Getting a big saw into the basement without muscle

[Andrew Williams]

Ok so it's a gloat first of all....but prolly my last one for a while, since I've not been very busy lately (hence am choosing now to upgrade some tools) and have been running up some heavy lines of credit. Sitting on top of the crate is probably the best tool for this job, a 7 foot long 2x2 oak lever.
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The electricians have yet to install the line for it, and it now sits in my garage, all 659 pounds of it!

I was going to photograph the process of getting from the utility trailer into my garage using just ropes, levers, tow chain and a tractor, but I ran out of light and needed to hurry. However I hope to add more photos as I continue the quest for the ultimate easy basement install. Helps to have the big diesel tractor of course!

[Doyle Alley]

When I was in the Navy, I watched the guys from the Riggers Loft on the tender come onto our ship and move heavy equipment down passageways and ladders to get it installed below decks. I learned a lot by watching. I learned that a combination of pullies, ropes, dollies, etc. can move a lot of weight without having to break anyone's back.

Sounds like you have the same idea. I look forward to watching the progress.

[Tim Wagner]

What? What about no pain no gain? LOL I know what you mean about being stretched on that credit.:rolleyes:

[Don Bullock]

Andrew, congratulations on your new SawStop. You're going to love your new saw!!!:D

[Andrew Williams]

Ok the big tractor won't fit in the garage too well, so I need to use the little one. It groaned a bit but was able to move the crate (a little)

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Here it is uncrated. It just sits on that pallet, no bolts (unless there are some that I haven't noticed). This scared me because if the crate had ever fallen over it might have come apart, and there are NO level surfaces around here, especially my driveway.
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Now I've taken the boxes out and am trying to think about what I can pull off of this saw for the move to the basement. Obviously the table and right wing need to come off, easy enough...same with the handwheels. The motor is a big maybe, since I would have to unwire it. At this point I am thinking of leaving it, since the only way I see to moving this cabinet is with a ramp and sled arrangement. That leaves the issue of what little bits might be jutting out. Unfortunately there are bits jutting out of every side, although I can remove the motor box, and on that side there are no other jutting bits save the table flanges. This creates a possible width of 32", narrow enough to fit through both doors, and I will be able to lay the cabinet down on the motor-box side. The wild card is the electronic control box, but it may be possible to move it out of the danger zone without unwiring it.
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[Jim Becker]

Andrew, be VERY careful if you choose to remove the table from your saw. There may be shims (they look like washers, but are not washers) in one or more of the four corners and they are critical to the saw's alignment during bevel cuts.

[Andrew Williams]

Thanks Jim.. I will look for them. There were not any on my last saw but I'll keep an eye open. I was also told that there are some hidden cleats holding the saw down to the pallet although I have yet to find them. Perhaps a call to SS is in order.

[Charles Wilson]

Nice job. I am looking forward to seeing the saw when it is set up.

Which dealer did you go with?

Chuck

[Bart Leetch]

Ah yes another black shiny saw that will soon be a dusty black saw. So do you plan to wash & wax it once a week so the dust doesn't stick to it to bad?:eek: :D Congrats.:) :) :)

[Andrew Williams]

Binghamton is at a point of minimum density as far as woodworking supply stores are concerned. The nearest Woodcraft is in Allentown, PA; nearest Rockler, Buffalo. There were no SS dealers anywhere near so it was pretty much a toss-up and a committed-to long drive with the trailer in any case. I chose the Downingtown Woodcraft (near Philly). It took about 1.3 tank of gas (maybe $65) to make the trip with the trailer. They loaded it on for me without a whole lot of trouble.

Yeah it's black and shiny, just like my 94 Del Sol. This time of year it doesn't look black, it looks pollen-colored! I suspect the SS will be similar soon.

[Ed Falis]

Andrew,

As long as you bear in mind Jim's comment about the location of any shims, there's probably little reason not to remove the motor and switch. The wiring should be very straightforward. That's the way I did it both times with my Bridgewood (only 450 lbs), and it went down a tiny hatch and stairs the first time with the wife and I using the miracle of leverage to do it by hand. Make sure you have whatever you need to realign your table top when you install (I use the Align-It kit).

Enjoy that baby - I envy your having a riving knife.

