Moving an 8" Jointer to Basement

[Dave Bunge]

I purchased a Delta DJ-20 jointer. Can I get advice and suggestions on moving it into my basement shop?

I have a stairway from my garage into the basement. There is plenty of room at the top and bottom of the stairs to move and turn. The stairs are a straight shot, no turns.

My current plan it to take the bed off of the base and move it separately. Is it practical for two or three guys to carry it down the stairs? Or should I build a sled to put it on and lower it down the stairs with a chain fall? Or can I move the jointer without taking it apart first? I'm curious to hear what others in this situation have done.

The assembled jointer weighs 335 lb. I guess the bed alone must weigh at least 200 lb.

[William Chain]

You have the right strategy - take the bed off the base, carry each down separately. A DJ-20 isn’t so bad to move. I did this with a friend, just make sure not to hold the bed by the ends of the tables. We had it by base of the top unit and moved in unison one step at a time. Not bad.

[Steve Mountcastle]

Lay old blanket down, make a plywood sled of scrap plywood just a little bigger than the bed. Drag over to stairs wrap blanket and slowly slide down stairs. The main thing is to not let it build up any speed, and if it does get out of the way.

[Paul F Franklin]

Build a simple sled and use your chain fall or a winch in a box to slowly lower it. No drama, no excitement. Sled can be a simple as a couple of 4x4s that the unit bolts to. Just round over the front of the skids so they don't hang up on the steps.

[Brian Runau]

I purchased a Delta DJ-20 jointer. Can I get advice and suggestions on moving it into my basement shop?

I have a stairway from my garage into the basement. There is plenty of room at the top and bottom of the stairs to move and turn. The stairs are a straight shot, no turns.

My current plan it to take the bed off of the base and move it separately. Is it practical for two or three guys to carry it down the stairs? Or should I build a sled to put it on and lower it down the stairs with a chain fall? Or can I move the jointer without taking it apart first? I'm curious to hear what others in this situation have done.

The assembled jointer weighs 335 lb. I guess the bed alone must weigh at least 200 lb.

When I was a younger man I moved my 8" grizzly by taking it apart and carrying the pieces into the basement and then reassembling the unit. Not sure how the Delta is made, but the top is probably not one piece. You can take off the infeed and out feed tables to lighten the load * the cutter head section etc... Taught me how it goes together and adjusts.... Brian

[Tony Shea]

I don't think I'd bother taking it apart. At most I would only take the base apart from the top but even then I think you could easily lower it down on a sled with a chainfall attached. As Paul Franklin said, "No drama, no excitement"! Maybe mount some skis to the base and just let the chainfall do the work. Easy peasy.

[John Jardin]

I agree with William. I've moved my DJ20 down and then back out of the basement.
Unbolt it from the base and invite some strong friends over.

[Jon Grider]

I made a sled, bolted the base to the sled and with help from my son and sil slid it down the steps. Sil stayed at the top of staircase pulling and slowly releasing the tow strap that was wrapped around the base just beneath the jointer. Make sure your stringers are nice and strong, I tacked on a temporary "post" half way down to help support the weight of the jointer plus two guys that have not missed any meals in their lifetime. My kids are going to curse me when I die or just sell the house complete with a basement woodshop.

[William Chain]

Right? This isn’t a 12” or 16” beast. A sled is overkill. It just isn’t that heavy. Take the top off the base, buy a sixer and invite over a strong back. Two if you’re careful.


I agree with William. I've moved my DJ20 down and then back out of the basement.
Unbolt it from the base and invite some strong friends over.

[Jon Grider]

Build a simple sled and use your chain fall or a winch in a box to slowly lower it. No drama, no excitement. Sled can be a simple as a couple of 4x4s that the unit bolts to. Just round over the front of the skids so they don't hang up on the steps.

That's close what I did, with 3 of us. Lifting by the tables may nudge them from being co-planar, and that can be a pia to readjust. My sled was already built to move a TS, planer, BS, lathe and other stuff however.

[Alex Zeller]

I would remove the planer from the base and bolt it to a 2x10 so that it could be picked up using the board, not the tables. Two people could carry it down a set of stairs.

[Rob Luter]

Get some help.

[Mike Kreinhop]

I moved all of my heavy shop tools down to the basement through a set of wooden stairs with two 90-degree turns. Everything had to be disassembled so two people could manage the move safely, and stay within the load limits of the stairs. I was concerned that trying to put three or more people, plus the equipment, on the stairs could damage the stairs, so I decided to take the equipment down in pieces. Fortunately, the infeed and outfeed tables on my jointer/planer came off easily, and the manufacturer was kind enough to include lifting eyes to make hoisting easy.

I was fortunate because I had a matching set of stairs that went to the upper floor and could use a chain hoist to move the heaviest items a few steps at a time. The rest of the items could be carried safely by two people without staging.

[John Lanciani]

Buy (or rent) an appliance truck and do it yourself. Two trips down the stairs, one for the jointer and one for the base with motor in it. It took me longer to read this thread than it would to get the job done.

[Rod Sheridan]

I just winch the stuff down the stairs, no point taking anything apart or getting a hernia.....Rod

[William Hodge]

Looking at the long term, you could do well with a trap door.

I have one in a rental house. There is no bulkhead. I have used the trap door to lower (and raise, later) a furnace, an oil tank, hot water heaters, and my Dad.

We were doing some major work on the house, and my father went into it at night to measure windows. Measuring windows in the dark would require a flashlight. Whatever, he fell down the open trap door and landed on his back on the gravel cellar floor. After a while, my mother and I went looking for him. Nothing broken, just a lot of pain.


Hoisting vertically is easier than contending with stairs. You just need an anchor on the ceiling.

[Paul Haus]

Buy (or rent) an appliance truck and do it yourself. Two trips down the stairs, one for the jointer and one for the base with motor in it. It took me longer to read this thread than it would to get the job done.
I took my Grizzly cabinet saw, a 60 gallon compressor, 10" metal lathe, molder, 10" RAS, 8" jointer and all my other stuff down to my basement shop using an appliance dolly. I disassembled what I could and used multiple strap clamps to aid in insuring the machinery was solidly attached to the appliance dolly. I even have three 90 degree turns to make between the kitchen and shop and was able to handle it all alone. I would have preferred to have help but I didn't have any available.

[Harvey Miller]

I used an appliance dolly too to move the cabinet saw into the basement (wings & rails off). The 6" Delta jointer I removed from the base & carried it out of a basement to my car & back into my basement. Not sure if I could do that today.

[Brian Runau]

I don't think I'd bother taking it apart. At most I would only take the base apart from the top but even then I think you could easily lower it down on a sled with a chainfall attached. As Paul Franklin said, "No drama, no excitement"! Maybe mount some skis to the base and just let the chainfall do the work. Easy peasy.

Depends how many bodies and equipment, just offering an option. I was in my early 50's when I did this. thanks Brian

451738