Structral question for lifting a cabinet saw.

[Raymond Fries]

I got some great ideas from a thread here on various ways to lift a cabinet saw and put it on a mobile base. I need to lift an Xacta saw which is say 300 to 350 without the wings, rails, etc.

I was wondering if I could use the opening for my pull down folding stairs. When the stairs are first pulled open, half the length of the opening if available for vertical lifting. In addition, it is 50” from the bottom of the stairs to the floor which leaves plenty of room for the lift. I was thinking about using a 6’ 4 x 4 to span this opening. Then I could use straps or chains and a Come-A-Long to lift the saw on this beam.

The boards spanning the 2 car wide garage are 2 x 6’s. In the attached pictures you can see the vertical 2 x 4’s that are attached at the peak and are nailed to the side of the 2 x 6’s that span the width of the garage.

Do you think this idea is safe enough?

For lifting the saw: Can I use sacrificial bolts in the wing holes to attach chains for the lift? I would hate to warp the top if that is even possible. If this is not an option, where can I safely attach something to lift the saw?

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

[Matt Meiser]

Can you just find one other guy to help you? They really aren't THAT heavy (I think you are overestimating the weight with everything removed but not positive.) And most cabinet saws the motor comes out VERY easily, at least easier than doing what you are describing IMHO.

I've also done it by using a couple 2x4's long enough to span past the base and a bunch of blocking, slowly rocking it back and forth and adding blocks until its high enough. Then slide the base under and reverse the process.

[ray hampton]

instead of a 4x4 , why not use 2x4 fasten together , the 4x4 will cost more than two 2x4 and may break if you placed it on the edge

[John Piwaron]

speaking of lifting a cabinet saw, has anyone carried, moved or teleported a cabinet saw into their basement? I just ordered one and am waiting for delivery. Now it's time to obsess over getting mine down there. Fortunately for me the stairs are straight down from an entry door to the house.

then the process of lifting it or persuading it to jump onto the mobile base. :)

[Rod Sheridan]

Easy John, strap it to an appliance cart and two people can easily move it downstairs.

I've done it a few times and have moved a Hammer B3 Winner into my basement..........Rod.

[John McClanahan]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. If the ceiling failed while you were focused on getting the saw on the mobile base, you may not have time to get out of the way.

If you do decide to do it this way, don't use a 4x4. Use a pair of 2x6s instead. In my opinion, 4x4s are not as strong as many people think.

John

[Mike Heidrick]

Assemble the base, block it so it does not move, and rock the saw into the base one corner at a time.

[Phil Thien]

I wouldn't risk it because it is a nicely finished ceiling. It would be a shame to put a crack in the ceiling.

[Myk Rian]

I wrap a chain around a single joist in the garage, and put a 2x4 or 2" piece of pipe from the floor to the joist to support it.
Nothing moves or sags.

[Chris Parks]

I always put mine on and off the base by myself and I am no giant and do not have big muscles, just normal ones. My method relies on it being fully assembled complete with fence rails as they are the lever. Pick it up with the fence rials and tip it as high as you can, now push the mobile base under with your foot and lower onto the base. It won't be on fully but it will be on enough to move it around on the base again using the fence rails as levers and the foot to steady the base.

[Stephen Cherry]

I got some great ideas from a thread here on various ways to lift a cabinet saw and put it on a mobile base. I need to lift an Xacta saw which is say 300 to 350 without the wings, rails, etc.

I was wondering if I could use the opening for my pull down folding stairs. When the stairs are first pulled open, half the length of the opening if available for vertical lifting. In addition, it is 50” from the bottom of the stairs to the floor which leaves plenty of room for the lift. I was thinking about using a 6’ 4 x 4 to span this opening. Then I could use straps or chains and a Come-A-Long to lift the saw on this beam.

The boards spanning the 2 car wide garage are 2 x 6’s. In the attached pictures you can see the vertical 2 x 4’s that are attached at the peak and are nailed to the side of the 2 x 6’s that span the width of the garage.

Do you think this idea is safe enough?

For lifting the saw: Can I use sacrificial bolts in the wing holes to attach chains for the lift? I would hate to warp the top if that is even possible. If this is not an option, where can I safely attach something to lift the saw?

