Moving 600lbs machine using forearm straps?

[Augusto Orosco]

Have any of you used these to lift heavy woodworking machines? I just bought a 600 lb. J/P combo and I need to take it to my shop in the back of the house. Fortunately there are no stairs to tackle, but there is a 100 yard grass path of uneven ground from the garage (where the liftgate delivery will take place) to the shop, which prevents me from using a dolly. I have used the straps in the past for furniture and a washer and drier, and I love them, but have never attempted anything over 200 lb. The straps are rated for 700lbs and (tested on 1,300 lbs) and the manufacturer claims the weight is "reduced" by 66%, but of course, you should not believe everything you read.

I was also wondering if I could use four people with two pairs of straps if the weight is two much for two people.


http://www.theforearmforklift.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/forearm_forklift_lifting_straps_for_appliance_movi ng_002-562x716.jpg

[Mark Bolton]

I only know a hand full of guys (likely less) that can handle 300lbs clean so I'm assuming you are talking more than two guys. Im a pretty big guy. I can cleanly handle in excess of 200lbs but no way 300.

Id be looking for a small trailer and a riding lawnmower or something and some planks. Better to work smarter not harder.b

[Peter Quinn]

I wouldn't bother with those straps, that's still a 300# dead lift per guy, so they better be big guys. If it comes in a crate you can just make some carrying mechanism, think Egyptian queen style, screw a few 2x4 to the crate, straps around the box, 4 man lift is easy. We placed a 1200# jointer this spring in the shop this way, took 6 guys but was smooth and non painful. I've also move considerable weight over a rough lawn using a few sheets of plywood, keep shuffling the back piece forward, and a low cart with pneumatic wheels.

[Mike Cutler]

Anthony

I don't know exactly how the manufacturer claims the weight is reduced by 2/3's, but once that weight is in the air, it's a static load divided hopefully by 4. I've used those straps, and they're nice, but the weight doesn't magically go away.

600lbs is a good bit of weight. Two people lifting 300 lbs, and moving it, 100 yards is going to be quite an endeavor. Even 4people at 150 lbs each is still going to take a bit.
If all the people are fit and have healthy backs, shoulders, and knees, it would be doable if 4 sling support lift points(8) can be effected. They still better be some fit folks.

[Lee Schierer]

I've used those straps and they do help when handling heavy bulky objects, but I didn't experience a 66% weight reduction. The item will still weigh 700 pounds when it is off the ground and someone will be carrying the weight. Since the straps are u shaped under the item being lifted, using 4 people on two straps would be problematic as the strap would slide back and forth under the item being lifted as each person tries to lift the object. You could put a 2 x 4 through the arm loops and then lift with four or more people.

[Rod Sheridan]

I moved a j/p for a friend over uneven lawn.

Leave it on the pallet, buy 2 sheets of sturdy plywood and use a pallet jack.

Do not use people to lift it, that's not what people are good at.............Rod.

[Erik Loza]

Leave it on the pallet, buy 2 sheets of sturdy plywood and use a pallet jack.



This ^^^^

I own those forearm straps and there is no way you coould move a J/P with them.

Get a few sheets of of ply or OSB and leapfrog them as needed. Best of luck,

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[scott vroom]

This lawn dolly is designed with 8" wheels to move items over uneven surfaces. $209 one time expense and may come in handy latter.

http://www.woodendollies.com/index.cfm?page=8&Item=14

[Jim Rimmer]

This lawn dolly is designed with 8" wheels to move items over uneven surfaces. $209 one time expense and may come in handy latter.

http://www.woodendollies.com/index.cfm?page=8&Item=14

^^^^^^^ I think this is the solution.

[Rick Potter]

Rod's way worked for me'

RP

[Rod Sheridan]

^^^^^^^ I think this is the solution.

A jointer/planer is very narrow and top heavy, as somone who often moves machinery for work, there's no way I would try to move a j/p across an uneven lawn with that.........Rod.

[Brian Henderson]

I think it's a good solution but shouldn't you be able to make something like that a lot cheaper than $209?

