Advice wanted: moving bandsaw

[Dan Forman]

My MM16 band saw has arrived at the depot, the plan is to get them to load it into my Toyota pickup on it's spine, then I have three friends to help me get it down an 8 foot flight of stairs into the basement. Net weight sans shipping crate is 480 pounds.

Would it be better to have it loaded upright still on the palette for the ride to the house? If so, I would have to remove the canopy on my truck. I think it would be easier to unload if it were on it's spine.

Would an appliance dolly down the stairs be the best way to go, or cut a piece of plywood to convert the stairs to an inclined plane and slide it down on its spine with a blanket for padding? Any other recommendations? We got the Unisaw down there without too much trouble, but it was not as heavy, and center of gravity was lower.

Could the table and/or wheels be easily removed and carried down separately, or would that be difficult or cause alignment problems upon reassembly?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Dan

[lou sansone]

congratulations on the mm 16 saw... I would use the spine method all the way, including sliding it down the stairs until you get to the bottom and then you can stand it up. IMHO


lou

[Richard Wolf]

The wheels are not attached, and the table can be removed but you still have a lot of weight to move. Do not stand it in your truck, that will be of no advantage to you and only create other problems. Sliding it down stairs on the spine protected with a moving blanket is the answer and I don't think the plywood will make it easier, only more dangerous to work around. Alot of people have moved saws into the basement, but try to get more help than you think you will need.

Richard

[Mark Singer]

It should be moved on its spine!

[Dan Owen]

Dan

This is idealy a four man job going down the basement stairs. I just got my new MM16 on Tuesday and all we had was three. The problem lies in the pitch of the stairs. We had two on the bottom holding the appliance dolly and the biggest guy on top holding the end of the dolly. Going down the stairs the guy on top was of no help because he had no leverage or grip on the dolly due to the pitch of the stairs. That left me and another friend on the bottom lowering it step by step and believe me, it was all we could handle. A rope looped around the end of the dolly with 2 on top and 2-3 on bottom would have made this a piece of cake. Anyway, we survived and the saw is unbeleivable. Plan on 2-3 hours of cosmoline cleanup.

[Jim Becker]

Move it on the spine, both in the truck and down the stairs. And I agree with Dan Owen...four is a nice number of people to have, although when I helped Robert Tarr with his, we did it with three. Use a nice board on the stairs to provide a smooth surface to slide it down on.

Congrats on your new saw!! I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I and many others enjoy our MM machines.

[Ted Shrader]

Dan -

Congratulations on your new MM16. They are great saws.

The other recommendations about moving on its spline are correct. If you must do it with three people, Dan Owen's idea about the rope for the top person seems like a good one.

Have a GREAT time geting it down the stairs. After that, it is all fun and games (until yo move, of course. :) :) )

Congrats,
Ted

[Bruce Page]

Back when I was a young and strong, not too bright teenager, I spent a summer vacation moving furniture across the country with my trucker bro-in-law. On a few occasions we had to move baby grand pianos using a piano board. The piano board was simply a wide (~20”) padded, hardwood board with a cross board at one end forming a lip, it had 3 ratchet straps to tie the piano down on edge and a loop of rope on the opposite end from the lip. We would remove the piano’s legs & pedal assembly, strap it down, and slide the piano down the stairs.
I remember moving one B/G out of a Chicago public housing building, down six flights of stairs in 100* heat, convincing me that I didn’t want to be furniture mover when I grew up!
For some reason my bro-in-law always had the rope end and had me at the bottom of the piano - I think to act as a cushion. :eek: :confused: :eek:
So to make a long story a little longer, make up a makeshift piano board, get some strong help and glide that sweet saw down the stairs.

[Dan Forman]

Thanks for the advice, really helped to clarify the situation. It looks like sliding on the spine will be the way to go. Shouldn't be too big of a problem, as it appears that by the time gravity will want to cause it to pivot down, it will be a good ways down the stairs, with only a few feet to slide, only about a 5 foot drop altogether from the back door.

The next piece should present an even more interesting challenge, though not nearly so as Alan Turner's recent aquisitions. Stay tuned.

Dan

[John Piwaron]

In case you haven't done it yet, here's my 2 cents.

When I brought my DJ-20 jointer home, I left it in the crate. It's somewhere around 450 lbs that way. I had 4 guys to move into my basement. We tied a rope around the crate, and looped it around the trailer hitch ball of the truck we used to haul it from the dealer. The guy on the rope let it out a bit at a time. One guy simply held a board to protect the door jamb from the sliding rope. And the other two (me and one other) were at the bottom of the crate guiding and easing it down. It was tough and I don't care to repeat that. Next time I gotta move it, I'm hiring someone else.

[Jason Ochoada]

I just brought home my MM16 last weekend from a guy who got it an decided he wanted to upgrade to the MM20 when it arrived. I transported it on it's spine in a trailer for 70 miles with no problems. It was secured in at the ends and in the center by ratchet tie downs.

My only suggestion on the ride down the stairs would be to sheath the back (spine side) of the crate with some ply. Maybe it would be ok, but my crate was pretty weak.

Good luck I love mine.
P.S. Iturra designs will have a tension gauge shortly that will be under 60 bucks. I didn't want to wait so I got their current model but thought you may be interested to know. I figured if I am going to be stringing this saw with 200 dollar blades a gauge would be a good idea.

Jason

[Alan Turner]

Dan,
We got my Aggazzani down the basement with three guys, of which I was one, by sliding it down the stairs on the spine on an appliance hand truck. Not too difficult. We did the planer to the basment with me and one other by using the appliance dolly, and a comealong which was anchored to a 2 x 10 plank of maple which was across the back of the house (masonry) one click at a time. 780 lbs. It was a tougher move.
Got the 12" jointer down by disassembly, but the three legged pedestal base still weighed about 600 lbs, and for that we had 4 strong guys, of which I was not one. (:
The new guys are going to the second floor of the new building, which has no elevator, so they will live on the first floor for a while.
I think we are going to "build" an elevator by cutting the floor, and permanently installing a three section mast from a forklift on the wall, well anchored, and welding a plate across the forks. Pallet jack onto the new platform, up she goes, and pallet jack at the top to remove it.
WTB: three section forklift mast and power unit. Anyone got one it their back yard for sale?
Good luck on your move. In a sliding configuration, the 450 lbs should not be too bad, but do be safe.

[Dan Forman]

OOps, please see new thread on this topic: Crated or no?

Dan