Dreaming of a Hammer A3-31

[John TenEyck]

Beyond all good judgement I'm dreaming of the Hammer A3-31, but it weighs 880 lbs and I have a basement shop with the only access being a 12 step stairway. Does anyone know how hard it is to disassemble this machine so that it could be taken down in pieces. I don't want to turn a $7K purchase into a $15K project by putting in a set of Bilco doors in order to access the basement (as much as I'd like that, too.) Thanks.

John

EDIT: Sorry, I mean the A3-41 - the 16" J/P

[Rod Sheridan]

John, It doesn't weigh that much, I think it's about 600 pounds.

I moved mine downstairs by myself.

Do not take it apart, simply slide it down the stairs on the pallet, using a winch.

Regards, Rod.

[Prashun Patel]

$7k?

You're looking at 1/2 that with the current pricing, John.

Drink
the
Kool Aid.

[John TenEyck]

Oh, sorry, I goofed. I'm interested in the A3-41; the 16" beast, and that one is spec'd at 880 lbs. I'm either going to go big or stay home. No sense spending a lot of money unless I can increase capacity over my current 10" jointer and 12" planer.

That machine is too long/wide to turn the corner to get down my stairs unless I can remove at least one of the tables. Preferably, I'd like to move it in smaller chunks. I've moved a couple of things down there in the 300 lb range and can't imagine safely moving anything much heavier down those stairs, even with help.

John

[mreza Salav]

I took a Minimax FS350 down the basement (with a 90 degree turn) 4 years ago and had to take it out this summer when we moved. In both cases I broke it down to the pieces (everything that could come off); I could move all except the base by myself. The base was at least 300# itself and I asked my movers to do it. It is possible, it just take half a day or so to put it back together and dial it in.