OK, so I am about to get a big bandsaw (17-19″) and I have a PU truck to get it from the freight terminal. How the heck do I unload that thing? We are talking a shipping weight of about 500 pounds so getting it off the tailgate to the ground will be a bear.
I’ll ask about home delivery w/ a lift gate, but I’m afraid of how much that will cost.
Replies
A hydraulic gate would be nice, but if you don't here is how I did mine.
1) when I arrived at the loading dock a guy kindly put it in the back of my pick up with a fork lift.
2) It was crated and bolted to a pallet. I had a friend to help. When I got it home, we slid it to the edge of the tailgate. I had a couple of moving dollies on the ground. We tilted the crate back at a 45 degree angle and he held the back and we slid using the back of the bed tailgate removed, as a slide. It slid to the ground and onto the dollies and we pushed it into the garage.
I was shocked at how easily it worked.
Thanks Bones, I was thinking of doing exactly what you described but wasn't sure how top heavy it would be or how hard it would be to slide it out w/ out having it slam to the ground, possibly damaging it.
I unloaded my contractor saw in a similar fashion, but that was 1/2 as heavy and very low center of gravity. And that is the real issue. While I appreciate the other suggestions, a table saw and bandsaw are two very different beasts when it comes to man-handling them (or being able to back the whole load into the garage).
No problem, the only thing that made me nervous was the ride home. The thing stuck up above the cab about 3 feet. I used ratchet straps to hold it tight against the front of the bed next to the cab, and strapped to the rear. Like you would strap your Harley in. The crate was not strong enough, in my opinion, to lie on it's side. And it had this side up plastered on the documentation. Good luck.
A few years ago my friend called me to tell me that he had tried to get a bandsaw, surplus to the airline he worked for, but got beat out by another guy. He was a little disappointed because it was an 18 inch Parks at least 30 years old, heavy duty, well built and free for the taking.A couple days later, he called me again to tell me that the band saw was his after all, and he needed me to help them move it with my little pickup. Apparently the first lucky guy had loaded it into his new Chevy pickup with plastic bed liner. It was by the tailgate, standing in its normal operating position but not tied down. (I think you can see where I'm going with this). On his way home he had to brake hard and when he did, the bandsaw slid forward, smashing into the back of the cab. The frame of the bandsaw was unscathed, but the top of the cab was pushed forward several inches, kinking the roof and smashing in the rear window. Bandsaw 1/pickup 0. The guy was so disgusted that he didn't want anything to do with the bandsaw after that.So we picked it up and strapped it down as you did with 2 inch ratcheting straps. It was an uneventful trip to my buddies place, where it now resides in his shop, rebuilt and painted.
Too funny. If it had been me, and it already cost me (damage), I think I would have surly not let it go then.
It cost him at least the insurance deductible if he made a claim and a couple grand if he didn't.
How much does a new band saw cost again?
Plus obviously there had to be an interesting conversation about 'what happened to the truck' when he got home!
Years ago I bought one of the imported folding 2 ton shop cranes to unload my import pickup. It's more than paid for itself over the years lifting heavy objects in and out of the truck that I've bought or scrounged up. Including a 20" bandsaw, 60 gallon air compressor, and 10" radial arm saw. It's also been handy for picking up machines to put casters under them or to assemble them. When the item is realy awkward, just lift it enough so that you can drive out from under it and then lower it. Here in Western Canada they are on sale at times for well under $200.00 Can. A small price to pay to save your back.
An even cheaper option if your shop door is tall enough to back the pickup under. Is a chain hoist from the ceiling (attached to a beam lain across several trusses to spread the load). They cost $60.00 Can. for a 1/2 ton.
They are safer because you can take your time and they don't misunderstand your instructions and push / pull the wrong way. And having the ability to do your own heavy lifts when you need to lets you take advantage of opportunities as they come up.
We moved my Unisaw with my minivan. We rented a $19.95 U-Haul open trailer, which has only a 12" bed. We made a ramp out of a 2x4 and a sheet of 3/4" ply. Easy... and it wouldn't be hard to make a ramp that would go to a PU bed height.
But check with the shipping company first. The company that delivered my Unisaw would have charged me $175 or so for residential liftgate delivery. The company that delivered my jointer asked only $25, which was of course what we did.
See my http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=23382.1
Hope it works..
Hope ya just LOVE your BS!
EDIT! By the way.. I just love my BS!
Edited 1/21/2006 11:22 am by WillGeorge
If the saw is the kind with a welded frame, it doesn't have to ride upright. It can ride lying on its spine. You back it up to your pickup and lean it backwards into the truck. You may want to unbolt the table first, but it probably won't be necessary. Two strong guys can do the tipping and uptipping. You'll probably want to rope it in place in the truck.