[Curt Harms]

Binghamton is at a point of minimum density as far as woodworking supply stores are concerned. The nearest Woodcraft is in Allentown, PA; nearest Rockler, Buffalo. There were no SS dealers anywhere near so it was pretty much a toss-up and a committed-to long drive with the trailer in any case. I chose the Downingtown Woodcraft (near Philly). It took about 1.3 tank of gas (maybe $65) to make the trip with the trailer. They loaded it on for me without a whole lot of trouble.

Yeah it's black and shiny, just like my 94 Del Sol. This time of year it doesn't look black, it looks pollen-colored! I suspect the SS will be similar soon.

To Wilmington DE. and saved 6% sales tax. Delaware is pretty attractive when it comes to larger purchases.

[Andrew Williams]

To Wilmington DE. and saved 6% sales tax. Delaware is pretty attractive when it comes to larger purchases.

This information would have been much more useful to me last week ;)

[Curt Harms]

This information would have been much more useful to me last week ;)

Delaware and New Hampshire are good states for large purchases, no sales tax. Of course use tax is due when the purchaser is from out of state I think.

Curt

[Jim Becker]

The same folks own both the Downingtown PA and Wilmington DE Woodcraft franchises as far as I know... :) ...I was actually surprised with another party opened the one in Allentown.

[Andrew Williams]

I actually knew this...since I talked to the owner a few weeks ago. Funny, he didn't volunteer the "no sales tax" information LOL



The same folks own both the Downingtown PA and Wilmington DE Woodcraft franchises as far as I know... :) ...I was actually surprised with another party opened the one in Allentown.

[Tom Ruflin]

Andrew,

I have a 3hp sawstop and moved it into my basement using an appliance dolly and the help of a friend. I took the top off and was thinking about removing the motor but did not. I had no problem slowly getting it up 3 stairs into the back of my house and then down the basement stairs. I even left the hand cranks on. I was concerned with voiding the warrentee if I removed the motor. When I moved my bandsaw (MM16) into the basement I used the same appliance dolly but put pywood ramps down the stairs and used a block and tackle to lower it down the stairs while it was still attached to the dolly. That was much easier on the backs and will do that from now on. The sawstop ballanced pretty well on the dolly where the bandsaw was very top heavy and much harder to deal with. I also have a straight shot through the back door and down the basement stairs so that made it easier. Good luck and enjoy the new saw.

[Andrew Williams]

Ok a few days have passed while i have had some kind of head and chest cold. I finally feel about 75% again so am working on the 35 things I need to get done again. The back yard looks like a hayfield!

Here's a pic of the Sawstop with no tables. Removal of the tables is easy with a second pair of hands to steady them. There were no shims attached to the table bolts, but four of the eight trunnion bracket bolts have shims, which I rotated 90 degrees to get them out of the way for further moving. I will rotate these back to their original orientation when I re-assemble the saw. Adjustment of the table is different than most saws, since there is a pivot pin in the front and two setscrews on the sides to change the blade-to-table alignment. In fact, there are adjustment screws for many kinds of settings that most saws do not even have!

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Fortunately I did place a call to Sawstop service and spoke with a nice engineer over there. I told him my plans and he made recommendations. Removal of the motor and control box (paddle stop box) is easy as long as you unwire them correctly. The control box actually had quick-connect plugs inside, and the motor just has wirenuts inside. I still have to decide on whether to use a sled and ramp assembly to lower the saw into the basement, or to use manpower. The electrician is coming next week with 4 guys, and he said they could get it down there for me, so I may just do that. I do, however, eventually need a ramp and sled assembly to carry large furniture pieces out of the shop. The tractor supplies the grunt power (except in winter when ice is on the ground of course)

[Ed Falis]

Sounds like great progress. Bet you're glad you called the manufacturer. Those adjustors sound intriguing.

[Brian Dormer]

I had a similar situation (big, heavy TS to move into basement). The "solution" was to call the OEM (in my case, Orion) and double check my proposed disassembly with them. They OK'ed it, gave me a few tips and I was able to move all but one piece (the main body of the saw) without any special equipment. The main body took two people and a refrigerator dolly to get down the stairs - but it sounds a lot worse than it was.