[cody michael]

I bought a grizzly 20 inch planer, weighed about that, had 4 people and it was not fun, I backed my trailer up to the door of wood and just had to get it off the trailer, over the lip of the door frame, and it was close. I used my dads flat bed trailer and drove it to the door. no way I could have carried that thing even 20 feet.

[scott vroom]

I think it's a good solution but shouldn't you be able to make something like that a lot cheaper than $209?


That's what I was thinking. And to Rod's point, you could design it wider to reduce the risk of tipping. Use a bumper mounted winch, or cable it to a truck bumper and pull it slowly with 2 guys keeping it steady.


Edit: But if only a one-off need, then Rod's method might be best...costs about $35 to rent a pallet jack for a day where I live. 2 sheets of nominal 3/4" OSB sheathing about $35.

[Bill George]

Hmm, hate to bring this up, but when moving a shed I went and purchased 3 or 4 nice round wood fence posts. When I was done, I just returned them as they still looked like new. I think if your really careful with the 3/4 OSB or Plywood perhaps they could be returned.
Heck I've seen stuff returned and back on the shelf to sell at Menards many times, stuff that had been rained on and the like.

[Augusto Orosco]

Thanks all for the reality check. So, straps was a dumb idea (had a hunch it was). The pallet jack seems that the safer option. I just need to figure out how to make it through two doors (the narrowest being about 34" wide, I believe) leading from the back entrance into the shop (all flat)

[Wade Lippman]

I would look into hiring movers. I had them move 1500 pounds of machinery for $200. Probably would have been cheaper but it was in two shipments.
They made a 450 pound machine look pretty easy.

At my old house I couldn't fit a machine through a doorway and had to remove the molding. Slipped right in then.

[Augusto Orosco]

I would look into hiring movers. I had them move 1500 pounds of machinery for $200. Probably would have been cheaper but it was in two shipments.
They made a 450 pound machine look pretty easy.

At my old house I couldn't fit a machine through a doorway and had to remove the molding. Slipped right in then.

I was just thinking that. Might be safer and easier to hire a professional. $200 doesn't sound so bad given the task.

[Myk Rian]

Think about it a minute. Even with 4 people, could YOU carry 150+lbs 100 yards?

[Mark Bolton]

This lawn dolly is designed with 8" wheels to move items over uneven surfaces. $209 one time expense and may come in handy latter.

http://www.woodendollies.com/index.cfm?page=8&Item=14

ZOIKES.... 200 smacks.. ouch...

[Mark Bolton]

Hmm, hate to bring this up, but when moving a shed I went and purchased 3 or 4 nice round wood fence posts. When I was done, I just returned them as they still looked like new. I think if your really careful with the 3/4 OSB or Plywood perhaps they could be returned.
Heck I've seen stuff returned and back on the shelf to sell at Menards many times, stuff that had been rained on and the like.

Oh no... say it aint so dude.. sorry to be mean but man oh man that is so, so, so, scummy.. nasty. Makes any of us who are in business for ourselves cringe at the thought of that mentality out there in the world. So sad.. so very sad..

Still shuddering.. man.. nasty.

[Mark Bolton]

Think about it a minute. Even with 4 people, could YOU carry 150+lbs 100 yards?

I could :D. But I wouldnt have many friends left if I expected it of them

[Tom M King]

Lay boards on the ground, and roll it on a moving dolly.

[Erik Loza]

The issue with dollies, carts, or buggies is that you still have to get the machine UP AND ONTO said device, first. If you leave it on its pallet and use a pallet jack, then you don't have to do any of that. Whenever possible, I would use a pallet jack first.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Mike Wilkins]

Rod Sheridan's idea is the best for moving objects over your lawn, which I have used with good results. Get 2 sheets of ply, lay them end to end. Rent or buy a pallet jack to lift the machine and move it onto the ply. After clearing the second sheet, stop and move the prior sheet in front of the sheet that is now holding the machine, then move it onto that one. Again and again until you are at your destination. Use your brain, not your back. That is my philosophy for moving heavy objects.

