Since I know there will be a few people who are fortunate enough to get a SawStop this Christmas season, I wanted to share how I brought the SawStop PCS home and moved it into my shop by myself.


Before purchasing a SawStop PCS I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if I could move this thing on my own. I assume that, once you have decided on the PCS you also looked at how much it weighs. I don't live in a place where the liftgate delivery service is an option (and given the price of the saw, I couldn't stomach another $150.), and I also don't have friends that can help me move it. I searched the internet and there were a few people who did it themselves, which gave me the confidence that I could figure it out.


I bought the saw at a Rockler store. (I think they get a commission at the store, so it was important to me to actually go in and buy it.) Before purchasing my wife was worried about how I would get it into my shop and I told her that I had a plan. When they called a few weeks later to tell me that the saw arrived at the store, my wife found out that my plan to bring it home and unload it was to "figure it out." You can imagine how this went over.


I rented a UHaul van (not a moving truck) and drove to the store. The van cost me $30. At Rockler, they loaded the saw and accessories (it comes with several boxes) into the van with a forklift. It is important to make sure that they keep the saw ON THE PALLET....the Pallet is needed to move this thing.


When I got home I put three 2x6x8s up against the van to make a "ramp." (You want to make sure that your 2x6s aren't angled too steep.) I thought I could push the saw onto the 2x6s with my legs and then use gravity to move it down the lumber...I was wrong. It did not move at all.


So there I was: Staring at this cabinet saw, which took months of saving to buy, in the back of a UHaul van. I looked around the shop for ANYTHING that might help and there it was: a wooden dowel closet rod that I kept after I redid my wife's closet. SCRAP. It was about 5 feet long and about 1.5 inches in diameter. I used the rod as a lever: I placed it under one corner of the pallet at a time, lifted, and shimmied the pallet to the 2x6s. Once it got onto the 2x6s, gravity did most of the work but the weight of the saw kept it from sliding down uncontrollably.


At the bottom of the "ramp" I had a 12" x 12" furniture dolly that the previous owners left behind at the house (it is four pieces of wood with four wheels attached). I got a portion of the saw on top of that dolly and wheeled it into the shop (once some of the weight is transferred, moving it with one person is doable.) It is important to note that the dolly was not centered under the pallet. Once I got it to the shop I tilted the saw onto the floor and kicked the dolly out from underneath. Again, some of the weight was resting on the floor so keeping it lifted was doable.


I share this because I know someone out there will "google" - like I did - how to move a saw stop on your own. You can do it. You saved enough money to afford this expensive piece of equipment - you'll find a way to get into the shop.