Moving a 600 Pound Jointer

[Jeff Duncan]

I use lift gates myself.

Movers....no way, they don't know jack about woodworking equipment and could do some serious damage to your machine.

Riggers maybe, but they're going to cost you more than some here think. I've used riggers in the past, they are NOT cheap, probably cost you more than you paid for the machine to move it.

I'd go with the lift gate and have an extra helper or two. I keep a pallet jack in the shop and with it I've moved many machines around (some well over 1000 lbs) by myself with ease. Toughest part is getting it off the pallet. For that part I usually use a chainfall.

good luck,
JeffD

[Peter Quinn]

Three riggers recently moved a new #25,000 through molder into place at work. Three guys! They made it look like child's play. Took maybe 2 hours at best, the move was fully bonded and insured, and I'm pretty sure it was expensive. They were union, they were good, and they were well equipped. It wont likely cost you anything to get a quote and weight that against your other options as far as cost versus risk. Most riggers are very professional, and your machine will be moved safely. They are not UPS package handlers or freight haulers, they are professional "stuff" movers. I do have a funny feeling an orange engine hoist is in your future though.

[Tom Welch]

I bought a HF engine lift like mentioned in earler posts. I have moved a lot of machines with it. (shapers, cabinet saw, radial arm saws, etc.) All my myself. But another option is a Paino mover. They are used to lifting and handling heavy and very sensitive loads. Just call a store that sells painos. My son hired 2 paino movers for about $100 to move a paino.

[Mark Ashmeade]

I recently sold a 475lb table saw. The guy who bought had his son-in-law with him. He suggested lifting it off my driveway into the bed of his pickup by hand. I was incredulous at first, but agreed to give it a go.

I was very surprised by how easy it was. No problem at all. Granted, the smallest of the three of us was 6' and 220lb, but it really wasn't difficult.

I think if it were me, I'd get a case of beer and some buddies. Job done, and you can make a social event out of it.

[Dave Lehnert]

One always have to remember to be safe and only do what one feels they are capable of.
That being said. I ran a retail garden center for over 20 years. If something showed up on a truck that was ONLY 600 lbs, I would not even bothered the other guys helping. If we only had to move one pallet of Top Soil, would not even bother to get the fork lift, only use a hand jack. The soil was 2,400 lbs.

My point is 600lbs is not unmanageable. I would get 2 or 3 friends and save my money on the movers. But again, only you can decide if it is something you and your friends are capable of.

[CPeter James]

I just moved all my shop equipment and there was no heavy lifting involved. Rollers and a low trailer from UHaul will work for you. I happen to have my own trailer, but have used UHaul in the past. My metal lathe weighs 1,500 and that was not the worst piece. My IR Type 30 vertical air compressor was moved by my wife and I. The rest, a PM66, 2 Delta HD shapers, band saw, jointer, planer, etc, myself and one friend moved with rollers, a bar, some blocks and a come-along .....and no heavy lifting. Remember the Egyptians and the pyramids.

[Joseph Tarantino]

remember the egyptians, indeed. as my mechanical engineer dad used to say, "if you're workin' hard, you're doing it wrong". one of my businesses is drycleaning equipment. an empty mid sized machine can weigh 4-5M lbs. my crews move them easily with 4" rollers, comealongs and johnnybars. take your time but if you're unsure about it, hire it out to a rigger.

[Jaromir Svoboda]

I just moved all my tools on pallet jack,including 10' sliding table saw ,120' over grass with two friends.We put 1/2 "OSB on grass,it was easy.I moved 15"PM planer by myself without OSB.

[Harlan Coverdale]

My vote would be for the shop crane/engine hoist. I've rented one for 25 or 30 bucks to move shop equipment.

[Dino Drosas]

Easiest and least expensive way is to hire a auto towing company with a roll back truck. The bed of the truck is rolled back and the pallet winched up. When you get it home, slide it off the truck bed onto a dolly or a series of pipes and roll it into your garage. You should be able to get it done for less than 100.00 and in about 30 minutes.
.

[Keith Hankins]

Hi,

I've just bought a used Powermatic PJ-882 jointer and I'm faced with the task of moving it about 15 miles. Jointer weight is about 600 pounds. I phoned Powermatic to find out the weight of the base and the top part. The Powermatic rep said that the base with motor was less than 100 pounds so breaking the thing into two pieces doesn't do much to lighten the load.

Here's my current thoughts:

Option 1, contact a shipping company to get a quote. I'm willing to pay a few hundred dollars to get it moved professionally, but I am a bit concerned that it could be damaged. There is no packing on the jointer now. But, I'll see what the shipping company has to say.

Option 2. I have a utility trailer that can handle this weight. But I suspect it would take 6 guys to do the loading/unloading on either end. Coordinating that many guys will be a challenge.

