My local store told me that they no longer deliver to basements.
Are there any clever techniques that others might have used to get something as heavy as a Cabinet saw down 6 stairs into a basement?
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Replies
lad , Maybe you could make a skid with a few 2X4s the correct length with some 1/2" or thicker plywood over the 2Xs , tilt the saw on it's front or back and slide it down with a helper or two , getting it back up and out may present more of a problem.
good luck dusty
The skid/dolly is a good idea. To control it you might consider using a "come-along".
Place or rig a 4x4 or heavy piece of angle iron or something similar outside the threshhold spanning the doorway, attach the come-along to both the crosspiece and the saw/skid combo and slide it down inch by inch, etc. by the ratchet in a conrolled manner. This could also work in reverse.
Appliance dolly (rented /borrowed)?
Couple of muscleheads from the local gym and a six pack each at the bottom of the stairs? Just be sure they're legal age.
just my 2¢
...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Edited 11/6/2008 1:31 am by oldbeachbum
If you can't get the help to manhandle it, take off parts like the top wings, the motor etc. until you can.
Edward
Cabinet saws are not heavy at all if you take off the top and motor. One average person can bring it down the stairs easily.
Cabinet saws in general aren't very heavy compared to panels saws and the older dinosaur cast iron saws.
Edited 11/6/2008 8:21 am ET by RickL
My son and I and an appliance dolly took my X5 Unisaw into my basement, 13 steps, without any trouble. It came with the wings off the saw, and rails too of course. The basic saw cabinet with top and motor is a fairly compact piece that straps well to a dolly. One person above and one below, and you can carefully get it down the stairs. Work together and go slow, that's the key.
Bruce
lad,
I agree with most of the posters...
You're going to want / need to calibrate the saw once you get it anyway.
Break it down to smaller components and cart it down the stairs. Usually
a one-man job.
Bill-
Some years ago, (about 13 I think) I ordered a Unisaw by mail order, had it shipped to a local mover, and they put it in my basement and uncrated it for $100. Even taking into consideration certain price increases since then, the safety issue alone of having professionals do the work would be worth it. What would it cost you to break an arm or a leg?
Londonlad,
I put my new Grizzly 1023slx in my basement by myself. I uncrated it and took all the loose parts, table wings, fence and such down seperately. I then took the saw itself down 9 steps on a hand truck, one step at a time, very slowly. It was easier than I thought it would be, thought it will take at least 3 people to get it back out. Uphill being MUCH harder than downhill.
Reminds me of two funny situations of my own:
Bought a 500 lb metal lathe. Did the skid thing but had steel U channel. Channel down. Near the top of the flight of stairs drove stakes, roped it, put come along on "incase we need it".
Started to cautiously, with butt puckered, pay out rope slack . . . . . . . nothing. Finally had to forcefully push the pallet down to the bottom.
Another time was helping a girl friend. She was pulling her Honda automobile engine to rebuild it. When ever she ran into a stuck bolt or just needed a hand I would help but other wise ignored the whole deal. The transmission had to come off first. The book was making a big deal of how heavy it was and how you need to have it well supported with a chain, blah blah etc. Being, up to that point, used to American cars I was just going along saying, yep and sure and ok.
When we finally got it out and could just lift it separately away from the car we discovered it weighed all of about 55 lb ! One could lift it with one hand !
As far as getting the table saw out; a few guys. With my lathe I used an engine crane and straddled the outside ground level horizontal door opening along with some well positioned ballast.
The old time wood workers would probably put the tablesaw in the living room area and the family in the basement. : )
Edited 11/8/2008 2:51 am by roc
''The old time wood workers would probably put the tablesaw in the living room area and the family in the basement. : )"
A big old Marv Albert YES !!!...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
"The old time wood workers would probably put the tablesaw in the living room area and the family in the basement. : )"I love the smell of creative solutions in the morning. ;-)
Londonlad--
I've got the same issue. Fortunately my basement is only 5 stairs with a door to the outside. I'm buying a sawstop and the ship weight is over 700 pounds. Breaking it down further will help, but still too much weight for me.
