Lifting a jointer

[Robert Hayward]

What is the proper way to lift a ~900 pound jointer to put on a trailer and take it off ? A pallet will not be available but I have good lifting straps and a chain. Wrap the straps around the infeed and outfeed tables close to the base ?

This is a wedge bed jointer if that makes a difference. An Oliver 4240.

[Bruce Wrenn]

If it was me (and it's not) I would strap either a 2 X 6 or 2X8 to beds, then turn machine upside down and skid it onto trailer. I prefer to hauls jointers upside down, after school system broke the bed on our 8" Delta picking it up by the beds. Suddenly a very nice older Delta jointer became a 500# boat anchor.

[Warren Lake]

I drill my machines put half inch bolts in and lift from the base. Bit more work. Heres from my manual for a PF500, maybe a bit different depending on the machine.


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[Mark Gibney]

Would you consider dismantling the jointer and loading the parts individually?

[Andrew Hughes]

I had a Newer Asian Oliver for a short while. I remember it was shipped in a crate separated there was a sticker warning not to lift the top from under the tables. Bolting it on to the base was a pain.
Good luck.

[Jeff Bartley]

Crib it up with wedges, etc and put it on a pallet then bolt or strap it to the pallet through the base section of the machine. I wouldn't lift or strap any part of the tables!

I moved an 8" wedgebed jointer a few years ago and disassembled it then set the beds and base section upside down but it probably only weighed 400-500 lbs.

[Wayne Lomman]

Don't lift it by the tables! You will destroy it. You must lift it by the base. Warren's method is the way if you are lifting. The weight is not too bad. Some machine skates would help. Cheers

[Mike Cutler]

I personally would probably be inclined to take it apart. Having taken apart a wedge bed jointer though, I will tell you that it's not as easy as it appears. Barring that, you have to somehow lift it from the base. You could do a basket hitch sling and lift it, but that would require some rigging specific materials to accomplish. If not done properly, you risk flipping the machine.
It appears to have foot mount holes pre drilled, you might be able to get lift eyes through those points and connect shackles to your slings. You still have to be careful and rig a choke to the ends of the beds so that machine can't flip on you.
If you choked it close to the wedge, you could probably get it off the floor a few inches to slide a pallet underneath, but that would be sketchy.
Somehow you need to be able to get that machine off the floor at lest a few inches to attach any type of rigging hardware. Probably have to walk it and rock it up a set of block steps.

The online manual is zero help I see.
I love how most manufacturers almost never tell you how to get a piece of heavy machinery off a pallet, or identify lift points.

Maybe I'm wrong about the manual.
The exploded parts diagram shows 4, M10X1.5 bolts holding the tables and wedge to the base. Item 34. These appear to pass through the base and are held in place with 4, M10x1.5 nuts.
If you could find 4 M10 eyebolts, and nuts, you could replace the bolts with eyebolts and lift from these point. This picks up the whole machine and doesn;t place any stress on the actual beds. You could even use 3/8" eyebolts, which would be easier to find. They have enough rating for 900lbs. at the angle your slings would be at for the lift. Less than 45 degrees.
I would still only lift it long enough to get a pallet under it, or back a trailer under it.Not sure how strong that casting would be at the mount bolt hole locations. I wouldn't want to travel with it on the sling any distance.

[Warren Lake]

Ive done a number of heavy machines this way where i knew a forklift could not go below it at either end, this was lifted by a forklift from above from the chains lying on top, all the force was to the base of the machine just as it sits, forklift on farm tractor off with forks on it hanging from the chains


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[Al Launier]

And the winner is .................................................. ... Warren!

[Bill Dufour]

Make sure to have a leash on it so it can not rollover inside the basket hitch and hit the ground.
Bil lD.

[Robert Hayward]

Good ideas so far, thanks. Here is a picture of the machine. The base has cutouts between the feet. Looks like I can put slings under the base and lift that way. I called Oliver this morning and the lady I talked to echoed what you guys are saying, do not lift from the beds. All she would tell me was to either put it on a pallet and use a forklift or lift from under the base. With the pallet / forklift being the preferred method. Some models had lifting hooks built in. No such luck with the one I am getting. 385985385986

[Al Launier]

Robert it looks like you are good to go. Just be sure to properly block between the straps & the jointer to prevent any undue stress on the beds when lifting.

[Warren Lake]

Bill if you are referring to how i lift some of them they cant roll over, its impossible.

