ES

Electric Stu

12/03/2005 11:38 AM

Lifting a cabinet saw

I have a new Delta 3HP 50" Biese cabinet saw I bought from Amazon. I
have had it (on the palate) on my mobile flatbed cart for the past 6
weeks, waiting for the rebate mobile base to arrive (which just came in
yesterday).

I took the motor off to lighten the load but the beast is still too
heavy for me to maneuver alone, since the cart has 8" pneumatic tires
and is about 10" off the ground. I will get help to lift the cabinet
into the mobile base but I wondered where the best place to lift the
unit is. If I lift from the top, can I end up bending the mounting
flanges on the cabinet? Should I take off the top first or try to leave
it on?

Thanks for the advice,
Stu


This topic has 6 replies

l

in reply to Electric Stu on 12/03/2005 11:38 AM

13/03/2005 7:30 AM



> 'Forearm Forklifts". It has a load limit of 600 pounds, so you might
have to
> remove part of your cabinet saw, but they would make moving it
manageable.
> http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51157&cat=1,43456,43391

IMHO - those things look lime a back injury waiting to happen. I don't
know where you are located or what is around you, but a trip to the
local gym will get the job done for you. Go to the front desk and tell
the person working it that you have $50.00 and describe your lifting
need and that it will take about 10 miuntes or so to do. Problem
solved. You get your saw lifted without taking the top off and the two
guys who do it make $25.00 for 10 minutes work.

ES

Electric Stu

in reply to Electric Stu on 12/03/2005 11:38 AM

13/03/2005 2:04 PM

Thanks for all of the good advice. Basically, I decided to not remove
the top, hoping that it will be fairly well aligned from the factory,
saving me potential set-up time (if I did remove it). I will, of
course, check for parallelism between the miter slots and the arbor
flange, anyhow.

After removing the motor (which took less than five minutes), my
neighbor and I merely lifted the cabinet, by the top, off of the cart
right onto the mobile base. Total time = 3 minutes. It felt like I was
lifting only about 100 pounds (same for my neighbor).

Thanks again,
Stu

Uu

"Upscale"

in reply to Electric Stu on 12/03/2005 11:38 AM

13/03/2005 6:56 PM


<[email protected]> wrote in message
> the person working it that you have $50.00 and describe your lifting
> need and that it will take about 10 miuntes or so to do. Problem
> solved. You get your saw lifted without taking the top off and the two
> guys who do it make $25.00 for 10 minutes work.

And if one of those guys injures himself even as little as dropping the
thing on his toe, welcome to a lawsuit that will cost you dearly. As far as
the straps go, their design is oriented to minimize stuff like back
injuries. Lifting with the forearms while sanding up straight. Of course, an
injury can happen to anyone.

JB

Jim Behning

in reply to Electric Stu on 12/03/2005 11:38 AM

12/03/2005 10:32 PM

I moved mine with forklift straps around the top. The money tree has
not dropped any cash for the single phase motor and electric service
so who know if I damaged something. I really doubt that I did. It is a
fairly stout saw. As the other fellow mentioned you still need to
check the top out to make sure it is parallel to the blade.