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Done it , works great. I would recomend just rocking it onto the base if you are comfortable with it.

[Michael Mayo]

You could probably get away with your idea but someone mentioned the sheetrock ceiling which I would be concerned about damaging if the ceiling flexes too much. I had to lift my DC 380 planer to put it on it's mobile base after completely disassembling and cleaning it. I made some lifting boards out some scrap 2 X 4's and screwed some heavy duty eyes into it. Then I screwed another heavy duty eye into the 2 X 12 in the ceiling of the garage. Then I used my come-a-long to lift it with some chains. Worked slick. I did the same thing with my Rigid TS3650 which I needed to install a Herculift on. I had rigged up some angle iron and casters prior to getting the Herculift and i needed to remove that mess before installing the lift. Worked with the saw fine but putting together some boards to lift it with was a bit of a pain as i didn't have much that was the length I needed but i figured it out and got the saw lifted.

I would find a couple of friends and ask them to come by one Saturday and have them assist in lifting the saw onto the base. Should not take more than a couple of minutes if you already have the mobile base ready to go and you don't have to worry about damaging anything in the garage.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

I always put mine on and off the base by myself and I am no giant and do not have big muscles, just normal ones. My method relies on it being fully assembled complete with fence rails as they are the lever. Pick it up with the fence rials and tip it as high as you can, now push the mobile base under with your foot and lower onto the base. It won't be on fully but it will be on enough to move it around on the base again using the fence rails as levers and the foot to steady the base.
+1 for this method, you are overthinking it. Lifting one side is easy for the most physically challenged You can easily pick up one side and slip the base under .

[Jason White]

Buy, rent, or borrow an engine hoist. They're cheap and make quick work of it. Harbor Freight has them on sale once in awhile.

[Curt Harms]

speaking of lifting a cabinet saw, has anyone carried, moved or teleported a cabinet saw into their basement? I just ordered one and am waiting for delivery. Now it's time to obsess over getting mine down there. Fortunately for me the stairs are straight down from an entry door to the house.

then the process of lifting it or persuading it to jump onto the mobile base. :)

I did this years ago with a G1023. It was new so the wings were not attached. I removed the top (keep track of which shims go where) and the motor. At that point I could pick up the rest. Like Rod said, an appliance cart would be helpful. Removing the top is no huge thing, just 4 stud bolts and that thing is heavy. You have to reset the blade-to-miter slots etc. but you should recheck that after moving anyway. Removing/reassembling the motor could be a hassle depending on how flexible you are :).

Something to consider if moving a heavy piece of gear on an appliance cart is stair condition. I'm not a carpenter or engineer but it seems like 2 200 lb.+ guys plus 400 lbs. of machine is a pretty fair load on residental wooden stairs.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

speaking of lifting a cabinet saw, has anyone carried, moved or teleported a cabinet saw into their basement? I just ordered one and am waiting for delivery. Now it's time to obsess over getting mine down there. Fortunately for me the stairs are straight down from an entry door to the house.

then the process of lifting it or persuading it to jump onto the mobile base. :)

I very recently purchased a sawstop professional table saw (LOVE IT)..... I rented an appliance dolly from UHaul for about $10. The saw came on its side in the box and was sitting on styrafoam packing material. I took a piece of playwood that was a bit larger than the top and placed that on the floor. I then rolled the saw so that the top was face down on the plywood with the dolly under the plywood (I figured that the plywood would not scratch the top but the metal dolly might). With the top down, the saw was not top heavy and was very easy to move. I could have done it without help, but I strongly prefer a safety net.

I stressed over it for some time, but it was almost trivial to move. The hardest part was laying it on its side and from its side to be standing up (or upside down).

[Raymond Fries]

Thanks for all the tips guys! Guess I will play it safe on the ceiling and use the other options available.

Going to get it next weekend and looking forward to getting it setup.

[Peter Kuhlman]

With a cabinet saw, removing the top is super easy and with no top or wings, it really is not that heavy. I moved mine and put it on a mobile base by myself and I am far from a big burly guy.