Moving a big table saw on my own

[glynster]

Hi, I'm after getting a decent saw, I have a few options I like from the Axminster Industrial saw to the Xcalibur. My concerns are that I would need to get the saw around the side of the house over soft and uneven ground - and I would almost definitely have to do it on my own (the missus swore never again after the planer/thicknesser - on reflection, maybe I should have given her a hand). I cant call on neighbours as we're new to the area and they're almost exclusively past retirement. I've moved some pretty hefty gear such as a 14" band saw and P/T using a combination of a rugged gardening trolley and decent appliance dolly but they tended to be around 150kg each and the saws I am looking at around almost double that.

Has anybody had any luck in stripping down a table saw to move it? I'm wondering, if, say with the HW110LGE from Xcalibur or the TSCE-12R fron Axminster, if I might be able to strip down the cast iron top and extensions, remove the motor and anything else heavy and then single-handedly heave the main tank/body of the saw onto an appliance dolly (sack truck to some). Has anybody achieved similar? I'd need to get it approx 25 yards over grass and up a step or 2.

Other than that I am looking at getting a saw where they come in parts like the Axi AW10BSB2 but I cant help thinking I'd only be buying another in 5 years whereas both the Xcalibur and Axi Industrial saw look like a saw for life. Who knows what hour these delivery drivers turn up or how helpful they may or may not decide to be on the day.

Anybody managed to move a big saw like that on their own? Is it doable? How viable is stripping them down? The little Chinese fellas manage them in part form after all

I'm a pretty strong and fit fella but being over 40 now I am less willing to kill myself than I was 10 years ago.

Any experiences or advice appreciated.

 

[deema]

I'm assuming it's both relatively flat and level the soft ground. I would make a temporary 'road' for the trolley out of scaffold planks (or similar), three wide laid so that all the eds are overlapped with 18mm OSB or similar nailed through on top. I'd borrow, hire or buy and engine hoist to get it over the two steps. Alternatively you could make a simple A frame and lift it that way with a block and tackle.

 

[Chrispy]

I've no experience with Axminster but I think the delivery driver will have a pump truck so if you are ready with the planks you would be fine. Ask them about it before you order.

 

[geoffshep]

Have a search for 'HW110LGE' - there' are a couple of threads here with a comments about delivery and disassembly by Julesbarn and apache_sim:

table-saw-axi-aw10-or-xcalibur-hw-110-lge-t101602.html

table-saw-harvey-hw110lge-30-imported-and-reviewed-t96453.html

 

[SteveF]

I cant say about those saws
but i did dismantle my ags and moved myself in a similar situation
i strapped a piece of ply to mine as a sled, tied a rope and dragged it
and a temporary slope from ply to get over steps
took me about 2 hrs in all including strip and rebuild
Steve

 

[Steve Maskery]

It's not going to be a doddle but it should be doable. Good advice above.
I can only speak from experience with the Xcalibur, but it does strip down.

The fence just lifts off, of course.
The rail support bars unbolt from the table.
The extension tables unbolt from the main table.
The main table is bolted to the body.
I don't think it would be easy to strip it down further than that, I've certainly never taken the motor out.

When Ray and I took mine down the garden into the workshop we rolled it on scaffold pipes, but I don't think that would work very well on ground.

If you do it, I, for one, would like to see some pics.

S

 

[Mark A]

Assuming there are no gates and garden walls in the way, personally I'd jack the pallet up onto blocks and slide under either end timbers with heavy duty castors fitted (none swivelling type), then lay down planks and push the saw along. To overcome the steps you could hire an engine hoist, or build a timber ramp and winch the saw up.

 

[Myfordman]

Xcalibur came in a crate so fairly easy to lever up onto rollers or a dolly and across scaff board or shuttering ply sheets.
My shop is at the bottom of the garden across 10m or so of grass and the worst bit was getting over the door threshold.

It is all about cunning guile and levers not brute strength.

 

[furnman]

I would hire a pallet truck, it will probably come on a pallet anyway and as others have said lay sheets of ply down over grass and steps and you will find it fairly easy, most important thing it to take your time and think what you are doing. I think it is better to move machines on your own anyway. I would not dismantle it. you will be fine.good luck.

