A Bandsaw Ungloat.

[Eric DeSilva]

There it was, sitting in front of me in a warehouse... A Delta 28-653 industrial 20" bandsaw. Working condition, although 3PH, on a pallet. It was in good condition and wow... what a machine. Had a 20" x 24" 1.5" thick cast iron table... Even the doors and covering on this thing were overbuilt 1/8" steel. Yeah, it was 10 years old, but it was a runner and the bearings for the top/bottom wheels didn't have any play. And there I was... Had my 3/4 ton truck, a friend, a pocket full of cash, and even a trailer...

And all the guy wanted was $500.

And I couldn't do it. Argh. This thing hadda be 800# and, even if he would have put it on the trailer for me with a forklift, no way it was coming off. Even if it did, no way was the base of this thing going to make it down the stairs and through the door into my basement shop.

I guess, in terms of making silk purses out of sow's ears, my wife now believes I possess restraint. That was a quality previously she would not have associated with my name.

[If anyone is interested, I think the bandsaw may now be gone, but this shop had bunch of other equipment for sale. I'll post a pointer in Deals & Discounts.]

[keith ouellette]

You should have took it. I could have explained how to get it off your truck. Just a little work is all you needed but if you were unsure I guess it was the best thing for you to do.

[Bill White]

Let's see......Stonehenge....couldn't lift the stones....dig a hole and lever the object. HMMMMMMM. YOU GIVE UP TOO QUICK!
Myn humor for the day. Snicker, snicker.
Bill:D

[J. Z. Guest]

Keith, were you talking about taking the bandsaw apart?

I don't know about levers and hole digging. It isn't worth risking dropping the thing on oneself. He'd spend $500 just in the first hour of care in the ER.

$500 is not a price that requires you to regret it. Sounds like the saw was too big for your shop anyway.

[Eric DeSilva]

YOU GIVE UP TOO QUICK!

In my defense, it wasn't just getting it off the trailer... It was getting it 60' across a grass lawn, down a stairwell, and through a basement door. Sadly, my basement steps are those silly affairs where the pad at the base is only about 30" x 36"... door on one side surrounded by concrete, 10' of concrete on two other walls. No way to tilt... no way to turn... just couldn't see getting it around that corner into the shop. I've even thought about rigging of some kind or using a tree as an anchor for a come-along, but I don't even have anything like that in the right place.

Wonder how much it would cost to get half my back yard excavated and turn my basement into a daylight walkout...

[Joe Hardesty]

Wonder how much it would cost to get half my back yard excavated and turn my basement into a daylight walkout...

1. Back surgery: $22,500
2. Excavation: $2100
3. Remodeling: $5950
4. Owning the perfect bandsaw: Priceless

[keith ouellette]

Keith, were you talking about taking the bandsaw apart?

I don't know about levers and hole digging. It isn't worth risking dropping the thing on oneself. He'd spend $500 just in the first hour of care in the ER.

$500 is not a price that requires you to regret it. Sounds like the saw was too big for your shop anyway.

You are probably right. I have moved many very heavy things with old fashioned methods. It does sound like there were some space issues but It could have been done. It can always be done. And safely if planned for.

If Eric isn't used to doing odd stuff like this (most people aren't) Then I guess he made the right decision. He's the only one who knows the layout of his basement.

[Brian Effinger]

If you have a garage, you could have put it in there. Just kick the car out.

[harry strasil]

As a former Blacksmitth with several Winch Trucks, you would be surprised at how many large tools I have been hired to put down in peoples Basements, an outside entrance is a must tho for very large things, like vertical mills and metal lates and such.

I usually make a skid out of 4 by 4's with beveled ends and a 3/4 plywood top and use that as a skid to let them down inside basement stairs, and a 2 by 4 frame with holes at the top drilled for a truss reinforced pipe and a chain fall or comealong, the 2 by frame just leans up against the basement door jam.

[keith ouellette]

As a former Blacksmitth with several Winch Trucks, you would be surprised at how many large tools I have been hired to put down in peoples Basements, an outside entrance is a must tho for very large things, like vertical mills and metal lates and such.

I usually make a skid out of 4 by 4's with beveled ends and a 3/4 plywood top and use that as a skid to let them down inside basement stairs, and a 2 by 4 frame with holes at the top drilled for a truss reinforced pipe and a chain fall or comealong, the 2 by frame just leans up against the basement door jam.

I've used similar methods and have advised others to do the same. it works great. The pyramids weren't built in a day and they weren't built by space aliens.

[Matt Benton]

This really is pretty straight-forward. Either it will make it around the corner or not, and I think Eric is the only one who can answer that...

[Greg Cole]

This really is pretty straight-forward. Either it will make it around the corner or not, and I think Eric is the only one who can answer that...
Much like the armoire I built and purposed for the bedroom... 34" wide will fit through a 36" door... right?Ok, just take the door off the hinges... riiiiiight. :eek: Sure if you can go through it perfectly straight. :( *Ahem-ahem*...."someone" didn't account for not being able to turn the armoire in the hall to head straight through the bedroom door.
So...we have an entertainment center in the living room that looks an awful lot like an armiore I built a couple years ago....:cool:

Bummer about not being able to score the gloat worthy saw Eric.

[Mac McQuinn]

A couple ideas....I disasembled my bandsaw to get it down to my basement shop and back out when I decided to move everything into garage. Takes time but you also gain some great insight to the operation and set-up of the beast or....you could call a gun safe company and have them move it. They have the equipment and a lil ole 800lb B/S would be a piece of cake to them.


Mac

[Eric DeSilva]

If Eric isn't used to doing odd stuff like this (most people aren't) Then I guess he made the right decision.

I'd wager a bet that most SMCers are pretty handy and have a fair bit of experience shoving heavy things around, me included. I'd stack my ability in that regard up against anyone's. Problem is that the stairwell is a really lousy configuration. I've got ATV ramps, an appliance dolly, and could have either a 3T engine hoist or my old jeep with a 9000# warn winch back in 15 min. with a phone call. But, unless I can knock down my neighbor's fence and park on his patio, I got nothing solid on the top.

Frankly, I'm guessing a quartet of day laborers from the local 7-11 could probably pick the thing up and just move it down the stairs manually for $50. That isn't the problem.


He's the only one who knows the layout of his basement.

Its not even the layout of the basement, its the layout of the stairwell and the footprint of the bloody thing. Narrow concrete stairs down 10' to recessed pad. Door on left opens in (thank god), but other two sides are just concrete. No room to maneuver.

It was not your normal BS--it had a footprint a least 3' in one dimension and 30" in the other -- even with the table removed. I just don't see any way I coulda got it through the door. You'd have to go sideways down the stairs, but then you have no room to turn it sideways to get through the door.

Believe me, I thought about this hard.

[Lee Schierer]

Much like the armoire I built and purposed for the bedroom... 34" wide will fit through a 36" door... right?Ok, just take the door off the hinges... riiiiiight. :eek: Sure if you can go through it perfectly straight. :( *Ahem-ahem*...."someone" didn't account for not being able to turn the armoire in the hall to head straight through the bedroom door.



I made a similar calculation error when I built our platform bed frame. I forgot to account for the width when it was all assembled. To get our platform bed into the bedroom you have to remove the vanity from the bathroom diagonally across the hall. I hope I get to see the day someone tries to get it out of the bedroom without this small tidbit of information. :D

[Bob Luciano]

Just tossed 8' section of base cabinet out of a second story window because all the turns and stairs would have been a pain and probably damaged walls. Bath tub is next, same window, big windows are handy.