Roy Smith <[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <120320051138085621%[email protected]>,
> Electric Stu <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have a new Delta 3HP 50" Biese cabinet saw I bought from Amazon. I
>> have had it (on the palate) on my mobile flatbed cart for the past 6
>> weeks, waiting for the rebate mobile base to arrive (which just came in
>> yesterday).
>>
>> I took the motor off to lighten the load but the beast is still too
>> heavy for me to maneuver alone, since the cart has 8" pneumatic tires
>> and is about 10" off the ground. I will get help to lift the cabinet
>> into the mobile base but I wondered where the best place to lift the
>> unit is. If I lift from the top, can I end up bending the mounting
>> flanges on the cabinet? Should I take off the top first or try to leave
>> it on?
>>
>> Thanks for the advice,
>> Stu
>
>I got a Unisaw a while ago and had to maneuver it down a flight of steps
>into my basement. We took off the cast iron top and put it on a handtruck.
>Me and a strong friend were then able to get it down the steps with very
>little problem.
>
>We thought about taking the motor out, but didn't end up having to do that.
>You did just the opposite -- took out the motor and left the top on. I'd
>be worried about how top-heavy this leaves it.
>
>In addition to the (substantial) weight savings, the cast iron top is a few
>inches wider and deeper than the base. We had to maneuver through some
>tight doorways and sharp turns at the top and bottom the stairs; saving a
>few inches was key for us.
>
>Taking the top off is not terribly difficult (4 big allen-key bolts, one at
>each corner), but you need to understand that when you put it back on,
>you've got an alignment problem to solve. If it's not aligned right, the
>miter slots won't be parallel to the blade, and neither will the fence
>(since the fence rails reference off the front edge of the top). Poor
>alignment can lead to poor quality cuts and increase the potential for
>kickback. Also, if there are any shims under the top when you unbolt it,
>keep the shims and get them back on the same corners they came out of
>otherwise the top won't be level (mine didn't have any shims).

RS

Roy Smith

in reply to Electric Stu on 12/03/2005 11:38 AM

12/03/2005 11:57 AM

In article <120320051138085621%[email protected]>,
Electric Stu <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have a new Delta 3HP 50" Biese cabinet saw I bought from Amazon. I
> have had it (on the palate) on my mobile flatbed cart for the past 6
> weeks, waiting for the rebate mobile base to arrive (which just came in
> yesterday).
>
> I took the motor off to lighten the load but the beast is still too
> heavy for me to maneuver alone, since the cart has 8" pneumatic tires
> and is about 10" off the ground. I will get help to lift the cabinet
> into the mobile base but I wondered where the best place to lift the
> unit is. If I lift from the top, can I end up bending the mounting
> flanges on the cabinet? Should I take off the top first or try to leave
> it on?
>
> Thanks for the advice,
> Stu

I got a Unisaw a while ago and had to maneuver it down a flight of steps
into my basement. We took off the cast iron top and put it on a handtruck.
Me and a strong friend were then able to get it down the steps with very
little problem.

We thought about taking the motor out, but didn't end up having to do that.
You did just the opposite -- took out the motor and left the top on. I'd
be worried about how top-heavy this leaves it.

In addition to the (substantial) weight savings, the cast iron top is a few
inches wider and deeper than the base. We had to maneuver through some
tight doorways and sharp turns at the top and bottom the stairs; saving a
few inches was key for us.

Taking the top off is not terribly difficult (4 big allen-key bolts, one at
each corner), but you need to understand that when you put it back on,
you've got an alignment problem to solve. If it's not aligned right, the
miter slots won't be parallel to the blade, and neither will the fence
(since the fence rails reference off the front edge of the top). Poor
alignment can lead to poor quality cuts and increase the potential for
kickback. Also, if there are any shims under the top when you unbolt it,
keep the shims and get them back on the same corners they came out of
otherwise the top won't be level (mine didn't have any shims).

Uu

"Upscale"

in reply to Electric Stu on 12/03/2005 11:38 AM

12/03/2005 5:48 PM

> Electric Stu <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> I took the motor off to lighten the load but the beast is still too
> >> heavy for me to maneuver alone, since the cart has 8" pneumatic tires
> >> and is about 10" off the ground. I will get help to lift the cabinet
> >> into the mobile base but I wondered where the best place to lift the
> >> unit is. If I lift from the top, can I end up bending the mounting
> >> flanges on the cabinet? Should I take off the top first or try to leave

If you've got a buddy that can help you, then you might want to consider one
of Lee Valley Tools'
'Forearm Forklifts". It has a load limit of 600 pounds, so you might have to
remove part of your cabinet saw, but they would make moving it manageable.
It's reasonably cheap at $17 (CA) funds.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51157&cat=1,43456,43391


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