Robert's Excellent Adventure...bringing the MM16 home.

[Jim Becker]

Today, Robert Tarr and I journeyed to Edison NJ where his new MM16 awaited. It was nice seeing Sam and Erik from Mini Max as well as Paul Cresti, who was helping out at this show as I did in Ft Washington last month. Great people to hang out with!

Anyway, here's a bunch of pics of Robert "claiming his prize" and subsequently moving it into his basement shop via the Bilco door with the help of another of our coworkers who lives locally. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a shot of it sliding down the board into the shop since I was hanging on to the top of the saw!

Pics:

Paul Cresti goes over a few points on the saw with Robert
Moving it out the door...
Wrestiling across the uneven sidewalk...
Getting into position to tilt it in...
Said tilting starts...

[Jim Becker]

More pics...


Up, up...
In!
Wrestling it down the driveway and onto the lawn...
Trying to get over a "little depression" in the pavement...
Really in!!

[Mark Singer]

Jim,

Great photos...you can see the time changing as it begins to darken,,,,I remember those times of bringing a bandsaw home....you want to sleep in your shop! I guess we are just a bunch of kids.....and I think thats a good thing!:rolleyes:

[Joe Mioux]

Hey Jim:

Does this count as a stealth gloat or a stolen gloat or someother type of gloat?:)

[Jim Becker]

Does this count as a stealth gloat or a stolen gloat or someother type of gloat?
It counts as a major gloat with pictures for Robert...and a nice day out for me.

[Joe Mioux]

Jim:

You took some nice pics, and protected Robert from the pic police

[Paul B. Cresti]

Jim,
I still think I have more hair than you! :) It is nice the to see the MM16 home safely.

[Wes Newman]

Jim, Sure looks like alot of work, maybe someday I can work that hard and get to bring home a bandsaw.;)

[Jerry Olexa]

Great team effort for a good cause: a major new tool and gloat!!

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Nice score for your friend! Great pics as well!!

[Jamie Buxton]

Hunh! It never occured to me that those things could travel on their backs. Friday I moved my Laguna LT16HD about four miles, and it went the whole way standing up.

[Mark Singer]

Jamie,

I was told that is the correct way on the "spine" as they did.


Hunh! It never occured to me that those things could travel on their backs. Friday I moved my Laguna LT16HD about four miles, and it went the whole way standing up.

[Don Selke]

I think it is just great to see a bunch of guys helping each other,that is what it is all about. Good luck with the new band saw and the rest of the tools. I have to agree that when it comes to tools and machinery, we are all just a bunch of kids in a candy store.

[Rob Russell]

Ah yes - "sliding down into the shop through the Bilco doors" - brings back memories.

Robert, congrats on your new saw and on getting it down into your shop!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats Robert!.......I'm GREEN with envy!

[Robert Tarr]

First,

Huge thanks to Jim for helping me spend a large sum of money and more importantly helping me get that beast down into the basement. I will be honest, I had my doubts about getting it in (freezing rain and snow storms always add a nice element of suprise to unloading cast iron.) But, it is in it's new home and just needs to be wired up and for me to finish with the final degreasing. All in all, I am very very pleased with the saw and look forward to using it. Just for good measure, I think I am going to put my 14 inch band saw in front of it and make it "look" at what a big bandsaw can do, kind of like Time Out, for cast iron (just kidding, it was/is a great saw, but the MM16 is just a whole different game.)

I will post some pics once I get it wired and make the first cut.

Thanks again, Jim and Paul

Robert

P.S. I think Paul and I go to the same fine hair stylist.

[Jim Becker]

P.S. I think Paul and I go to the same fine hair stylist.
Obviously...I don't!! :D

[Jamie Buxton]

Jamie,

I was told that is the correct way on the "spine" as they did.

It arrived from Laguna standing up.

[Jack Hogoboom]

Man, that thing is one big beast!!! Jim, I guess one of the good things about being the photographer is you get to watch others do most of the work!!! :D Quite a work effort from the "follically challenged".

Jack

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I guess one of the good things about being the photographer is you get to watch others do most of the work!!!
Indeed! But then again, there was enough help available from Mini Max...and they were getting paid to help load it! (Ask Paul about his hefty show salary... :D)



Quite a work effort from the "follically challenged".
I resemble that remark...believe it or not. I have the same amount of hair I've had since high school/college. It's just farther back on my head than it used to be!!! :eek: :o :rolleyes:

[Paul B. Cresti]

Indeed! But then again, there was enough help available from Mini Max...and they were getting paid to help load it! (Ask Paul about his hefty show salary... :D)

I resemble that remark...believe it or not. I have the same amount of hair I've had since high school/college. It's just farther back on my head than it used to be!!! :eek: :o :rolleyes:
Oh yes most definately! I just paid off my kids (all three of them) future college fund ;) plus I bought the MM24 with the spare change left over! :)


Actually my hair is quit long in those pictures! did you not see the one strand near my left ear? it was at least 3/8" long! Man, I can not believe you guys missed it!

