Moving Heavy Machinery Off Pallet - Egyptian Roller Method

[David M Peters]

Just wanted to share a success story in getting a heavy piece of machinery (10' slider, SCM 315es) off a pallet and onto the floor. I have a pallet jack but not a gantry crane. I used rollers as suggested in this old thread (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?217402-How-to-remove-pallet-under-heavy-machinery), using some scrap 3/4" EMT.

Initially I tried to push the saw across the pallet but the smooshiness of the pallet kept the wooden feed from sliding.

The saw ships bolted to four blocks which in turn are nailed to the pallet. I didn't want the EMT rollers marring the paint.

https://imgur.com/H7EZ4dRl.jpg

https://imgur.com/tSch1Hnl.jpg

I then levered the saw up a bit and slid the rollers under the feet. I of course first removed the nails from the wooden feet.
https://imgur.com/TNJw1CMl.jpg
https://imgur.com/H68HjtIl.jpg

At this point the saw will move very easily with a shove or more delicately with 2x4 prying from the side. The movement was slow, precise, and controlled. Here I have the saw towards one side of the pallet and have ready my rails. These were a stack of 1x4 + 4x4 which were pretty close to the level of the pallet. As each foot came off the pallet I would ready a roller on the rail.
https://imgur.com/eYTVPvUl.jpg

Fully off of the pallet. However the saw was still a bit too high for my jack so I cheated with some 2x4 blocks. All I was doing here was lifting the saw up a bit, removing the rails, and setting it back down on stacked 2x4s.
https://imgur.com/8NM6P1fl.jpg

https://imgur.com/H7EZ4dRm

Back in the safety zone! At this point I could up up the saw and get it directly onto the floor.
https://imgur.com/njUuCqjl.jpg

[Bill Dufour]

EMT is not strong enough for the job. You are lucky it did not crush flat. Thick wall pvc is probbaly stronger then thinwall emt.
Bill D

[Nick Crivello]

Doesn’t everybody have pipe clamps?? :D

[Jack Frederick]

Nice gear you have there. I keep some 1.5 & 2” blk or galv sch 40 pipe for rollers. The extra diameter allows you to be able to tip and steer the load more easily.

[Warren Lake]

have pipe clamp that was banished to machine rollers. As soon as you do that you will wreck them as some surfaces will be uneven. Have galvanized heavy fence post. Larger diameter rolls better if coarse surface. Mcgiver will always be needed. Im not ready for a Pyramid yet.

[Rod Sheridan]

EMT is not strong enough for the job. You are lucky it did not crush flat. Thick wall pvc is probbaly stronger then thinwall emt.
Bill D

Hi Bill, I’ve used EMT dozens of times with no issues, pipe would be better, I would use plastic,, I would steel pipe…Rod

[Greg Parrish]

How you got it off the pallet is cool and all, but I'd much rather just look at pictures of the really sweet saw. LOL Congrats on the new gear. Very nice. :)

[Jim Becker]

Excellent idea and execution. And contrats on the new saw. I thoroughly enjoyed (and miss) the S315WS I owned for many years prior to our move this past year. A wonderful machine for sure. (and I can't wait to get back to a slider)

[Tom M King]

Back when I was young, poor, and limited in equipment, I kept several lengths of 2" galvanized pipe for such uses, along with a 5' strong pry bar. I had a 16" Powermatic planer that I had bought at an auction. My mobile base for that planer was that set of four galvanized pipes that I had scrounged up from somewhere. I'd roll the planer out of the storage building with dirt floor to use it outside, and roll it back in when I had done whatever job I had for it.

[Rick Potter]

I moved two full floor, custom made metal, 6X8' garden sheds using four old chain link fence posts. I had to go 100 feet, over some gravel and mostly grass. I laid down a sheet of OSB on the ground, lifted one side with a Johnson bar, and rolled the first post under that side. Then used the bar from the other side to pry the shed further on the post.

When it was almost to the center of the shed, and the shed could be easily lifted at the front end, I put the second post under and pushed the shed forward. as the first pipe was about to fall out the back, I put the third in at the front...repeat. I had two sheets of OSB, and had to move the rear one to the front every 8'. As long as there were two pipes under the shed, and it was on the OSB it moved easily, and both sheds were in place in a couple hours.

It was not that difficult, and I did it alone, except for my little grand daughter who moved the pipes back and forth for me. I was 67 or so at the time. We also moved a Jacuzzi spa that way a couple years earlier, but I had help on that one.

Leverage and rollers work on a lot of problems.

PS: Those two sheds were made C-1975, and have also survived a house/house move. Galvanized..the paint is shot, but no rust. Had to redo one of the floors though. One of my best purchases. Lumber yard was making them.

[Joe Cowan]

I recently received my Felder planer/jointer at 730 lbs. Just me to get it into my shop which has a raised floor off the exterior concrete pad. I used a lever and 1/2" wooden dowels and moved it easily off the pallet and inside my shop.

[Jim Dwight]

Looks like an excellent method for something long like this. My sawstop came on a pallet and I picked it up in a little HF utility trailer behind my convertible. I took as much weight as possible off the pallet when I got home and then slid it out of the trailer onto the garage floor. I built a mobile base for it that was roughly the height of the pallet so I just walked it over onto the base. I needed to adjust the base so I walked it back to the pallet. Not that hard on something with a limited footprint. I have not put a mobile base on my bandsaw so in the rare event I want to move it I just walk it around. Tilt and pivot. You cannot let it get away from you by tilting it too much but if you are careful it works fine.

[Bill Dufour]

That saw looks like it would take some thought to rig for a vertical lift. I suppose it would be lifted from the bottom and tied so it would not flip upside down.
Bill D

[Erik Loza]

I helped unload a 1,400 lb. CU300 combo machine, Egyptian-style, using el-cheapo metal tubing. No issues.

Erik

[Julie Moriarty]

I used that method for my Hammer A3-31. But the shipper added a second pallet under the factory pallet, which made everything more fun. I used 3/4 EMT and a lot of Egyptian technology to get the unit to the ground and onto a mobile base. There's a thread somewhere with pics.

[Thomas Wilson]

I imagine you hummed “Roll like an Egyptian” a la the Bangles.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the ear worm, Thomas... :D

[John Stankus]

EMT is not strong enough for the job. You are lucky it did not crush flat. Thick wall pvc is probbaly stronger then thinwall emt.
Bill D

https://steeltubeinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SteelConduit_TechTalks_SimpleVersatileConductors_0 42820.pdf
Crush test on emt 3/4 was about 2155 lbf to crush. (2 inch flat plate pushing on conduit over a 3/4solid bar)