But wait, there is a magical device called a stair climbing hand truck. Some home depots have them for rent.
Check out this site: http://www.powermate.info/handtruck.htm
I second the "...magical device called a stair climbing hand truck..."
I've never used one but my father-in-law had a 800 lb gun safe delivered and the delivery guy (only one of them) moved it into the basement.
It was a very impressive piece of equipment.
Are you buying it assembled from the store showroom or a unit new in box?
I purchased an assembled Steel City granite top cabinet saw about a month ago. The store loaded it with a forklift, to get it off the truck I removed the top. Granite or cast-iron, I would do this again.
That made it considerably lighter and two people could move it easily.
I had to learn how to align the whole thing once I put it back together. Took some time and a dial gauge, but it was not going to happen any other way.
I have a basement shop and often face this dilemma myself.
The suggestions to break it down into manageable weight parts is the best advice you can get. You'll find that the motor and the top each weigh a lot, but are manageable when separated from the cabinet.
If you elect for the skid or the stair climber to lower the entire package all at once, do follow other's advice and rig up a deadman rope and tackle to enable you to control the descent. Without one, you are always on the razor edge of disaster, especially if the stairs are steep. Funny how no one ever believes this. You can't believe just how SUDDEN FAST a heavy load can get on top of you and/or your helper and down to the bottom of the stairs without a deadman tackle to stop it.
Thanks to all who replied.My choice of saw went from the Steel City to the new Sawstop Professional - which i have been told comes in 5 boxes and easily managed by two men.I sincerely hope so!Knowing the struggle I had just getting the wooden crate containing a steel city 6" long bed jointer out of my Subaru wagon I would hate to repeat the experience!londonlad
One of the simplest and handiest devices to move heavy equipment is a ratchet strap. Simply holding the strap when fed through the ratchet gives considerable control when releasing the weight and also when pulling the weight so it can be used to get the machine into and out of the basement. A sled will still be required of course...Eoin
Had the same problem, but more stairs, and more equipment. Solution was a neighbor/friend that was high school wrestling coach. Those kids would do anything for gas money.
>Those kids would do anything for gas money<Yep that's how the old masters got it done. Bet they didn't hand out much money back then though; mostly lashes and whacks. Ahh kids today. They just don't know how good they got it.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
You don't mention what those six steps are like? Do you have to take a sharp right turn? Can you acess from the outside?
I had a similar situation when I moved last year. My old shop was in a three car garage and now I'm in the basement. My movers thought it was going in the garage at my new house, but when I got home I burst their bubble by saying sorry in the basement. Mine was down 7 steps from the outside through a sliding door I have a walk-up exit from the basement. They took a 17" bs, my grizzly TS, and my Grizzly 12" jointer down those steps. I watched and thought this will be interesting, but they did it with the ramps that they use to take stuff off the moving truck. Put it on dollys and walked it down. Now there were three of them but it worked well. Those ramps are two piece aluminum and antiskid material work great. They put two guys in front (I would not do it for sure) and one guy behind with a rope and they eased it down the ramp. Contact a moving company and see if they would rent you the ramps. You could do it also by making a ramp out of 2x10's or even dissasemble. You will find that once you get the rails and cast leaves and even top off its not that bad if you have a few buddies. Invite them over for a beer and say hey you guys while your here, help me move something :) BTW harbour freight has some good cheap carpet covered dollies that work great. I moved my 12" jointer on a couple and they held up fine. I use them suckers for everything.
Good luck.
I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.
George Burns
Londonlad,
The solution is simple, design the house around the work shop.
When building a new home, I simply had a four by five foot shaft built into the home that runs from the garage to the basement floor. A chain hoist over the shaft allows heavy equipment to be lowed to the basement floor with no problem at all. Bought an engine hoist from Harbor Freight for $149 and that device allows one person to pick up a big saw and roll it around and put it down exactly where you want it.
Moksha
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