Moving heavy 15" planer to the basement

[Justin Dreier]

I'm hoping in the Grizzly sale coming up to have a 15" planer G0453Z shipped my way. I have a basement shop and this may be the heaviest tool of all.

Have any folks had experience getting it down a flight of stairs? Can you take it appart in any meaningful way to break down the weight and mobility? What's the best way and how many guys does it take?

Experience with that? Thoughts? Thanks, Justin

[Bryan Rocker]

I have moved my 20" jet planer up and down the stairs. I can tell you that @ 700 lbs, there is no way I would attempt it myself. Hire a safe mover, they are used to moving heavy things and have the equipment to do it. It cost me $100 each time I moved it....

[Neil Brooks]

My Grizzly band saw was just about 300#.

I wound up laying ITS boxes on top of some double-wall corrugated boxes that were knocked flat.

Then, I stayed on the downhill side of the "sled," and controlled its descent.

Worked fine.

When I just brought my Performax drum sander home, I picked up a Harbor Freight hand truck and some ratcheting tie-down straps. THAT went well, too.

You may want to consider a block and tackle (mine was another HF special), for raising the base and mounting the bed -- particularly if you have an open ceiling, and can anchor the hoist to the joists.

Good luck !

[Chris True]

I moved a 20" planer to the basement, sparated the main section from the base which takes 100 pounds or so off and gets the center of gravity lower. Strapped the planer to an appliance dolly, use hefty rope and tie it tight. Needed help to tip it up on the wheels, I rolled it around the house to the top of the stairs then two friends in front and me on the cart and we gently let it down each step, 11 or 12 steps total. Once all the parts were inside a 2 ton comealong chained to the main steel beam holding up the first floor winched that planer up high enough to slide the base / motor assembly back under and bolt it up. I can handle up to 250 or so myself on the dolly, above that I need assistance. Mainly the assistance is to resist gravity and make sure the load doesn't get out of control...

[Tom Hamilton]

Justin, if you have not already done so, take a peak at OWWM.org and search for "moving into basement." There you will find lots of tips and tricks to move that machine safely.

Good luck with your downhill move,

Tom, in Douglasville, thinking being on the downhill side of 700 pounds doesn't sound like a good idea.

[Neil Brooks]

Tom, in Douglasville, thinking being on the downhill side of 700 pounds doesn't sound like a good idea.

Agreed.

But do we know how many packages it arrives in, and the weight of each of those packages ?

[Dan Friedrichs]

I sold a 15" Grizzly that weighed 490lbs. The guy that bought it had a jacked-up pickup whose tailgate was about 4' above the ground :mad: So we had to disassemble it quite a bit.

At least on the one I sold, the motor easily came off, then the piece that held the cutterhead was secured to the posts with some allen screws - once loosened, we just cranked the bed up, forcing the cutterhead piece up, and removed that. Each piece was easily lifted, then.

[eugene thomas]

I moved 15" planer in and out of my basement with furniture dolly and 4 guys worked good. not want to ever do again though.

[Dave Zellers]

I moved 15" planer in and out of my basement with furniture dolly and 4 guys worked good. not want to ever do again though.

I think this pretty much nails it.

Yes, it can be done. But what ever you do, don't take it lightly. Four guys sounds about right. 500 pounds careening out of control down the stairs could easily kill a guy.

But 4 smart, strong guys could also control the beast.

Give the job all the respect it deserves and then some.

[James Malcolm]

Get those ForeArm Forklift lifting straps they sell at U-haul and similar.

http://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Protective-stuff/Forearm-Forklift-Moving-Straps?id=2744

They are without a doubt the best $20 I have ever spent. I would pay 10x that price if that is what they cost. The straps allow you to pick the machine from any orientation. So when going down the stairs, you keep the machine perfectly vertical. The guy on the bottom has ~2' of strap, the guy on top has 4'. When you lift, nobody is bending over, the machine is vertical and you're hands are holding on to balance the machine, not to lift. Also you don't have to worry as much about thin edges that dig into your hands and what not. As long as the edge isn't sharp, the straps are fine.

Doesn't help a whole lot if you and your buddy can't lift it yourselves though. It will probably take 4 of you to lift and move it, but only room for 2, at least with my basement steps. My brother and I have moved all of my machines into the basement with these straps, but took the top off my G0490, jointer was seperate from stand & motor, took the motor out of the planer. I originally got them to move a 4'tx3'dx5'w carboard box that weight 350 lbs and had no lift points, just a smooth cardboard box out of one house and into another (new furniture delivered 2 days before move). Loading the truck, me and a friend moved it. Into my house, I was on one end, my skinny brother and step dad on the other. I didn't see any other way to be able to move it and leave it in the box. Like I said, best $20 I ever spent and I probably would pay $200 for another pair if that's what they cost when mine need replaced.

