Suggestions on unloading SawStop and moving it into the shop

[Randy Gillard]

I have decided to purchase the SawStop PCS cabinet saw, and I'm just doing a little pre-planning for getting the saw into my shop.
Every time I have moved a cabinet saw I have removed the entire top, making it much easier to manhandle the saw parts around.
The PCS comes with the centre part of the saw table attached, as it is a quasi-contractor saw design with the trunnions attached to the top.

How difficult is this to move (it must be very heavy comapred to a Unisaw with the top off). How did you get the saw into your shop? How did you unload it from the truck?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[joseph f merz]

i had my saw stop fully assembled in my box truck .it has casters built on it but a dolley would work fine .i had two people helping but only one was needed .i put a couple painter planks to the ground and rolled it down .it went very smoothly .was not a big deal .easy to handle .

[Peter Aeschliman]

As long as you leave it all packaged, you should be able to get it out of your truck with two strong people, maybe 3 to be extra safe. I expected it to be much harder than it was.

[Michael Koons]

Randy, I've never moved the SS but have moved a 600 lb. PM jointer and a 1200 lb. table saw. In both cases, they were delivered via freight companies. In both cases, I called the freight company and requested a lift gate and a pallet jack. In both cases, I jacked the tool up on 1000 lb. dollies (2 or 3) and rolled it into the shop, jacked it back up to remove the dollies. Process works great for me.

If you're doing your own truck without a lift gate, I'd concur with Peter's recommendation, 2 or 3 strong guys.

[Ron Natalie]

The PCS is shipped on a sort of styrofoam pallet without the extension wings and I just had the truck back up to the hangar and unload. Since I ordered the mobile kit I disregarded the silly instructions they give you for installing the base and tipped the thing over on it's back on the styrofoam and then stood it up. It was easy enough for me to do by myself. Without the wings on the table, it was easy to roll it on it's base through the couple of doors into my shop. Then I stuck the wings on and the fence rails and extended table.

[Randy Gillard]

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I'd concur with Peter's recommendation, 2 or 3 strong guys.

Maybe I can enlist the help of these guys!

[Victor Robinson]

The store forklifted my PCS box into the back of our SUV (it barely fit). At home, I unboxed it and removed the wing extensions etc. still inside the SUV. Then with some help (my wife and a buddy...none of us are particularly large or strong), we slid the cabinet (still on pallet) out and tilted the cabinet onto the thick styrofoam that's in the box, effectively standing it up.

[johnny means]

I unloaded my ICS, still in the box with a couple of 2x12s as ramps. Just slid the whole skid down. At the time my truck bed was over 3 ft above the ground. Took me and my skinny neighbor a few minutes.

[glenn bradley]

Thread-jack: I'm confused? Table mounted trunnions!?! Isn't that only on the contractor format?

[Larry Frank]

I bought the PCS version and used an engine lift to move it around with a couple of nylon slings. This also made it much easier to get it on the base.

For my height, I found the table too low and made a very sturdy wooden frame to put in the industrial base and then mounted the saw on top of that. It raised the saw by 6-7" which is comfortable for my back.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

+1 for the 2x12 ramps. Laid the boards on the bed of the truck and had the store put it on top of them at the back. When I got home we just pulled the 2x12s out the back until the saw was at the edge of the bed. Pushed the ends of the boards down and the saw slid down as easy as you please.

Cliff

[Joseph Tarantino]

.......The PCS comes with the centre part of the saw table attached, as it is a quasi-contractor saw design with the trunnions attached to the top......

according to the folks @ sawstop, this is incorrect. the trunions on both versions (1.75 and 3hp) of PCSs are cabinet mounted trunions. miter slot to blade alignment is performed by pivotting the table on the cabinet.

[Ron Natalie]

The center section is attached, but as Joseph says, it the trunions are not attached to it. You can easily see this by just pulling out the blade insert and looking inside.
Not attaching the wings is real convenient as I pointed out before as it allows the saw to fit through standard doors easier (and most likely for Saw Stop's concern, keeps the box form factor more reasonable). Frankly, I'd hate to have had to remove the table. When I got mine me and my neighbors were all set to attach everything with dial indicators and the like but after doing our initial tests we found that the thing was as square and true as we could have hoped to get it if we adjusted it.

[Tom Fischer]

I bought a PM 2000 a few years ago. Had the UPS man pull wheel all the pallets into the garage, assembled the TS there, then lifted it off the pallet with a 2 ton chain hoist (which I use mostly to clean and change blades on my ZTR mower). My shop is on the same slab as the garage floor. Did everything myself. Pretty easy.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Moved it from the garage, up a few steps to the house, then into the basement.

1. I went to UHaul and rented an appliance dolly for under $20.
2. I placed a 24"x24" piece of 3/4" plywood on the dolly.
3. The saw began on its side on top of the Styrofoam, and we (two people) tipped it so that the top was facing down on the plywood. Was careful to do such that no pieces were sticking out towards the dolly.
4. Secure to dolly with strap.

From there, it was trivial for two people to move it into the basement. One person could have done it, but two people is an advantage, especially while tipping it.... and maybe you are not as strong as I (I am not very strong.... at least I don't think so).

Moved the Styrofoam to the basement and then tipped the saw back onto that (just because).