[Robert Hayward]

The jointer is safe and sound at my house now. Just short of 600 miles round trip to Fort Lauderdale from my house. I am whipped. The way the base is made made it an easy task to slip two heavy duty straps under the machine. We lifted the machine with a 2 ton shop crane. We were on a smooth concrete floor so it was somewhat easy to roll the lifted jointer and shop crane to the trailer backed up to a roll up overhead door. The crane legs went right under the trailer and we were able to set the machine down right in the middle of the trailer. Strapped it down good and took off for home. About fifty miles down the road I pulled over to check the straps. Two of them were a little loose. Repositioned the straps, tightened them up some more and had no more trouble. Just a trace of rain a little south of Sarasota on I275, was not even necessary to wrap the machine.

Oh, I did remove the fence and fence apparatus and put them in the van. Also the base motor access cover which looked to me like it could blow off if the cheesy latch vibrated loose.

Seems I am the third owner of this jointer. The first owner had it for only a few months then closed his shop. The person I bought it from recently got a 12" jointer from another shop closing doors and put this Oliver up for sale. This owner did not like sharpening and installing knives and put a Shelix head on it and even gave me the original Oliver head / knives in the box the Byrd came in.

The bad side of the trip was the drive up the west central coast of Florida during Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. If I had not had a new toy in tow to play with when I got home I would have been one grumpy old man in that tow vehicle. ;)

Going to be a week or two before I get to try it out. I have to run the new electric circuit and get trained on how to program the new VFD from Jack Forsberg. I also have to fabricate and weld, paint and etc a mobile base so I can move the machine out of the way in my tiny shop.

Across the street from the shop I got the jointer from was a wood supplier for the shops doing yacht interior build outs and remodeling. The manager invited us in to see what they sell. Wow ! Vertical grain teak and maple caught my eye right off. A whole stack of outstanding tiger/curly maple. Nice birdseye maple up high. Veneers by the racks full all the way to the ceiling. High grade plywood in a variety of veneers. Even showed me a S4S 2" X 12" (actual) highly tiger striped teak. I asked where it was going and he said not sold yet, want me to figure a price ? There was about 20 bf there guessing at the length. I did not even want to know and declined. It now has me really curious though, I wish i had asked. What is your guess ? I am thinking $600 ~ $800 for the board. Maybe more.

Bob

[Jeff Heath]

Here's a 1800 lb. jointer being lifted the correct way, with straps and a shop hoist....

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[Matt Day]

Jeff, I know you move big heavy stuff all the time (it seems), but any issues overloading the hoist? You state 1800 pounds but it appears the hoist in is the 1/2 ton (1000lb) position, assuming for more reach. I lifted my 1300lb-ish Oliver 399 like this because I needed the reach, but just curious.

[Jeff Heath]

On my hoist, I broke the plunger for the hydraulic jack. It was originally some cast iron POS from over seas. I replaced the mount and bracket with a steel one that I fabricated and TIG welded out of some scrap steel laying around the shop. I also made a heavier duty arm extension ( the black arm that slides inside the red arm) that is 1/4" thick box tubing. The original was less than 1/8" ( I'm certain it was metric, as this is an import lift that I bought on craigslist for $80.) I have had no problems since, and I even unloaded a 2700 lb. Northfield bandsaw using it in this setup, before I bought my current forklift.

A couple of very cheap, and easy-to-perform modifications to beef it up, and it works great. I also have an even longer extension arm so I can load lighter items, like metal lathe chucks and the vertical head attachment for my mill, extending far enough out so the feet of the hoist aren't in the way, hitting the machine(s). I had the square tubing laying around in the shop for that. The items I lift with that long extension arm are all under 500 lbs., and are zero effort for the hoist, even extended an extra 3'. The hydraulic cylinder is rated at 8 tons.

[David Kumm]

Jeff, I'm glad you clarified. That would make a great thread here or on OWWM. I see people lifting way too much with standard cheap hoists. Your solutions are worth sharing. Dave

[Warren Lake]

I once looked at one for sale with a tig welder, bought the welder. Should have bought the lift, home made three times as strong maybe four as the usual ones. Weighed in like a woodworking machine and all was longer likely he could lift a Bridgeport with that. They are fine for some things, not good for tall machines had to turn the wide belt sideways. Wont lift the mortise machine too tall like the widebelt, load capacity decreases as they extend. Wont place a machine in the middle between the wheels on the car trailer but will get it onto the trailer, wont travel on a gravel driveway which I have. Ive also had to move some machines up and down over 60 inches and they cant do that.

Ive picked up machines before where ive rolled a machine to a beam used a block and tackle then drove the car and 21 foot trailer in and lowered it down to the middle of the trailer. That was as easy as it could get but still a farm tractor at this end.

Correct is what works for your application, safety first.

[Jeff Heath]

I use the hoist to get machines on the edge of the trailer. I use a pallet jack from there to move machines to a safe place on the trailer to secure, and back to the edge for removal once at location.

David, I've posted a write up or two on the mods on OWWM. I'll snap some pics again if I can remember to.

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