Disassembling & Crating a PRS - Questions

[gerryv]

Just bought a 5'x8' PRS Alpha and will need to fly out to disassemble it. There are a lot of nuts and bolts holding the beams and legs together so I'm wondering about tools in general and "socket size in particular." Would it be advisable to take along an impact wrench?

We’ll need to build a skid/crate on site to ship it by transport company. If anyone has an any pic's or suggested designs your input would be greatly appreciated. Should the skid base be built for end and side access by forklift?

It's traveling about 2000 miles so I'm wondering about the possibility of them loading it on a flatbread with tarp. Maybe not a problem but...:confused: Any experience with this?

Thanks much,
Gerry

[ken_rychlik]

Best advice I can give is to buy shipping insurance. I bought a sawstop table saw and it was destroyed in shipping. At least the insurance paid for it. The guys running the forklifts on the docks have no mercy, so try to make it as bullet proof as possible.

If I were flying to take it apart, I would rent a box truck and bring it back myself.

Lots of 3/4 inch wrenches for the big nuts on the frame. Lots of 1/2 inch wrenches for the small frame bolts. Hex sockets(allen wrenches), mostly 3/16 but take a full set of them.

Depending on where it's at, it may be cheaper to pay an experienced shopbot person in the area to take it apart for you.

[danhamm]

How close to me..? maybe I can help..

[jerry_stanek]

If you have access to a flatbed trailer I would pick it up. Just take the gantry off and strap it down good. It woud fit in a standard pickup truck if you take it apart.

[gerryv]

Kenneth,
Some very good advise, as usual. I'm making notes.

Dan,
It's about equidistant for you or I but thanks much for the offer. If it were nearby I'd have jumped on it with your experience.

Jerry,
Unfortunately, with gas prices here at the equivalent of $5.00 usd per US gal. and the lousy milage I'd get pulling a trailer plus the 2.5 days of hotels, food, etc. each way it would likely cost me more than going through a broker to find someone running this way empty. Plus this old geezer would need a week to recover ;)

[ken_rychlik]

Airplanes are not cheap either. lol
Where is it?
I drove from Houston to Maryland to get my latest cnc. Enclosed trailer for this one.
It always seems to be across the country. The one before that was a prs shobot that was in California. That one I took all the way apart and put it in the back of a pickup.

[michael_schwartz]

You will want something to cut zip ties with.

[myxpykalix]

Why don't you contact shopbot and ask them if they would give you their cut files or dxf's for when they make their shipping containers? They cut theirs themselves.
They have a fancy little clips that holds the sides together, ask where they get those too). Since they have all the contours and angles worked out thats what i'd do.

[gerryv]

Ken, Interesting thought on the pickup truck. It's 2/3 of the way to the west coast and I'm in eastern Ontario so that would be less for fuel than pulling my enclosed trailer. My son was just down in Maine picking up a chair he had in a furniture exhibit down there and said my toyota FJ with trailer was horrible on fuel.

Michael, I'd not thought of the zip ties, thanks much.

Jack, good thought on asking Shopbot but then maybe they will want to give me "a whack upside the head" because I was giving serious consideration to a new one until this one popped up. Looks like the tool changer or dual axis one will have to wait a year or two now :eek:

[Brady Watson]

You can get the entire tool in a long bed pickup. My advice would be to make a crate the same size as the original SB crate & make another mini-crate out of 2X6's to hold the table side extrusions and rails.

You'll need at the very least, the following tools in your kit:

Wire cutters
Flat & Phillips Screwdrivers
Sockets - 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 3/4 - regular & deep
Wrenches - 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 3/4 + 1.25" Adjustable
Rubber Mallet
Screw gun/drill with selection of bits, incl 5/16" nut driver AND 1/4" hex to 3/8" drive socket adapter + batteries & charger
Sawzall with demolition blade
COMPLETE set of Allen/hex keys SAE & Metric down to 2.5mm up to 8mm
Skillsaw, tape, pencil, ext cord

-----

Hardware:
Gallon & Quart Zip top bags
Bubble wrap & other assorted cushions
Pre-fabbed crate, AT LEAST 80" long X 34 wide, 24" tall
Pre-fabbed crate, 6.125 X 4 X 120" INTERNAL dimensions
4pcs 1x3x96" pine
1" and 2" drywall screws
1 sheet of OSB 7/16"
zip ties
Extra HD cardboard boxes
-----

When you get on site, begin by removing the table. Sawzall in between crossmembers in 3 places. Crawl underneath with deep socket 9/16 on end of screw gun and unbolt. Put nuts & washers in zip top bag. Throw table in trash. Then carefully unwire the control box. Take the entire wire bundle and neatly coil it all the way up to the Y-car CableSchlepp. Zip tie the coil and place the wires in a gallon zip bag. Secure to gantry. Remove spindle/router & put into cardboard box. Remove entire gantry and carefully set it on it's back on the floor. It will be heavy.

Follow the PRS Assembly manual in reverse to disassemble the tool. Crossmembers (upper & lower) and legs without feet attached, go in the bottom of the crate, as do the gussets. Pad and place gantry on top. Place OSB divider and place control box on that. Nest router and other parts where you can with LOTS of padding. Use 1x3s for support and to brace crate across the 34" dimension & screw in from outside. Brace & screw down gantry & control box.