[Jim Matthews]

If you can't find a mover that's up to the task,
call somebody that moves pianos.

They do stuff like this all the time.

[Tony Haukap]

there is a 100 yard grass path of uneven ground from the garage (where the liftgate delivery will take place) to the shopWhy can't you drive on the grass? The closer you can get it to the shop door the better off you're going to be... no matter what method you use to move it inside and into final position, the less distance you have to move it the better.

[Brian Henderson]

That's what I was thinking. And to Rod's point, you could design it wider to reduce the risk of tipping. Use a bumper mounted winch, or cable it to a truck bumper and pull it slowly with 2 guys keeping it steady.


Edit: But if only a one-off need, then Rod's method might be best...costs about $35 to rent a pallet jack for a day where I live. 2 sheets of nominal 3/4" OSB sheathing about $35.

I was over at Lowes earlier today and a 300lb caster is less than $20. I saw on their web site that a 4-pack of casters, two swivel and two fixed, is $55, with a total 600lb capacity. Add two more fixed and you're up to 900lbs. Lumber to build the frame is cheap, you could do the whole thing for less than $75. I agree though, if you have a way of bringing a pallet jack home, renting one is certainly an option.

[Brian Henderson]

Why can't you drive on the grass? The closer you can get it to the shop door the better off you're going to be... no matter what method you use to move it inside and into final position, the less distance you have to move it the better.

He said he had to go through two gates, I believe. I don't think a truck is going to fit through a 35" gate. :)

[John T Barker]

How did the Egyptians move those big blocks in the desert? Story goes they rolled them on tree trunks laid on the ground. Soooo, get a few bunch of plumbing pipe and lay it on the ground and roll the pallet, pick the pipes up and put in front of the pallet, over, and over. Did it with a 12" table saw once...impressed my boss when I came up with the idea.

[John Donhowe]

+1 on Bill George's idea, if he meant using round fence posts as rollers. I've moved heavy equipment solo over rough lawn using rollers I made from lengths of ABS drain pipe filled with concrete. "Rails" of 8' 2x4s or 2x6s for the rollers to ride on make it much easier to go over uneven terrain. The equipment sits on plywood, with maybe some 2x sandwiched between the equipment feet and the ply if the ply flexes too much.

[Augusto Orosco]

Why can't you drive on the grass? The closer you can get it to the shop door the better off you're going to be... no matter what method you use to move it inside and into final position, the less distance you have to move it the better.

Well, for once, I would have to get a suitable vehicle (I have an SUV), then load it into the vehicle and then unload it. And all that for only half the distance, since there's a point a vehicle won't be able to pass through.

But more importantly, I can get away with rolling the machine in plywood over the lawn; but if I drive a car on top of my front yard my wife will have me sleeping with the machine in the shop until the next year! :p

[John T Barker]

Does a four wheeling dolly like this work?
301517

[Augusto Orosco]

Probably. Hey, John... You are in Wayne? Me too!

[Bill Sawyer]

I recently purchase a Minimax S500P band saw. It weighs on the order of 600-700 pounds. I needed to get it out of my garage and around my house into the basement, all the way on my lawn, with a descent to and through a sliding basement door. I built a sled for the saw out of 2x4's, and strapped it to the saw. Then I lowered the saw from vertical to horizontal (with the help of 4 High School guys) directly onto six 2 inch thick dowels. I would have preferred round fence posts, but the local Home Depot was out of them, and I was in a hurry. The dowels rolled very well on pavement and cement, and were OK on the grass. Having a bunch of guys to muscle the machine around corners and make sure it didn't tip over, or take off rolling down the hill was helpful. I also had to build a plywood transition over the basement door so that the machine wouldn't damage the sliding door tracks.

I would not recommend any of the dollies with wheels shown in previous posts. Your lawn would have to be hard as could be for the wheels not to dig in. Even if you do have a really hard lawn, you will still have to deal with the increase in height due to the dolly.