I had thought of that but then saw something that stated it would void the warranty. Not sure if that is accurate, I should check, but that did seem like the easiest and safest way.
I'd read the warranty myself before I got scared off. I've watched a Rikon dealer load a 16" Rikon into an SUV just like this.
In your case did you actually see anything in the warranty materials that indicated that would void the warranty?
Jake
500lbs????? sheesh.... go buy some beer. get some friends... or make new ones. pick it up,,, put it down... drink beer.
The bandsaw I just got weighed 3200 lbs....... now that took a little head scratching. Still needed friends and beer though.
H, my friends scatter when they know i need some lifting power. But sure as hell show up after for the beer and food.
-Lou
ohcomeon,
A couple of years ago I asked about a 'power lift gate' delivery for my cabinet saw...an additional $70....I picked it up at the terminal in the station wagon.
If attached to a pallet, I'd move it upright in the pickup from point to point. My concern would be the stress on the motor mounts with the machine laying on it's side.
It shouldn't be top heavy...unlike a TS, its weight is fairly well distributed. However, if it's too heavy there's lots of options for reducing the weight...table top, motor, wheels, cosmoline...lol.
Although for the past several years I've become primarily a handtool user, I do have a full compliment of stationary tools including a Unisaw, and similar size tools. I've purchased most of them used and some have been replacements for older tools that I've accumulated over the past several decades.
With that said, when purchasing used, you got to come up with a good (and safe)system for transporting very heavy tools. What I have used successfully is a car engine hoist and nylon lifting straps. The hoist looks like a small crane and can lift up to 1500 lbs. (the one I have) at full extended length of nearly 8'. Most tool rental places have these readily available for about $25.00 per day, and most of the same rental places have nylon lifting straps. The hoist can easily lift a Unisaw off of the back of a pick-up truck. You do need to have at least one helper with you, and make sure the rental place familarizes you with safe operation of the hoist.
Good luck!
Tony Z.
Loading it inside your pickup bed will be your key to an easy unloading.... Have them load it lying on it's back spine. Then tie it off with 2 or three of those 1" nylon ratcheting straps. Just be sure to remove any tool kit or cast iron fence and put them up front with you. When I unloaded my 750lb. bandsaw from a lower leveled U-Haul trailer, it was a bit scary at first, but all went like a dream.
To unload, I just pulled the saw out until the balance point. Getting in the trailer and lifting up, it slowly slid out and softly onto the concrete floor. Then, I just tipped it upright. If you don't have a two-wheeled dolly to move the saw inside your shop, use some 1" wooden dowels or some 3' lengths of 3/4" steel pipe underneath the crate. It will move easily.
My saw was elevated about 5" sitting on the wooden floor inside its shipping crate. I realized that since I'm 6'-1", the 5 inches made the bandsaw table a perfect height. So, later on I built a 5" by 2-1/2" thick walled riser filled with gravel and 75lbs of bagged sandbox sand.... You can stand a nickel on its edge anywhere on the band saw's table and start it up, let it run, and then turn it off, coasting down to a dead stop. The nickel is still standing.
Bill
Edited 1/22/2006 11:49 am ET by BilljustBill
Funny about "BIG BANDSAW" 17"-19" and 500lbs. A few years ago 20" was a small saw. My early 1940s 20" Crecsent tips the scale just under 900lbs.
DJK
If laid on the spine in horizontal make sure the terminal puts the heavy end toard the back of the truck so that if you slide it down you will not damage the wheels or bearings.
O',
A little while back, I purchased a 1916 Crescent 26" Band-Saw, and a short time after that (from the same gentleman), I picked up a 1920 L.Power & Company 16" jointer, both of which I'm restoring for use in my shop. The enclosed photos show both machines in various stated of dismantling.
The band-saw weighs over 850 lbs. and the jointer is just shy of 1400 lbs. To get the saw off of the pickup (truck), I first dismantled it down to its frame. Then, noticing the short grassy slope next to my garage, I backed the truck up over the curb, onto the sidewalk, coming to rest with the tailgate approx. 6" off of the lawn. I walked the saw off of the truck, and then proceeded to shred the lawn walking it down to a four wheeled dolly.
The jointer proved to be easier. The day that I picked up the saw, I had a three cubic yard pile of river rock gravel delivered that I'd be using for landscaping around my house. This time I backed the truck up to the pile, and with the help of a good neighbor, we slid the machine onto the gravel pile. Then carefully, and evenly, we shoveled the gravel from around the jointer until it was approx. 8" off of the driveway, we slid it onto another dolly, and into the garage.
If you can find one, a hydraulic platform cart could be just what you need. It could raise up the truck bed, drop down, and has wheels to move it into the shop.
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Edited 1/22/2006 11:26 pm ET by jackiechan
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