Matt Day
10-13-2013, 9:33 PM
So as I mentioned in another thread, I bought a used Powermatic 20" bandsaw recently and was very excited about finally having a bigger bandsaw than my 14" Delta/Rockwell. The price was right, but the only problem was how big and heavy it is - 915 pounds and 6' tall. Obviously the weight was the biggest issue, so before bringing it home, the seller let me spend some time taking it apart to drop the weight. The weight of the items below is about 350 pounds, which brought the overall saw weight down to below 600, more "manageable".
272913
To get it home I rented a flatbed trailer from Uhaul and a friend met me there. At 600 pounds now, it was still a big awkward beast so it wasn't easy to get the saw into the trailer with two reasonably fit/strong guys. My initial plan was to build a pallet on the spine of the saw and tip it backward on the trailer, but due to a screw up at Uhaul I had a ramp that was in the way of that plan. Usually a ramp would be helpful but a big heavy object on a hand truck up and incline is a recipe for disaster. So I strapped the saw on the hand truck and laid it down then used a come-along to pull it into the trailer. I left it on the hand truck and strapped it down since I only had a few miles on back roads to drive to get home.
Once home, my jubilation was quickly brought down when I realized the easy part was done; I still had to get it in the basement and down a flight of steps. And when my wonderful wife pointed out how tough it was to just get it into the garage, I began to doubt my purchase and regretted wasting the weekend bringing the saw home.
A standard handtruck would be pretty dangerous with such an awkward load, there is now way I'd want someone below it. I thought about covering the stairs with plywood or 2x material to make a ramp to slide it down, but I wasn't sure about getting it on it's back at the top of the stairs then pivoting it to slide down stairs. After quite a bit of thought and research, I found one of these at United Rentals for $30/day.
272907
This battery powered stair climbing dolly (Powermate L-1) is rated at 600-700 pounds (depending on where you look on the website). By the way, they make these that will lift over 1500 pounds. So my plan was to strap the saw to this dolly and walk it down the stairs. I got the hand truck this past Friday afternoon and plan to return it tomorrow morning, which will still be considered a 1 day rental.
After getting the hand truck home, I wondered about how strong the stairs would be. I figured it was 2x12 stringers with 2x treads - boy was I wrong. Turns out it was all 1x. I've never been under the basement stairs before because this is the only access. I didn't think that a 1x stair tread was going to hold 700# (saw + hand truck), along with another 350 pounds of guys on the staircase at some point. So I quickly hand to add some strength to the stairs. A quick trip to HD for some 2x material, construction adhesive, and screws and I threw this together in half of a day.
272909272910272908
Basically I added 2x4's to each existing stringer and put a cleat below the treads, then added a double 2x4 stongback where the center stringer would normally be and put a 2x8 cleat to support the center of the tread. This made a big difference on how the stairs felt just walking up and down them.
Next up was actually moving the saw. I played with the stair climbing dolly to get the feel of how it worked before I did anything. Then I put plywood down through the mudroom (slate tile) and kitchen (hardwood) so I didn't damage anything. Next we got to the top of the stairs with the saw on the hand truck. My biggest worry with a saw this big was how awkward the weight is - the balance point is small and moving off of it is easy and it can get away from you quickly. I took the controls and had my friend attach a rope to the top of the saw (around the upper wheel) so he could keep tension on the saw and keep it from tipping forward. This ended up working great! Actual travel time (sans a small hiccup at the bottom of the stair; saw was a bit too tall for the drop ceiling) down the stairs was about 5 minutes. From the time my buddy showed up and left it was about an hour. Here she is in her new home!
272912
If and when we move from our current house, I am DEFINITELY renting one of these again. I strongly recommend one of these for your next move! And a shout out to my wife for putting up with my tool addiction!
272913
To get it home I rented a flatbed trailer from Uhaul and a friend met me there. At 600 pounds now, it was still a big awkward beast so it wasn't easy to get the saw into the trailer with two reasonably fit/strong guys. My initial plan was to build a pallet on the spine of the saw and tip it backward on the trailer, but due to a screw up at Uhaul I had a ramp that was in the way of that plan. Usually a ramp would be helpful but a big heavy object on a hand truck up and incline is a recipe for disaster. So I strapped the saw on the hand truck and laid it down then used a come-along to pull it into the trailer. I left it on the hand truck and strapped it down since I only had a few miles on back roads to drive to get home.
Once home, my jubilation was quickly brought down when I realized the easy part was done; I still had to get it in the basement and down a flight of steps. And when my wonderful wife pointed out how tough it was to just get it into the garage, I began to doubt my purchase and regretted wasting the weekend bringing the saw home.
A standard handtruck would be pretty dangerous with such an awkward load, there is now way I'd want someone below it. I thought about covering the stairs with plywood or 2x material to make a ramp to slide it down, but I wasn't sure about getting it on it's back at the top of the stairs then pivoting it to slide down stairs. After quite a bit of thought and research, I found one of these at United Rentals for $30/day.
272907
This battery powered stair climbing dolly (Powermate L-1) is rated at 600-700 pounds (depending on where you look on the website). By the way, they make these that will lift over 1500 pounds. So my plan was to strap the saw to this dolly and walk it down the stairs. I got the hand truck this past Friday afternoon and plan to return it tomorrow morning, which will still be considered a 1 day rental.
After getting the hand truck home, I wondered about how strong the stairs would be. I figured it was 2x12 stringers with 2x treads - boy was I wrong. Turns out it was all 1x. I've never been under the basement stairs before because this is the only access. I didn't think that a 1x stair tread was going to hold 700# (saw + hand truck), along with another 350 pounds of guys on the staircase at some point. So I quickly hand to add some strength to the stairs. A quick trip to HD for some 2x material, construction adhesive, and screws and I threw this together in half of a day.
272909272910272908
Basically I added 2x4's to each existing stringer and put a cleat below the treads, then added a double 2x4 stongback where the center stringer would normally be and put a 2x8 cleat to support the center of the tread. This made a big difference on how the stairs felt just walking up and down them.
Next up was actually moving the saw. I played with the stair climbing dolly to get the feel of how it worked before I did anything. Then I put plywood down through the mudroom (slate tile) and kitchen (hardwood) so I didn't damage anything. Next we got to the top of the stairs with the saw on the hand truck. My biggest worry with a saw this big was how awkward the weight is - the balance point is small and moving off of it is easy and it can get away from you quickly. I took the controls and had my friend attach a rope to the top of the saw (around the upper wheel) so he could keep tension on the saw and keep it from tipping forward. This ended up working great! Actual travel time (sans a small hiccup at the bottom of the stair; saw was a bit too tall for the drop ceiling) down the stairs was about 5 minutes. From the time my buddy showed up and left it was about an hour. Here she is in her new home!
272912
If and when we move from our current house, I am DEFINITELY renting one of these again. I strongly recommend one of these for your next move! And a shout out to my wife for putting up with my tool addiction!