Hammer A3-41 on the way - moving it up steep driveway

[Scott Bernstein]

After reviewing multiple threads on various J/P combo machines I finally pulled the trigger on a Hammer A3-41 for my two-car garage shop. Judging by the specifications it should fit well enough in my space, especially with the mobility kit - we'll see how well it actually moves on my extremely rough garage floor. In case, that is a minor issue compared to moving it up my driveway from the curb into the garage. It's a blacktop driveway, about 60 feet long with an average grade of 25%, peek grade 30%. I've contacted a local professional rigging company who will be more than happy to do the move for me, and get it off the pallet...for a professional fee. I've also looked at other options like motorized pallet jacks or renting a telescopic handler to do the job myself, but since I have no experience with either of these I just don't feel comfortable with operating that type of heavy equipment on such a steep grade. I would rather not take the machine apart. I suppose I could do it with a rented pickup truck that has a lift gate, plus a pallet jack but renting both of these for a day or two, plus the time it would take may not be worth it compared to hiring the pros. I imagine they can do the job in 20 minutes or less. Any thoughts on moving an almost-1000# crate up a 30% grade?

Scott

[Rod Sheridan]

I would suggest a winch pulling a pallet jack.

When we do this we put a strap around the machine on the pallet and pull it with the winch............Rod.

P.S. Nice machine.

[Scott Bernstein]

Thought about that, too - but I don’t have a winch and i’m not sure what I would anchor it to

[Yathin Krishnappa]

I'd get this move done professionally. Someone else posted this video of a Minimax delivery a while back that shows it doesn't take much to tip the machine over.

[Jim Becker]

What about lift-gate service with the truck backing up the driveway? (assuming it's a straight truck) Another option is to use a low trailer and pick the unit up at the trucking terminal. You can then back right up to your garage/shop and do what's necessary to unload from there.

[Edwin Santos]

I have to agree, with a high ticket item like this, you may be better off handing the job to a professional. It's a 900lb machine and they will set it down wherever you wish, and look at this job like a cakewalk.

If you're a diehard DIY type, then I would say jack it up onto a couple of 1000# rated four wheel dollies, strap it down securely, and use a Maasdam type cable or rope puller to pull it up your driveway. If you can't anchor to a structure, then a large vehicle should work.

You might save some money over a professional rigger by calling a local moving company and seeing if they feel they can handle it. My shop was moved by a house mover and they had no trouble with any of the equipment, though no grades were involved.

Count me as jealous. I have an A3-31, and if I had it to do over I would have sprung for the A3-41 like you did, not just for the 33% greater width capacity, but the longer jointer beds too. There is a lot of good information in the forum archives here about these machines, adjustments, etc. Look before you leap when considering making adjustments.
Edwin

[ChrisA Edwards]

It comes on a pretty substanioncal pallet. Do you have a vehicle with a hitch?



If your pallet is the same as mine, below in the video, I would tilt it and put a couple of 2"x4" X 8's on each side and make rudimentary skids.

Get either a tow strap or Come Along. Anchor either one of these to the hitch of your vehicle and the other end to the pallet. You could then most likely just drag it up your driveway behind your vehicle, assuming you have a truck or SUV. If you want to make this dragging process easier, go buy three three tubular chain link fence posts or steel conduit. lever up one end of the pallet and slide one of the steel tubes underneath, pull it a little forward and slide another tube under, now the pallet will roll easily on the tubes. Pull it a couple of feet and slide the third tube, grab the one at the back and keep repeating.


P.S. I'm descended from the folk that built Stonehenge and the Pyramids, yes British with and Egyptian grand parent.

Here's mine arriving last year

[Doug Dawson]

If you're a diehard DIY type, then I would say jack it up onto a couple of 1000# rated four wheel dollies, strap it down securely, and use a Maasdam type cable or rope puller to pull it up your driveway. If you can't anchor to a structure, then a large vehicle should work.

The problem with anchoring to (what part of?...) a vehicle is that it typically won't get you all the way into the garage. Anchoring to a structural part of the garage is probably risky (not meant to handle the load like that.)

