The front gear box, is bolts and dowls, and can be removed, pulls forward. The head stock is bolted to the main bed, (then lifts up) I removed mine the first time I moved it. The bed on its own, remove the saddle as well. it is still very heavy, but managable.

The manual explains how to realinge the head. it is not too difficult

Very very top heavy, so much so that a professional pallet company dropped mine twice!

If you google the manual, it is available online for free so you can then print it out.

the manual is invaluable to setting the lathe back up when you put it back together.

TE-Bar engineering are rebuilding mine as we speak … & they left the bottom gearbox ON as they said it’s a real pain to reinstall

BTW, you will need an honours degree in the 'Crypton Factor' to figure out the gearing and gearbox, it's not at all like that on my Student which a mentally retarded chimpanzee (me?) can understand, it is so obvious. I managed to get to grips with the Bantam gearing eventually and added copious notes in the margins of the manual which is very unclear, in my copy anyway, where the Imperial instructions end and the Metric instructions begin.

NB. Just seen your latest post regarding removing the cross-slide etc. The lead-screw, feed-shaft and control-shaft will just slide out if you remove the end support bracket. Don't lose, or replace, the thrust bearings when you take the shafts out. You can then drop the apron off the saddle and, after removing the rear shear guide, you can then simply lift off the saddle, if I remember correctly. I had to do this to replace the cross-feed screw which had a lovely sine-wave bend in it after the cretins had dropped the machine. Fortunately, the saddle hand-wheel had taken the brunt of the impact, shattering in the process, but the apron remained firm and the shafts and lead-screw were not bent, otherwise it really would have been a total loss, except for spares.

Edited By Chris Crew on 09/08/2021 09:18:35

Gaz, The 'apron' is the lower front part of the saddle which is held in place with four Allen screws. It contains the feed gearbox and half-nuts, plus associated levers and carries the saddle hand-wheel. The rear-shear guide, as I termed it although it is probably more properly called the rear-gib plate or strip, is the part under the rear of the saddle which prevents the rear of the saddle lifting. You will find some shims between it and the base of the saddle. It's all very easy to strip down and re-assemble, as you are probably finding.

One way of getting it across a lawn, or other rough surface, is to lay temporary track of hefty boards (1" thick plywood).

Difficult to advise on moving heavy unbalanced equipment because there's a certain amount of skill in it, and skills are best learned bu doing easy moves first. Worst case is a bunch of over-confident enthusiastic amateurs crushing someone under the machine. If it topples, it's natural to try and stop it: bad move – wrong! Top priority is to get out of the way! That said plenty of big machines are moved successfully, with simple equipment: rollers, levers, ropes, and a small team of fit blokes.

As they are taught in the Army 'Prior Preparation Prevents Piss-poor Performance'. Assemble a team and choose a leader; this shouldn't be the most gung-ho person available; be suspicious of anyone who wants the job. Drum into everyone they do what the leader says, when he says it. This is because teamwork is essential: lift together put down together. Plan the route, and rehearse it, paying special attention to awkward bits: doorways, steps, slopes, tight corners, and obstacles. How much planning depends on the geography. My workshop has a concrete garage door, accessed from a flat tarmac drive with a short ramp over the public pavement down to the road. The main danger is the tarmac, because it's surprisingly soft, otherwise rolling a big lathe would be 'easy'. My garden shed is far more difficult: steps to garden from road. Sunken path with steps to shed, or lift lathe 300mm from patio to soft lawn and then manoeuvrer machine across grass past goldfish pond and somehow swing past a tree surrounded by a low stone wall, and through a narrow shed door. Lathe in shed needs a lot more thought than lathe in garage.

Be good if you could take photos of the move and share your experiences. Interesting problem, but if it went in it can come out!

Dave