 

[glynster]

Thanks for the replies - its filled me with both hope and dread There is some good advice there and its got my mind running. I'm surprised that there would still be much weight left in it after the cast tables and accessories have come off it - is the body pretty hefty then? I thought it would essentially be nothing more than a fabricated sheet steel box with a motor and a few gears and pulleys? Guess thats testament to the build quality. No chance of levering and pushing it with a sack trust then once the tables are removed? If not, guess I will make a dolly and push it - I like that idea. Unfortunately its fairly uneven ground and slightly down hill (sloping towards a wall) so I'm worried I might lose control of her and crash into a wall when trying to keep it running straight across the boards I will be laying down. Part of me is tempted to just buy an Axminster AW10BSB2 because I know they are decent and manageable but I wonder if I will always be wishing I got the better saw. This is what you get for relocating 200 miles away from friends and family.

Good to hear people's experiences in dismantling theirs - I was hoping you'd say that once the cast iron was off it it was easy to move around.

 

[Ttrees]

Since your getting a new saw, can you not ask how much the table weighs ?
looked up the TSCE-12R fron Axminster Its 270kg, That's not too bad.
If its any help I moved a 250 + kg and a startrite 275 (210kg)
saw from a hatchback car ...can you drive to your destination ?
I took the heavy saw out with a box to tilt on to.
Table removed of course ...I suggest you do too.
Tom

 

[no idea]

If you decide to buy the Axminster saw, buy it from their High Wycombe branch and ask them to deliver it to you from the store (assuming they can and will go as far as Reading).

I did this for a table saw and planer thicknesser and they were brilliant with helping me getting it through my house, into the garden then into the shed. I did make a ramp to get into the house and out again using 6x2 timber and it was all relatively painless. I did explain what would be involved to them, including the width restriction of my side door so they unpacked in store and used their trolley to move the saw and PT when they arrived at mine. I arranged this all with Craig and Alex who couldn't be more helpful, right down to agreeing to deliver on a Saturday.

 

[adidat]

Just please be careful I was lowering this lathe of its legs onto the floor and doing 1 corner at a time very slowly and it all went wrong. Luckily it missed me and didn't get to badly damaged but if it had and trapped me i could have been stuck there for two days and my phone wasn't on me. It happened in a couple of seconds i just managed to leap back!



Adidat

 

[Beau]

Moved a Felder Combi on my own. It splits into two so two pieces around 500kg. Got it to the workshop door with mini rollers which where 10mm x 200mm bolts with the heads cut off. Slid out the door onto a sheet of sacrificial ply (18mm). Now the easy bit here was just roped the ply to a small tractor and dragged the sheet baring the Felder to outside the new workshop and then used the mini rollers to get it through the door into place. You probably don't have the option of a tractor to drag it but easy to hire winches like a Tirfor slow but steady.

Good luck

 

[shed9]

Check your local papers, ask at the local shop and even Ebay for removal assistance in your area. A few people will make light work of this, save you the hassle of stripping it down and keep your options open to the saw you actually want. It will also give you hope and less stress for the next heavy item.

If my experience in moving heavy machinery over unsuitable terrain has taught me anything, it's to not overthink it.

 

[Noel]

I've moved and transported (by car) a few cabinet type saws, all of the CI US/Xcalibur type. Reasonably simple (and dependent on how it arrives from the supplier):
Remove fence
Unbolt front and rear rails
Unbolt CI table(s) and any side table
Pull out the motor (optional but best, as they are a bit heavy)

This will leave the cabinet and trunions, shafts and bits. If the trunions are CI just a bit extra weight. Cabinet is liftable, really not that heavy, although with the bulk of it you might need a steadying extra hand.
Bonus is that you'll get to know your saw from day 1 for adjusting and servicing.
Having said all that it would be tempting to leave it in a crate, if that is what it arrives in.

Personally would go for the Xcalibur, CI fence (looks like CI, similar to Biesemeyer) is a big bonus.