unboxing a heavy contractors sawstop and getting on the stand by myself

[Stephen White]

I am too weak to lift the contractors sawstop out of box, flip it and get it on the stand. Anyone else face a similar problem. With the pandemic I am on my own. Thinking about getting cinder blocks and basically build a step up to stand.

My other thought was to put top Styrofoam the is molded and flip the saw over so the top is now right side up and rent a lift and then work it up that way.

I'm an old guy that stopped bench pressing clearly too long ago and although I can with effort lift one end of it off the ground no way I can lift whole thing in the air and sit on top of stand.

edit: the bottom cannot lay flat because dust collector extends below the frame and all four sides have a bar or something sticking out. Makes leverage almost impossible.

Any other suggestions?

[jim sauterer]

Maybe put in your location and maybe some members live close that could help you.worth a shot.

[Mike Henderson]

I used one of those engine lifts to set up a heavy drum sander. I bought it at Harbor Freight but you can probably rent one.

That plus some straps was all I needed. The heaviest work was assembling the lift.

Mike

[Stephen White]

Ya know that's the reason I have the problem is that I don't want to have any friends or family over out of caution because of the pandemic. Me getting a saw up on a stand is not worth someone risking getting sick. I've been out a few times this week and although I wear a mask that doesn't keep me from getting it and we have a lot of new cases around here.

[Stephen White]

hey I will check that. I can rent a material lift at HD for $50 which is the way I'm leaning. Thanks!

[Matt Day]

Chain hoist could be an option too.

But if it’s a box, can’t you just cut it out?

[Robert Hayward]

Just the other day I lifted a PM2000 table saw up onto a new mobile base, all by myself. Put a 4X4 across two trusses in the attic of my shop just above the access hole. Put two straps from heavy duty tie downs under the table saw base and used a two ton come along to do the lifting. The actual lift did not take five minutes.
Table saw lift.jpg

[mike stenson]

I used one of those engine lifts to set up a heavy drum sander. I bought it at Harbor Freight but you can probably rent one.

That plus some straps was all I needed. The heaviest work was assembling the lift.

Mike

I'll second this. Great way to unbox/assemble heavy items alone.

[Frank Pratt]

My cabinet saw came very cleverly packaged & had thorough instructions. It was not a great chore for me to assemble the whole thing by myself. Unfortunately, I later had to mount it on a mobile base that was back ordered. I used a small portable electric hoist to lift up from an anchor in the ceiling.

[Stephen White]

yeah I just went and whacked away the box down to the Styrofoam and I trying to decide if I can tilt it out at an angle and have it on the cast iron top at an angle and supported on the other end with a couple of 50 pound clay boxes. The cast iron top seems to be really solid and wont bend. Not bending something under the weight has really been my problem here, I would guess it must be only about a 100-125 pounds judging from the clay boxes I lift that are 50 but its all in a tight 18" square and that top but I can't just sit it it down if i get in trouble without bending something or shoving the plastic dust chute up into the saw and doing a complete lift, flip and up 25" and positioning on the bottom stand in one motion does not seem doable for me so I guess renting the lift or buying a hydraulic cart from HF seem to be where I'm thinking now..

Man I wish I was 25, this damn thing would have been bolted down hours ago and I would be testing the blade. Getting old sucks...

[Stephen White]

My cabinet saw came very cleverly packaged & had thorough instructions. It was not a great chore for me to assemble the whole thing by myself. Unfortunately, I later had to mount it on a mobile base that was back ordered. I used a small portable electric hoist to lift up from an anchor in the ceiling.

Glad you got it in. They do have those at HF and I could find a stud. I have 14' ceilings though in the shop so that might be a hitch. Thanks will check that further.

That is one plus I did wait for my Mobil base to get in so I wont have to do this twice. Yeah this in the contractors so the stand was in pieces and had to be assembled and then this thing lifted, flipped and set in place on the stand. Two or three guys could prob do it in a few moments while I went and got beers but a little over my comfort level. Dont want to drop a 2k saw and then try to deal with whatever that breaks.

[Terry Fields]

I purchased one of the Harbor Freight "Cherry Picker" lift arms a couple of years ago to pick up a new cabinet saw and a band saw. Figured I would sell it when the work was done, and I find that it is very handy to have around. Recently purchased a 600lb planer and the "Cherry Picker" snatched it off the trailer and transported into the shop with very little effort. The HF "Cherry Picker" has been a great tool at a very reasonable cost. Think I only paid +/- $100 when I bought it.

[Stephen White]

Just the other day I lifted a PM2000 table saw up onto a new mobile base, all by myself. Put a 4X4 across two trusses in the attic of my shop just above the access hole. Put two straps from heavy duty tie downs under the table saw base and used a two ton come along to do the lifting. The actual lift did not take five minutes.
Table saw lift.jpg

sweet. Don't have that setup or gear but nice fast solution.

[Stephen White]

was looking at the engine lifts and also the hydraulic carts. They have 500 and 1000 pound ones and seemed like it might be useful for other stuff as well.

[Stephen White]

they don't seem to have a lift like that now. HD does rent a materials lift that might be like that. I used that to get an Axiom 2'x4' CNC up on its stand. worked pretty well and might go that route here if I don't by the cart lift from HF.