A 15" planer always worried me, as much as I want one, I decided to get a Belsaw for now, but still took the 5hp motor out of it. 70lbs is 70lbs, big difference between 200 and 270. My other idea was to build a sleigh with long runners, as wide as you can make it and still fit easily through any doors. Hook a cable or chain up to my truck and use that to slowly slide it down the stairs, assuming you have an outside access door, not trying to take it down the interior steps, that would not be fun :)

[glenn bradley]

Just trying to lessen your concern but, not really much help on the stair issue . . . I was concerned about getting the beast off the pallet let alone down some stairs. Turned out I was over-concerned. I had three guys show up to help. Me (at about 175lbs) and another guy used the lifting bars and walked it right off the pallet easily. It is definitly enough weight to give you trouble if it gets ahead of you but, it was not as difficult as I had feared.

[Justin Dreier]

Some great thoughts all. That 700lbs and not more than two or three guys fitting in the stairs...it's a daunting thought. The Uhaul forklift straps look like they could help a great deal. I watched the video on them and I think for that price it's worth a try.

Looks like taking the motor out and the extension wings off will help some. I might consider taking the top off, but with the motor out, the base can't weigh all that much.

[glenn bradley]

That 700lbs and not more than two or three guys fitting in the stairs...it's a daunting thought.

True. But, speaking from experience its 675 shipped. 40 pounds or more is carton. The cast infeed and outfeed are probably 30lbs or so each. Pull the switch post, handwheel, motor, belt and cabinet covers, etc. and you will have a manageable beast.

[Justin Dreier]

That could be a manageable. Take everything off that can come off, take it slow and one step at a time. I think we can get it down there.

Thanks for the experiences guys.

[Randy Klein]

I'm hoping in the Grizzly sale coming up to have a 15" planer G0453Z shipped my way.

What sale and when? I'm looking for the same machine.

[Justin Dreier]

Randy, I e-mailed Grizzly and they said thier winter sale starts on 11/1. Tomorrow through the end of December. Not sure what "sale" means in terms of the prices. We'll see.

[george wilson]

READ THIS: How strong are your stairs? There may not be much wood left in the planks on the sides of your stairs where the steps are sawn out of them. Look at the stairs carefully. You might want to securely attach some extra 4X4's to the unsupported areas on the stairs. That planer,PLUS 2 or 3 guys is going to weigh what? over 1000# ?

If the stars break and the planer falls on your friends,it's going to be VERY serious,indeed.

[Dave Zellers]

I bought my 0490 jointer because their "Summer sale" was ending and then when it ended the jointer was $30 less.

Some "sale".:mad:

[Andrew Gibson]

My solution to moving heavy things as been putting together my home gym, and encouraging my friends to join me in working out 3 days a week for the last year.

I have gained 30 lb (150 to 180) and can squat 335lb for 3 sets of 5, bench press 210lb for 3 sets of 5, and deadlift 345lb for 3 sets of 5. My goal is 300,400,500.
when I hit that I should be able to move just about anything.

All you need is a barbell and some iron. I picked up a bench and weight on CL.

All that being said moving heavy... stuff is why we have friends. call 4 or 5 guys and say ill buy the beers if you move something for me... ;)

[Paul Johnstone]

I have moved my 20" jet planer up and down the stairs. I can tell you that @ 700 lbs, there is no way I would attempt it myself. Hire a safe mover, they are used to moving heavy things and have the equipment to do it. It cost me $100 each time I moved it....

That's what I did with my Jet 20" planer as well.. I found a guy on CL that was a professional mover and did work on the side.. was very reasonable.
Only cost me $60, but $100 would be worth it too.

I once partially disassembled a different machine to bring it down the stairs.. What a pain. Keeping track of all those pieces and putting it back together. A mover can get it down in 10 minutes, vs hours of disassembling and reassembling.. Oh, and it's still heavy, even partially disassembled :)

[Mike Konobeck]

LOL!!! Definitely setup a good program for weightlifting.

You should be able to find a ton of information searching on this site. This has been posted quite a bit. 600-700lbs is not too bad.

I moved a very heavy combo machine and a few other heavy items in the last 3 months. I would say that each piece of the combo weighed in between 800-1000lbs. Once going down the stairs I could have probably done it myself. Just be creative with a winch system of some type and some careful planning. You can buy winches off of Amazon and other places cheaper than come-a-longs.

I SECOND, THIRD, ... the stairs issue! Don't mess around with the stairs. Just make sure you lay out some sort of weight distribution system (i.e. 2x6's, pipe, etc.) to slide the machine down.

Don't overthink it though. I worried about it for days and when it came down to it my original idea got the beast out of the persons basement I bought it from and down into mine without too much blood, sweat, and tears.

PM me if you want me to send you drawings of the winch system but I think it would be overkill for what you are doing unless you plan on hauling up and down a bunch of pieces of equipment. Friends, moving supplies, and beer should be all you need. Make sure the beer comes after the move. :-)

[Justin Dreier]

What sale and when? I'm looking for the same machine.

The Christmas sale starts today..yet on the G0453Z... Looks like not. :(

[Randy Klein]

Randy, I e-mailed Grizzly and they said thier winter sale starts on 11/1. Tomorrow through the end of December. Not sure what "sale" means in terms of the prices. We'll see.

When's this sale going to start? I'm wearing out their web page with my constant checking.