I don't think SWMBO would have allowed me to drive a tractor into the living room. :)

[Larry Fox]

The same folks own both the Downingtown PA and Wilmington DE Woodcraft franchises as far as I know... :)

This is correct. Both are owned by Tom Temple who is a super nice guy - always willing to help.

[Steve Aiken]

I moved my Delta Unisaw into the basement using a hand truck and a friend. Make sure the truck is rated for the weight load. You can rent an appliance hand truck (http://images.orgill.com/200x200/2270189.jpg) with built-in strap, but I used a regular hand truck combined with ratcheting tie-down straps to secure it onto the hand truck.

Good luck.

Steve

[Kim Spence]

I just moved my new SawStop into the basement thursday. I took off the right extension wing and the doors. I decided to leave the top on so wouldn't have to realign it. Rented an appliance cart from Home Depot ($10 for 4 hours), and a neighbor and I had it downstairs in about 10 minutes, really not a big deal. Would suggest though having one additional person on the bottom end just in case...

I think the real work will be re-paying the neighbor for his help...installing flourescent fixtures in his garage with 10' or 12' ceilings :) But glad to help him for all the help he has given me to get machinery into the shop.

[Bart Leetch]

[QUOTE=Kim Spence;587634]I just moved my new SawStop into the basement thursday. Would suggest though having one additional person on the bottom end just in case...


I agree something soft for it to land on would be good you know a soft saw stop.:eek: :D

[Andrew Williams]

Ok I put a little crew together this past sunday and got the main cabinet into the basement. I did not remember to take the camera out except for one shot, so the rest of them were taken the next day.

First the saw was strapped to a homemade sled which is essentially a reinforced pallet type thing. Then it is tethered to the tractor using 3" recovery straps. Dragging it across the lawn was much easier than I thought. I left the motor in the cabinet to keep the center of gravity low. Here is a pic of the rigging just near the staircase threshold. Nobody was allowed beneath the load. If any adjustments were necessary they were done using 10 foot sticks, easy. In fact nobody broke a sweat at all that day. Even the tractor stayed below 1500rpm.

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And here is the new ramp system I made for the stairs. They fold up and out of the way when not in use.

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Here's a pic from the next day of the real workhorse. Did not bother to open the screen door but it leads directly out from the stairway. I had to lower the ROPS in order to get into the garage and also clear my clothesline. It's a 35hp New Holland.

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Here's the saw after re-aligning the table. I just used a dial caliper and got it roughly aligned (maybe within .003, will have to do it again I think). Tomorrow the electricians will be here to perform the service upgrade and run the new line for the saw so I will wait until they are done before attaching the rails and extension.

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[Don Bullock]

Andrew, that's an ingenious way to get the SawStop down the stairs. I'm glad to see that you are geting close to being able to use it.

[Curt Harms]

Not a bad idea!!:D. Nicely done-I'm considering the Grizz Jointer/Planer combo. If I wanted to do this, I'd probably have to something like what You did. Congrats on the saw.

Curt

[Tim Lynch]

Congratulations! That's a great addition. :D

[Andrew Williams]

Ok I got impatient so I went ahead and finished it. It took just about all day to align everything and get the rails and fence set up.

Still have to wait until tomorrow for electric.

[Andrew Williams]

I just run a few pieces of poplar through the saw and it runs great! I've got it pretty well dialed in and it cut very well even on the first time. The motor is very smooth and vibration is not really an issue at all. The first kick-on is a bit of an inrush, but the saw seems to get up to speed immediately. dust collection is excellent even with the 1hp delta DC. There is just a little spray of dust out the front. Much less than my old TS.

Now I have to make an outfeed table!

[Don Bullock]

I just run a few pieces of poplar through the saw and it runs great! I've got it pretty well dialed in and it cut very well even on the first time. The motor is very smooth and vibration is not really an issue at all. The first kick-on is a bit of an inrush, but the saw seems to get up to speed immediately. dust collection is excellent even with the 1hp delta DC. There is just a little spray of dust out the front. Much less than my old TS.

Now I have to make an outfeed table!

Great!! It looks like you have the perfect project for it. I too need to make an outfeed table for mine. Enjoy.