How to Move a Safe (1000 lbs.)

[Fox Hunter]

Newton's Law (a body in motion, tends to stay in motion until impeded by an immovable object) ...........

HEED the above statement! I speak from experience.

Years ago, I was part of a crew that moved a 52,000 lb section of printing press, (26 tons) 130' across a concrete factory floor. We used solid 1 1/2" round steel stock instead of pipe. Once the crane had set the unit down on the 'rollers,' it took us about 2 hours to cross the distance with a turn in the middle to the final position. All done with 5 men and the smallest Towmotor I have ever seen.

We had to do it this way for head clearance passing under a beam. Skates would have been too tall by about an inch.

About half way across the floor, the move went a little too easy and the impatient boss on the towmotor almost got too far ahead of us moving rollers. We over-shot a planned course correction by 8 or 9 feet and had to back it up.

The more pipes you have, the easier the job will be. Just don't let em' bunch up and go slow. You'll be ok.

 

[Larry P243]

I moved mine with PVC , STARTED OUT WITH 1 1/2 " BUT HAD TO GO TO 2" TO GET THE SAFE OVER THE THRESH HOLD AT MY BACK DOOR . that is the easiest way to do it without a hydraulic safe dolly that I know of , me and one of my friends moved it , in about 3 minutes, down the sidewalk into the house and set where I wanted it .

 

[Trickymissfit]

HEED the above statement! I speak from experience.

Years ago, I was part of a crew that moved a 52,000 lb section of printing press, (26 tons) 130' across a concrete factory floor. We used solid 1 1/2" round steel stock instead of pipe. Once the crane had set the unit down on the 'rollers,' it took us about 2 hours to cross the distance with a turn in the middle to the final position. All done with 5 men and the smallest Towmotor I have ever seen.

We had to do it this way for head clearance passing under a beam. Skates would have been too tall by about an inch.

About half way across the floor, the move went a little too easy and the impatient boss on the towmotor almost got too far ahead of us moving rollers. We over-shot a planned course correction by 8 or 9 feet and had to back it up.

The more pipes you have, the easier the job will be. Just don't let em' bunch up and go slow. You'll be ok.

my boss bought air slides for a CNC machine center move. Sheared up some 26 gauge sheet metal strips to go over the section lines in the concrete. Moved it with one hand! The hard part was removing the slides, and we did that with 20 ton jacks (the machine weighed over 30,000lb.). My two millwrights were dead set against using them, but I talked them into trying this new system one time. We ended up buying another set, and the millwrights loved them! Before that we used a 40,000 pound fork truck and also a 30,000lb. truck. Then had to fight with it to get the machine exactly where we wanted it. Not too bad when setting a single machine, but horrible when putting it inside an FMS system. I moved two Devlieg 4360 Jig mills almost a quarter mile once with air slides, and it took about an hour to move each one. That one took eight slides, but still was easy to push.
gary

 

[vandal]

1. Buy a sheet of .5" plywood
2. Rip into two pieces the width of your narrowest doorway
3. Cut one piece in half parallel to the short side (for turning corners)
4. Buy six lengths of 1.5" schedule 80 PVC pipe 2" shorter than your narrowest doorway. (They will cut it at the store if you ask)
5. Use the plywood as a track placing one piece in front of the other and roll the safe on the pipe.

I moved a 1300 lb safe this way. Make sure and bolt down safe.

 

[safebuilder]

Pipe will work just fine. We use 3/4 solid steel rod if on plywood or concrete. Golf balls will work to but can get out of line and cause safe to tip at times.