In all I spent about $75 on materials for the sled and plywood. I spent another $80 on the High School guys. They were worth every penny.

Bill

[Bill George]

Getting on and off the pallet. I have used a couple or at least one low floor jack and some 2x4s or 4x4s to hold the machine when needed. When I was working in the field we had some long handle pry bars with small wheels and a steel lift plate on one end. The oak handle was 8 foot long or so giving a lot of leverage and once off the floor you could move the object anywhere. I have seen them at rental places, only good for hard surfaces.

[Phil Barrett]

I've done that but you might want to get 2x4s to lay down first if the ground is soft or uneven.

[Susumu Mori]

We did exactly the same for Hammer A331 and Felder FB510.
Two guys from Felder, one extremely strong, knew how to do it; exactly the way Rod said. With regular people, not the Hulk Hogan from Felder, three people may be a better idea. Travelling through the lawn is one thing but going through the sliding door without damaging the rail is another. They used several pieces of 2x4 to bring the ground level to the height of the door rail. For the entire process, the machines were on the crates.
I would recommend you to somehow arrange helps from pros. For the heavy machines, you'd better set aside some $ to bring them to the basement. You'd better arrange the help well ahead of time, either by the manufacturer, if you live nearby, piano mover, or some specialists for machine delivery. For one thing, it is not fun to move heavy stuff but more importantly, you want to protect your investment and you house.

[John Coloccia]

You could call the delivery company and ask if they have a forklift service available, assuming the path is accessible by forklift. Once it's at your shop door, you can use your 4 guys to uncrate it outside and push it onto some dollies to roll it into the shop. Getting it off the dollies is an easy task since you're never lifting the entire 600lbs. I believe my J/P weighs about that much and I can actually move it around my shop myself, even without a mobile base. Just don't drag it or lift it by the tables, obviously.

I've done it on plywood across lawns too, with a pallet jack, but by the time you rent or buy a used pallet truck, you may as well pay someone to do it, if it's readily available. They do make an all terrain pallet truck, but I've never seen one for rent, and again it will cost you bucks to rent it and have it delivered/picked up, because you're probably not going to fit that thing in your SUV...it's a monster!

Incidentally, when I had to exchange my J/P for one that actually worked, I hired a friend of mine who, among other things, works somewhere where they also sell Liberty safes. They moved my safe to the proper location, helped me uncrate and move the new J/P, and then moved my old J/P onto the crate and helped me crate it back up. Pretty much, they made everything look easy. Since they're accustomed to working in residential settings, a local safe mover might be able to knock this out for you without much trouble.

[John T Barker]

Probably. Hey, John... You are in Wayne? Me too!

I am but please don't think I'm going to help carry that. I'm a wreck (back-lol.) What part of Wayne, I'm in some condos near Wegmans.

[Augusto Orosco]

I am but please don't think I'm going to help carry that. I'm a wreck (back-lol.) What part of Wayne, I'm in some condos near Wegmans.

Hah! Wouldn't have crossed my mind, don't worry. I am always curious to know who's also into woodworking in my neck of the woods. I am about 3/4 mile from Valley Forge Military Academy, in close to Pine Tree Road.

[Peter Quinn]

How did the Egyptians move those big blocks in the desert? Story goes they rolled them on tree trunks laid on the ground. Soooo, get a few bunch of plumbing pipe and lay it on the ground and roll the pallet, pick the pipes up and put in front of the pallet, over, and over. Did it with a 12" table saw once...impressed my boss when I came up with the idea.

How did the Egyptians do it? They didn't....the slaves did! And lots of them died in the process. Otherwise I think the logic is sound. We moved a 1200# panel saw and similarly heavy shaper at work using a few pipes from pipe clamps. Simple block and leaver to lift the crate and slide the pipes under.....easy work.

[Augusto Orosco]

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice! In the end, I went with the easy way out option and called some moving companies. A piano company with good reviews is willing to do the job for $150, so that was hard for me to refuse. They will come in two weeks though (I requested a weekend date, which are always busy); I'll report how it went.

