so Im in the market for a new(to me) saw and Im mostly looking for pre-owned on craigslist and the like.
my question though is are there any great tips Im missing related to moving lifting and transporting a table saw so as to minimize damage and squareness of the tool?
for instance: whats the best way the lift a 3 or 4 (or more) hundred pound table saw onto the back of a fullsize truck? Is it safe to lift it by the table (I would assume not)? should I worry about racking the frame out of square if I get carried away with the ratchet straps?
anything else I should loose sleep over?
Replies
Some thoughts but . . .
The best way is rent a truck with a lift gate. Sorry this is kind of a crappy video. I like the Pensky truck rental company though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5rVneZNTQc
Slide the saw onto the horizontal gate at ground level, lift the saw to truck bed level using the hydraulic lift built into the gate and slide the saw into the truck. Reverse when you get to your shop.
(when I say reverse I don't mean drive forty miles an hour back ward and slam on the brakes to unload the saw but I have always wanted to try that ).
Anyway
If the lift gate truck is not in the cards you could remove the throat plate, drop a seriously strong strap down through it and attach to the main cast iron frame of the saw NOT TO THE SUBFRAME (YOKE THING) THAT THE blade arbor and motor are tilted in. If this is a cabinet maker's saw, as opposed to a contractors saw, then it is bolted to the saw table but is supporting the table in the lift rather than having all the stress on the edges of the table and levering it up out of shape when you would lift with straps under the edges of the table. Use your noggin though if it is a super heavy table you may have to run the strap(s) down further and put 4x4s or square steel tubes under the saw cabinet for more points of purchase.
I suppose you could run straps under the cabinet but the center of gravity isn't going to be ideal and the cabinet may damage the straps or the cabinet get crushed in.
Lift it with an engine hoist that you can rent see my photo. I own that one and use it to move my machines etc. Be sure it is a large enough hoist with enough boom to clear your truck with the saw dangling .
Baring that you could disassemble the table from the motor/arbor and from the cabinet and transfer in three pieces. Be sure to take pains to label both sides of any wires you disconnect from the switch to the motor.
scary huh ? Naaah just like restoring an old car. You might want to obtain the detailed owner's manual before beginning. (shhhhh , that's the secret (((don't tell anybody ))))).
>Any thing else to loose sleep over ?<
Yes . . . be sure to secure the saw from sliding from all directions. I have seen big very heavy rectangular things that people thought for sure was too heavy to slide around, slide right out of the back of a truck when it accelerated with the tail gate down.
Tie your kangaroo down mate ! Tie your kangaroo down !
Moving
You can get a movers dolly - tie the saw onto the dolly with ropes or straps. Than get those ramps the gardners use for their big lawn mowers and with two or three guys or gals - you can roll it up the ramps.
SA
I bought my powermatic 66 years ago from an 80 year old guy who was not of much help with the lifting part. I brought along a lot of cutoffs of beam/post material I'd lift an edge (by the table), have him slide a piece below and just kept cribbing it up untill it was tailgate height on the pickup. Had him back the truck up close and slid it into the bed. Back at home, I had gravity on my side and it worked all too well. The cribbing kind of fell apart halfway through and the saw tumbled down onto my driveway. None the worse for wear, table still aligned properly, all was well. A heavy saw is pretty well put together. A lighter contractors saw, not so much. But, they lift a little easier. Just be safe and be ready to move quickly.
Wrenches...
One of the best tips to accomplish moving any heavy machinery is to take it apart as far as possible. Especially take off the extension wings, and remove the motor if that is possible. The rest will be quite a bit easier to lug. Even removing the handwheels that move the blade up and down and allow it to tilt shears off ten or so pounds. Don't lose the keyways that hold those handwheels onto their shafts though..
You'll likely be taking a saw at least partially apart anyway to do some cleaning and tuning when you get it back to your shop, so you're not really wasting effort.
Tablesaws are very top-heavy, so removing the wings makes the cabinet quite a bit less likely to tip. But, even then, it's a good idea to flip it over onto its top for the trip home.
I moved a heavy eight inch jointer by myself a few years ago by taking it apart. Though the individual pieces were still pretty heavy, at least I didn't get a hernia moving them around. A scissor-jack shop cart that you can pump up and down with a foot lever makes bolting those pieces back together again when you're reassembling it a heck of a lot easier, too.
Zolton
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