I am a newby on this forum. I need some advice. I recently bought a used milling machine (1979 Burke Millrite, very nice) it is now in my basement on a wooden pallet. I want to place it on a newly fabricated pallet I made with 3" 3/8" steel angle and plate and 4X4 wood runners, so I can set the machine where I want with my pallet jack.

It weighs about 1600#. I will remove the table before I proceed so maybe 1450#. My house is a large 5 bedroom all brick upscale house built in 2003 and in the basement there is a steel beam running approx. 20 under my family room. It appears to be a 10X6.5 beam (I don't even know if that is a standard size). It is only supported on both ends. I want to use this to lift my mill about 6 inches and then lower it again, all in the same place, and as close as I can get to one side of the beam (about 24"). The I beam is lined with wood to mate with the house framing and the only surface available for hanging is 1.5" on each side of the lower flange on some wood that is installed there.

My question: how do I design a hanger for my chain hoist to grab the 1.5" ledges (the outer edges of which are 6.5" apart) and connect this to a sturdy hole for my chain hoist to hang on, which distributes this load properly. There is about 3" from the top surface of this ledge and the bottom of the beam.

I have metal working equipment and can cut and weld up to 3/8" steel easily. I also plan on supporting the steel beam as close to the mill as I can on the other side with a 4X6.

 

Before taking on this type of project, I usually ask, what could possibly go wrong. In your case, buckling of the column could occur and collapse the house down on you. If everything goes well, if there is any future structural damage, the finger of blame will be pointed straight at you, even if other factors are involved.
If you only need to lift the mill 6 inches, have you thought of hydraulic lifts? Place some metal plate under the hydraulic jacks to decrease the bearing stress. It appears you have some equipment and supplies to design and manufacture a lifting jig or brace. Lift the mill in place and then slide the new pallet in place and lower and secure the mill to the new foundation. This would prevent damage to the remainder of the house if something goes wrong. Also, this is the exact method I have used when fabricating pressure vessels that are too heavy for our cranes. If this works for a 200 ton vessel, it will work for your mill.

 

Thank you for your reply. I finally came up with an idea I believe will work with little cost and little potential problems. I already had a 5' long 5" X 3" X 3/8" rectangular tube (17 lbs. per foot) I believe it to be more than adequate for 1600# in either orientation. I have clamped it to the beam with 2X6 wood spacers , which leave a gap in the middle for the chain. I will use two pipe jacks (18,000# cap) one each end of the tube down to the concrete slab. I finally will add 1/4 plates on either side of the ends of this tube, running up past the I beam flange and lag screwed into the wood, to prevent any possible sideways movement (even though the pipe jacks will be tightened sigificantly).

I have basically made a gantry and the only purpose of the I beam is lateral "tipping over" protection.