[Jonathan Freinkel]

Call a safe mover or rent one of these. [img]http://www.colemanequip.com/images/fullimages/ToroPalletFork.jpg[\img]
The forearm things stink!

[Brian Backner]

If you have to move heavy stuff delivered on pallets over rough terrain more than on rare occasions, consider a rough terrain pallet jack:

http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/2000x2000/347/34704_2000x2000.jpg

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200594382_200594382

These things are not cheap, but they might be found at rental locations. The above one is manually powered, but can be towed by a lawn tractor.

If you need to move really heavy stuff (4,000# and up), the manufacturer, Vestil Industries, also produces ones that are self-powered with on board engines. Those are mega expensive ($8k and up) - again call a few rental places.

[Wade Lippman]

If you need to move really heavy stuff (4,000# and up), the manufacturer, Vestil Industries, also produces ones that are self-powered with on board engines. Those are mega expensive ($8k and up) - again call a few rental places.

Or... pay $150 like the OP and hire it done.

[Myk Rian]

Build a carriage out of a couple lawn rollers. Sell one or both when done.

[Jim Matthews]

A piano company with good reviews is willing to do the job for $150, so that was hard for me to refuse.

Good man. Piano movers are my go-to guys for odd lifts.
I once had a Radiology show to set up in Germany and the
service elevator failed.

I called the local conservatory and hired piano movers to manage the
three flights of stairs with our 800 pound treatment table.

Five minutes from the loading area to the showroom floor.
I don't think they broke a sweat.

They were there for nearly four hours.
I don't think they had ever seen so much cash.

It was impressive.

[Fred Thompson]

I used 4 inch PVC pipe cut into different sizes, smaller for tight turns, longer for long slopes. I moved heavy (250#) logs over a curved, 3 degree slope backyard by my old crippled self. Tie a rope around the object, lift, use foot to place front PVC pipe, set down, go to rear of object and repeat. Then pull your rope. You use 3 pipes at a time to spread the load and it was easy, just pull. Stop when the back pipe section clear the item being moved and move it to the front, repeat over and over till you reach you destination. Good Luck.

[Viking Mountain Tool Works]

Has anyone tried to use a come-a-long for moving equipment over open ground? I suppose the anchor point would be a problem.
Scott

[scott vroom]

Has anyone tried to use a come-a-long for moving equipment over open ground? I suppose the anchor point would be a problem.
Scott


Yes, I considered it for a moment....then realized my come-a-long has a short cable and the OP has to cover 100 yards. So you'd be faced either with moving the anchor point numerous times or spending $ on a cable extender.

[Peter Quinn]

My last heavy move was done with a 5 ton mini kabota excavator, dropped an 800# shaper in my bilco like it was pillows, then we picked it up and placed it with an engine hoist. And I haven't been able to move it since! I'm sure that excavator could have gone 100 feet, a 34" gate would be no problem either, it woud go right over it!

[Dan Rude]

I think the best use of the Forearm Forklift straps with an extension is to move a mattress. The pros use a Shoulder Dolly. I have one of the cheaper versions from Northern Tool the best one is this one http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200430677_200430677 the cheaper version is this one http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200310414_200310414 It is not quite as good as the other one. I first saw the Industrial one used by the crew that delivered my refrigerator. Then if you have to just move it around for a short distance I have used this one for use on most floors http://airsled.com/appliance.htm but the floor needs to be level. I have used this other system the most and you can skid almost anything around. http://www.amazon.com/EZ-Moves-Furniture-Sliders-pack/dp/B00F10LIX2/ref=sr_1_116?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1417916933&sr=1-116&keywords=furniture+sliders Dan

[Jim Andrew]

When I was young, and indestructible, thought I could manhandle all sorts of tasks. Then a few years ago, I over did it with my back, and now I have to use my brain instead of my back. Helps to have some tools and equipment too. Just remember before you try to do some superhuman task, you may have to spend thousands of dollars with a chiropractor, or even worse, with a medical doctor.