The big excitement for the day yesterday was the surprise arrival of my new lathe. According to the tracking information, it was expected about a week from now. I'm not complaining about it coming early, though :) The lathe arrived on a single long pallet weighing 980 pounds (according to the packing label). That's just barely within the specs for my tractor's loader capacity, but fortunately I was able to get it off the truck with no problems. It loaded the engine down a bit, and there was a little groaning from the tractor's frame ... but I picked it right up off the truck's floor and drove it into the barn.
On unpacking the pallet, I discovered (naturally) that this is one quite massive kit. One thing that's a little unusual: the weight of this kit is such that I will either need three helpers to move the parts with me, or I'll have to figure out how to use the tractor to do the lifting. Once I get the thing assembled I don't think I'll be moving it – so I definitely need to get it in the right place the first time :)
Update: I just discovered the existence of something called an “engine crane”, designed to allow mechanics to lift an engine out of a car and move it around the shop. They're not all that expensive, and they can easily lift any of the tools in my shop – so I can move things around, and assemble the lathe, all by myself. I have one on order now...
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