Pad in between X table sides and remove rails by loosening & sliding rails off the extrusions. PAD EVERYTHING WELL!!! Protect those rails! You'll also want to secure the YZ car in the crate.

When you are done you'll have the big crate, and the long crate & whatever else you got in the deal. Don't rush or get slap happy and just throw it in the crate. Care on the front end will pay you later when you have to reassemble.

I would strongly advise taking pics along the way to help your memory.

-B

[gerryv]

That's incredibly helpful Brady, thanks so much.

About the pic's along the way - with my very limited short-term memory I've learned that smart phones with cameras are almost worth more in this application than as a phone! I just have to remember to do it...

[myxpykalix]

Brady left out the most important tool that you will need to take.....
A HAMMER! :rolleyes:

[Brady Watson]

You can smash yer finger pretty good with the rubber mallet in the list. If you don't believe me, give it a try :D

-B

[ken_rychlik]

Me and my son had the prs stripped and loaded in my truck in 1 1/2 hrs. Not really all that much to it. The worst part was the weight of the gantry. That is at least a two person job to handle. Mine didn't have any kind of vac hold down though. That would have taken a bit longer.

As for carrying in a Toyota.. the main rails will be 10ft long so that my be an issue.

[Towersonline]

You might consider a crating/shipping company. They will come on site disassemble, crate and move out the machine I have used them in the past with good results. It turned out less expensive than traveling to pick it up or crating and shipping it myself. I think it was around $1,700 from the west coast to Maine.

[jerry_stanek]

where is the unit located. Is it in Canada or the US if it is in the US you will need extra paper work to get it across the boarder. have you checked with something like PODS to see how much they would charge.

[gerryv]

Brady,
So I think you're warning me that rubber is "soft" is a relative term! I'll heed that advise. I may also want to hide that rubber mallet from my wife who doesn't quite seem to fully buy into my explanations regarding incremental upgrading :D

Kenneth,
That's a good reminder about the weight of the gantry. Funny how we can get caught by the "aluminum is light" idea. I found that out when I bought my Buddy 32 and decided to lift the gantry off to load it in a pickup :eek:

Bill,
That is very good advise. I will look into that for sure. That said, it is sitting right in the middle of "oil patch" country which is booming along 24-7 right now so it won't come cheap as anyone with those skills is in very high demand. I'm actually hoping I can do it this way though, otherwise we've decided it will be my son going for it (chuckle).

Jerry,
It is in Canada so that will make it a little easier. The paper work is actually not that bad to bring it across as long as I'm willing to pay the combined 13% Federal and Provincial taxes rather than claim an exemption. I brought a big Felder combination machine across about two years ago and it took about 20 minutes... and $2,600 - they were all smiles :(

[bleeth]

Another option is to rent a larger van and just put it inside intact. Secure all the components (gantry, etc) and you can pick it up from the end with a forklift with extended forks.
Moved mine twice that way.

[bobmoore]

The tools have been covered very well by eveyone. I would take it in an enclosed trailer if possible. Remember extra batteries for the camera or a charger for the phone and take twice as many ratchet straps as you think you could possibly use.
Bob

[gerryv]

Dave,
Renting a one-way van might just make sense if it's a diesel with good fuel milage and LTL transport rates are higher than expected. Extended forks do work well - thats how we got the big Felder off the truck and down to ground level. He set it right where we planned to locate it thanks to a 12' x 12' O/H door. The new shop (attached to the house) will have a 10'x10' garage door.

Bob,
Excellent point about the extra batteries and ratchet straps, including at least two extra heavy duty ones for the back end. As an experienced fellow once told me, "the most important strap is not the one that holds it down; it's the one that keeps it from comin' at ya' when you slam on the brakes or worse."

[jerry_stanek]

As I posted earlier have you checked into something Like PODS. You load and unload at ground level. They drop off a POD and you load it then they pick it up and ship it. I put my machine one some appliance dollies and rolled it into place after I assembled it.

[bleeth]

For the rental down here you would be into all expenses of truck, gas, food, motel, etc. of 2500. 1250 for truck and the rest gas and expenses. But you don't have to take the machine apart, crate it, and pray they don't mess up in all the transfers LTL goes through!! You get one truck picks it up, unloads at local terminal, reloads for long distance, unloads again at your end to load onto a local delivery truck. The 1250 was a quote based on Ft. Lauderdale to Denver (2000 miles). They don't charge miles for one ways.

[gerryv]

Hi Jerry,
Sorry I didn't mention it. They said don't service the area where the machine is; their closest terminal is 8 hours away. I thought it was a great idea especially if I needed to store it for a bit at my new site. Thanks for the followup.

Hi Dave,
You are sure right about the truck-dock-truck transfers between A and B. That would be my biggest worry and it sure does happen. Just out of interest has anyone here ever seen a lift truck operate at less than full throttle :eek: Hmm, maybe I should think again about turning it into a mini-holiday run - oh my poor old bones...

Everyone,
All of the advise, wisdom and detail has been fantastic. Whatever my decision it will be made with a lot more knowledge.
Thanks so much!
Gerry

[jerry_stanek]

Just think of it as a nice Sunday style drive. Stop at different places of interest and don't think of the whole trip.

[myxpykalix]

Gerald,
Just keep in mind that no one will take as much care in breakdown and crating and shipping as you would if you did it yourself. If you decide to have someone else do it then make sure you buy insurance to cover damage!

If nothing else then just wait till one comes along that is closer to you...