You might consider drilling a couple of (deep) anchors into the concrete of the garage floor (hammer drill, like you were installing a compressor or something.) Load distribution. Then winching the machine into the garage using that. The advantage then is that you'd always have them, for anchoring other heavy gear. Provided they were flush with the floor.

I hate sloping driveways like that. When I bought my current house, it was a requirement that it not have them.

[John TenEyck]

The problem with anchoring to (what part of?...) a vehicle is that it typically won't get you all the way into the garage. Anchoring to a structural part of the garage is probably risky (not meant to handle the load like that.)

You might consider drilling a couple of (deep) anchors into the concrete of the garage floor (hammer drill, like you were installing a compressor or something.) Load distribution. Then winching the machine into the garage using that. The advantage then is that you'd always have them, for anchoring other heavy gear. Provided they were flush with the floor.

I hate sloping driveways like that. When I bought my current house, it was a requirement that it not have them.

That's exactly what I did to get a 1600 lb jointer into a friend's garage. I bolted a piece of hardwood with large Tapcons to his garage floor. A heavy D-ring was bolted to the wood.



I was pulling the jointer off a U-haul truck but the process would be the same. A cable goes from the pallet (or machine) through a snatch block and then back out to a winch or vehicle. The snatch block is connected by chains to the floor anchor.



I used a winch on the trailer hitch of my car to pull the jointer off and into the garage, but I could just as easily have just hooked the cable directly to the winch and used the car.




This would be even simpler in the OP's case because there would be no Uhaul to block his vision. Two people, one driving the vehicle, the other giving commands, easy peasy.

FWIW, I would pull the pallet on the blacktop, no rollers, nothing. That way if something goes wrong that nice new machine won't take a fast trip down that 30° slope. In any case, this is an easy and low cost job. Less than $100 for materials; almost free if you already have the chain and cable or can borrow them. An hour or less to make/install the anchor point. 15 minutes to safely pull it into the garage.

John

[Kevin Smira]

I can't believe nobody has suggested this yet...

Just reroute it to my address. I don't have a grade on my driveway to worry about. I can get it in my garage just fine.

Problem solved!

[Malcolm McLeod]

I can't believe nobody has suggested this yet...

Just reroute it to my address. I don't have a grade on my driveway to worry about. I can get it in my garage just fine.

Problem solved!

Or better, send it to me? I bet I'm closer (I just have a sense about these things); think of all the lumber you can buy with the reduced freight.

[Mike Wilkins]

Received my A3-41 last July and it is one sweet machine. Did you get the Silent Power cutter head? Such a smooth surface that I am considering selling my dual drum sander.
I got lucky as my driveway and yard is flat. Moving solo, I rented a pallet jack and rolled the big box over some cheap plywood laying over the lawn and muscled it into the shop.
With a driveway as steep as yours, professional movers would be money well spent, less strain on the back, and less chance of tipping the machine.

[Mick Simon]

I'd agree on the rigger. They're usually bonded and can make it look so easy you wonder why you considered anything else. My A3-41 was a bear to get over my threshold and into my shop. I did it with a come along and chain. Hated every second of it.

[Richard Coers]

I'm a huge fan of hiring roll back wreckers for handling woodworking machinery. They can pick it up at the local freight dock and slide it down right at your door. Cost me $100 to move a massive architectural lathe. Have a pallet jack sitting at the end of the bed and when the machine slides down, it's on wheels. A big advantage is you can plan the delivery much closer than the usual 4 hour window a trucking company lies about meeting.

[John TenEyck]

I'm a huge fan of hiring roll back wreckers for handling woodworking machinery. They can pick it up at the local freight dock and slide it down right at your door. Cost me $100 to move a massive architectural lathe. Have a pallet jack sitting at the end of the bed and when the machine slides down, it's on wheels. A big advantage is you can plan the delivery much closer than the usual 4 hour window a trucking company lies about meeting.

That - is - BRILLIANT !!!

John