Busy Bee Tools Craftex B2227L Metal Lathe - The Details

After 12 months of kicking the tires on this lathe, I finally picked it up at Busy Bee Tools - a Craftex B2227L 10"x 18" metal lathe.  To transport this 170 kilogram hunk of metal, I bolted it down on a sled made from two pieces of 2"x 6" with dolly wheels, picked the sled and lathe up (3 of us) and rolled it into the back of my minivan.  Part 1 of the saga was done - and only in about 20 minutes. 

I then trucked it home in the back of the van, set up the "rails" (made of two sets of 2"x 6") on the back steps.  With Lynne on the "runaway" brake rope, Chris and I pushed it up the back stairs into the porch.  We then lifted the rails on the back steps and installed them on the basement steps.  Now came the moment of truth.  Would we be successful in lowering the lathe and sled into the basement?  Or.....would we have a 170 kg runaway train crashing into the basement taking out the concrete block wall on the far side of the basement?  

With Lynne and I on the rope to lower the lathe down the stairs and Chris on the front to stop it if it got away from us (ha! ha! ha!), we slowly lowered the lathe and sled down the stairs. 

Eureka!  We made it - with only 6" of rope to spare.

Now come the prep work which we'll try to chronicle in the days to come.