Option 3. The jointer is currently in a garage and there is a second garage about 40' away with an I beam and chain hoist that could easily handle 600 pounds. Unfortunately there is about 20' of grass between the two garages, but the ground is level. The jointer is currently on a pallet. If I could somehow move the jointer from garage to garage then it would be simple to lift it with the chain hoist, back the trailer under the jointer and set it down. On the other end, I could rig up another hoist to some very beefy rafters in my garage after putting up some temporary vertical support posts under the rafters. The biggest challenge with this option seems to be getting it from garage to garage at the current site across 20' of grass. I'm thinking about putting down 3 pieces of 3/4" plywood, end to end, to make a path. Then jack up the pallet and put some 3/4" steel pipe underneath to act as rollers. Then try rolling it out the first garage, over the plywood "path", into the new garage, to underneath the chain hoist. My first question to the group is "Am I crazy to even consider this"?

Aside from that first question, what suggestions does the membership have for tackling this problem?

Thanks,

Bob

I have the Grizzly 12" jointer and she weighs about 1000. I've moved it twice. Rent an engine hoist for a day 40 bucks. Buy a couple heavy duty wratchet strap. I picked up a two pair set (2500 pound rating) at harbourfreight for 10 bucks. Rent a flatbed cart from u-hall. Put those straps under the in/out beds and jack it up and it rolls easy. Here's a pic of the hoist set up. I know it looks scary but it's a piece of cake.

[Chris Fournier]

As long as you don't have to move this jointer up or down stairs, you don't need to even break a sweat to move this machine.

Make yourself a plywood dolly a few inches larger than the base and put 4 3" or larger casters on it. Tip the jointer up slip the dolly under one end of the base. Now shimmy the jointer onto the base and centre it. Block the casters to do this. Secure the jointer to the dolly with cleats. Roll the jointer up a low utility trailer and tie it down securely. A plywood ramp reinforced with 2X4s is a great luxury. You are on your way.

I have moved my shop twice and the last time I did it alone. Most of the equipment was more unweildy and as heavy or more than your jointer. A bit of careful planning, a few simple tools - crowbar, pipe rollers, dollies, tie downs, tarps and blocking and there's not much you can't move with relative ease.

By all means have a friend help you but two guys of < NFL proportions could easily move your jointer. Spend the money you save on tooling, electrical connection or your own trailer. We both know that there's more equipment coming!

[Bob Deroeck]

Here's my tale of moving the 600 lb Powermatic PJ-882 jointer.

The closest rigger was about 1 hour away. The quote for moving the jointer 15 miles was $950. I probably could have found a household furniture mover for less, but I suspect it will still run me $400-500.

Chris's photo convinced me the shop crane option was doable. So I bought a 1 ton Harbor Freight shop crane for $140 and brought it to the seller's house on my utility trailer.

Next I used the advice to "think like an Egyptian". Using an 8' long lever I was able to raise one end of the pallet the jointer was sitting on and stuck a piece of 1/2" steel pipe under the pallet. Likewise with the other end. Then, the seller, Jill, and I rolled the pallet forward through the garage full of stuff to the front. Unfortunately, the length of the jointer bed (82") plus the size of the jointer base prevented me from getting the shop crane even close to the center of the jointer. So, I removed the fan belt and 4 bolts holding the jointer to the base. Then using the shop Crane attached to the Powermatic lifting rods on one end of the jointer, we raised the jointer enough to put a 1/2" steel pipe between it and the base. Likewise with the other end. Then we rolled the jointer along the top of the base until the center of the jointer was about 8 inches from the end of the base. While Jill held the jointer in place, I connected the shop crane to all four lifting rods using slings and lifted the 500 pound chunk of cast iron. We then rolled the shop crane over to my utility trailer and carefully lowered the jointer onto the trailer. The base with the motor only weighed about 100 pounds, so this was an easy lift. Then I folded up the crane and lifted it into the trailer.

It was an easy 15 mile trip down back roads to my home.

I've bought the Powermatic mobile base to make moving the jointer around the shop easier in the future.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I never would have thought of using a shop crane without Chris's input. And "think like an Egyptian" is a line I'll probably be using a lot in the future.

Here's a photo of the loaded trailer.

Bob

[Justin Bukoski]

Bob,

Thanks for posting back the end result. Nothing stinks worse than getting out the popcorn to read a good thread and then having to wonder what happened in the end.

Oh and YOU SUCK for finding such a nice deal on that jointer!

[jeff niehenke]

To assemble my 8" jointer solo. I used two sawhorses with two 2x6s bridging them. Then used ratchet straps slung under the middle section, not the wings! To suck the jointer up to the 2x6. After several cribbing steps from the limited travel of the ratchet straps I had it high enough to get the base under. Moved it in the same fashion with a 4x4 alder beam and two strong guys to lift it off the base into a truck. My jointer was 4-500 but the same principle could be used to build some tall and beefy sawhorses and a beam to lift from.

Recently upsized to a 1500# turn of the century jointer and took it off the trailer piece by piece with a cherry picker. Plan on moving it in the next couple years in one piece with method above with many 2x12s or borrowed I-beams and large ratchet straps.
Take your time and be safe