By the way I think all MM owners should have the same haircut as Robert and I have. :)

[Jim Becker]

By the way I think all MM owners should have the same haircut as Robert and I have.
I USED to like you, Paul...now, I'll just put up with you. ;)

[Ted Shrader]

Robert -

Congratulations on your new saw! That is great!

Jim -

Thanks for the photos. I am just about to pull the trigger on an MM16 or a Laguna LT16HD. The extra photos of the back, sides and "low angles" (in the truck on its spine) were very useful. Really, I was looking at the saw not the load/unload process. Sort of like reading certain magazines for the articles . . . not the pictures. :) ;) :)

Ted

[Jim Becker]

I am just about to pull the trigger on an MM16 or a Laguna LT16HD.
Both are nice machines, but you can imagine what MY recommendation would be!! But in either case, the beefy spine of the saw is one of the things that make these things so wonderful to use...you can put tension on a blade and there is NO deflection of the machine like there can be with the cast iron saws.

Seriously, moving the machine wasn't all that bad other than the fact that the pavement was uneven and the mobilty kit keeps the base "really close" to the ground. A hand truck would have been a nice touch at that point (we used one at Robert's house to get down the uneven driveway and over a bit of grass). And for loading and unloading, three to get it in the truck and two to get it out is all that is really needed if you think it through and follow the instructions that Mini Max gives you verbally. It's all about leverage and center of gravity/pivot point. Three to get it in the basement through the Bilco was absolutely necessary, however; two at the bottom and one at the top.

[Paul B. Cresti]

Ted,
I actually do not own a MM bandsaw, I own an Agazzani B-24. I own many other MM machines though. When I bought my bandsaw MM bandsaws were not really available here in the USA. So my choices then where between Agazzani and an ACM saw (Laguna, Bridgewood, Felder). Then the Agazzani had the best design of those two. If I were doing it today It would most definately be an MM. The MM saw is incredibly rigid, heavy and well designed. There just simply is no comparison between the Laguna and MM, I do not care what size. MM does not advertise like Laguna and that is the only real reason there are so many Laguna's out there. If you were to look at them side by side (MM and Laguna) it would be a no brainer. You would not believe how many I talked to at the show that said, "I came down here to buy a Laguna but, after I saw it and compared it to the MM it did not even come close" and guess what they bought?

[Ted Shrader]

Paul and Jim -

Thanks for the additional input. (And again for the photos from all angles - the tape and sales brochures are weak in that area.) Looks like MiniMax it is.

Ted

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the additional input. (And again for the photos from all angles - the tape and sales brochures are weak in that area.) Looks like MiniMax it is.
Ted if you need pictures of anything specific, let me know.

[Rich Konopka]

Yep, it seemed like just yesterday that I was wrestling that Italian Hunk of steel through the bilco and down the stairs into my shop. IIRC, i did not have to deal with a slippery slope.

Welcome to the MM club !!

[Robert Tarr]

Ted,

At the show, the Laguna booth was very close to the MM booth. I was on the same fence you were on, about 8 weeks ago. I finally decided on the MM and when I went to the show to pick up the MM, I paid particularly close attention to the Laguna's as I walked the show. I was able to evaluate both of them up close and am glad that I make the MM decision. Please let me know if you need additional pictures of anything (more will be coming, once I get this thing wired and making saw dust...)

Happy Holidays!

Robert

[Allen Grimes]

Robert, congratulations on your new toy purchase.

[John Petsche]

great tips loading and transporting on the spine of the saw, thanks.

John P.

[frank shic]

great teamwork and enjoy your new saw, robert!

[Bruce Page]

L
great teamwork and enjoy your new saw, robert!
It's time for a new one. This one's 7+ years old now. ;):)

[Van Huskey]

L
It's time for a new one. This one's 7+ years old now. ;):)

I hate it when I get sucked into an old thread when it gets bumped back to the top!

[Bruce Page]

I hate it when I get sucked into an old thread when it gets bumped back to the top!

LOL! Me too!

[Richard Wolf]

Me too, Maybe they could change the header color or something once it becomes a year old.

[Jim Becker]

The most interesting thing about this thread getting bumped is that Robert is about to move to Idaho at the end of the month. Since this thread was created, that saw and several other heavy things moved to a second floor shop in at their current home compliments of a rental forklift. So that process is about to repeat itself to get all the gear down to the ground level in preparation for moving. MM16, FS35 J/P, cabinet saw and a bunch of other heavy things. And yes, another rental forklift.

[Keith Hankins]

Cool pic's. I love new toys even if they belong to someone else!