a new press.

Alan.

I did the same thing modernman did with the 2 x 4s but I had already returned the pallet jacks so I used my car jack instead. Moved it from corner to corner, raising it only a inch or so at a time, and using lots of blocking. Just need a lot of patience not to raise it too quickly and risk tipping it. That was actually the hardest part. :-)

@modernman is correct - this is a VERY dicey process. If the old pallet is solid enough, you might be able to raise it using a pallet jack, block it in place with 4x4s and blocking, remove the old pallet and replace with a new one.

Happy Fourth of July! There will be no press moving or toppling for me today.

Thanks all for your responses. Yesterday I transported the press myself, strapped (with 4000lb ratcheting straps) to the pallet as I had done before. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had removed the bolts securing the press to the pallet (because previously I tried to change the pallet with no success). Last year I had tried using the two-by four method, but my boards bent and I decided to stop rather than die >_<.

After driving 7 miles, one of the feet fell off the pallet, but because of the way the press was strapped, it was still upright (one strap pulled one way and the other strap pulled the other way).

The press has been stored on the old pallet with a pallet jack underneath for additional support, since the old pallet is no longer sturdy. Since the press is already on a pallet, I’m not sure I can use modernman’s method of two pallet jacks to lift it up. My pallet jacks don’t move that high.

I’m fortunate enough to live near the Hicks brothers, and I called Norman Hicks (www.printingequip.com) to see what I could do. He recommended using car jacks and blocks as Little Acorn described, but instead of two-by-fours, he suggested getting steel crowbars from the hardware store. This solves the problem of the bending two-by-fours.

I’m tempted to do it myself, but as I have to drag the press up the driveway I may just shell out the several hundred dollars for peace of mind. The driveway is only about a 2 degree slope, but my father and I had enough trouble bringing the press onto the drop-deck trailer I used. Perhaps 3-4 guys could push it uphill?

I’ll try to post some pictures of the process; hopefully it can help someone in a similar situation.

It doesn’t really matter how high up your press is if you are using the pallet jack method, you just have to block on the fingers of your pallet jacks so that there is no space between the wood running through your press and them when you start pumping.

Remember, only lift the press up enough to slide the pallet out (1” or so) and have the other pallet ready to slide under, preferably with someone else who pushes it under while you take the other one out. If the press is 1” above a pallet there is very little risk of topple, but if you remove the pallet and leave it dangling 6 or 8 inches above the floor things can get messy.

Perhaps I am the only one who has the question.
Why have the press on a pallet?

So you can move it around easily with a pallet jack - don’t you ever get the urge to redecorate?

8)

Ahoy Sports Fans

Inky is right

pray tell why keep
a press on a Pallet

most pallets are not
made for long term use

to me it seems safer
to keep a press on a pair of 4 by 4’s
or doubled up 2 by 6’s

move it
roll it
use iron pipe rollers

the Pops are sweeter
and the taste is new
they are shot with sugar
through and through
Sugar Pops are tops

mac
dit dit

I may have the press put on 4x4’s after all, but first I think it needs to be put on a new pallet before I even think about moving it up the driveway. The old pallet has just seen too much abuse. For the record, I was thinking about building an extra-strong pallet comprised of 4x4’s but it might just make it too high to use for printing.

And well, sometimes I DO get the urge to redecorate, albeit with much lighter objects (usually) =)

my 10x15 rests on 2x4’s, and i do like to rearrange the furniture from time to time, most of my equipment is on 2x4’s, the ludlow is on 4x4’s, and the 12x18 golding is on 2x6’s. there always seems to be a better way to arrange my shop, i don’t know why but i keep moving things around.

In my experience with a variety of methods … the best and safest way is to use a forklift to raise and lower your press for this process. Invite a couple of friends to “share in the experience.” Reward everyone afterward with a round of cold sodas while you praise the fact you didn’t do it the hard way.

Here’s my 8x12 C&P setup - 4x4 runners with 2x8 crosspieces (glued and screwed together), and the press is bolted on. I made up a small insert piece which slips in the front of the pallet, so I can stand at the same height as the press. In the back, you can see my Vandercook is on a pallet too.

image: pallets.png

pallets.png

dick you have a Golding now? Sweet! My kluge is pinned to the floor so it doesn’t walk, but the shop where it is at, just received a 12 x18 kluge bolted to a skid. They have it all powered up and are going to keep it that way. They used a pallet jack to move both kluges. I need to stand on a skid to run the 12 x 18. .

Kluge Girl, my kluge just quit on me right in the middle of a long run, seems the darn thing walked about 4 inches away from the wall and broke a wire, maybe pinning it to the floor isn’t a bad idea. Golding was the last press i was ever going to get, but that darn John Falstrom had to tell me how good they are so now i have onw, still don’t have a motor on it, i’ve been trying to get the intertype running first, forgot how many parts are in one of those things, the golding and intertype came from the same place, they sat in an unheated garage since the early 1970’s, lots of cleaning on these guys.

Here is what I did with my 12 x 18:
http://byhugo.com/wordpress/2011/06/26/olivia-put-to-bed/
I decided on the measurements and spacing of the 4x6 rough timbers after measuring the pallet jacks for rent mt my local rental place. Really paid of when I suddenly was able to snag another press and had to move my first love.

Hugo