Moving a sawstop to the basement (Cabinet or contractor)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am contemplating replacing my Ridgid TS3650 with a sawstop (36" rails). My opinion is that the contractor saw would be much easier to move to the basement for assembly than the cabinet saw, but, I would really prefer to NOT have the motor hanging off the back of the saw (like I have now). Off hand, it looks like cabinet saw is listed as weighing about 140 pounds more than the cabinet saw. Is this weight difference in the tops (that are not attached on delivery) or is a bunch of this weight the cabinet itself?

If the answer is to rent a furniture dolly and then the cabinet will go nicely down the stairs before assembly, well, I guess that I can do that... At the end of the day, I may simply punt and buy the festool table and use their fancy guide system along with that fancy new Kapex that I just acquired.

My primary concern with the contractor saw is the motor off the back.
My primary concern with the cabinet saw is the extra weight.
I assume that there is no other particular reason to purchase the cabinet over the contractor (like much better dust collection or repeat-ability, etc).

I am hoping that I can move the router table top that I built and installed into my Ridgid over to the Sawstop, I have not measured that yet.

[Greg Portland]

I am contemplating replacing my Ridgid TS3650 with a sawstop (36" rails). My opinion is that the contractor saw would be much easier to move to the basement for assembly than the cabinet saw, but, I would really prefer to NOT have the motor hanging off the back of the saw (like I have now).

Get the saw you want... the move is temporary but you'll be using the saw for a long time. I would recommend removing the cast iron top and then sliding the cabinet+motor down the stairs (with appropriate material & blankets to prevent damage).

[Bob Lloyd]

I agree with Greg, make all your decisions without regard to where it is going. It will take a short time more to get the heavier item into a basement but you will be using it for years.

[Roger Feeley]

I agree with Greg. Get the saw you want. That's what I did when I bought a Sawstop Industrial and had it delivered to my basement. I had professionals do it and the delivery charge to my basement wasn't much more than to my garage. I beefed up my basement stairs with posts at about the midway point years ago for the 18" bandsaw. For this move, I added posts under the top of the stair stringers just to be sure.

I had thought about doing the move with friends until I found out how reasonable it was to have the pros go ahead and take the thing downstairs. Here's what I was going to do:

1. Beef up the stair structure which I did anyway.
2. Remove the motor.
3. Remove the top.
4. Since the top adds a lot of structure to the cabinet, I was going to make a temporary piece of plywood to bolt on to the cabinet in place of the top.

All that brought the weight down quite a bit. And that's the Industrial. You are considering the PCS. My doctor bought a PCS recently and he told me that one guy horsed that thing down his stairs. I wouldn't worry too much about moving the PCS.

Enjoy the Sawstop. I don't regret getting mine.

[Michael Peet]

I moved a SS PCS into my basement with help from my dad and brother. We used an appliance dolly, with the cabinet strapped upside-down on it (most of the weight is near the table). I would hesitate to recommend removing the top to move the saw, because mine was very well aligned out of the box.

P1010349.small.jpg

Mike

[Neil Brooks]

Michael Peet: What's a dotSmaS ?

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I moved a SS PCS into my basement with help from my dad and brother. We used an appliance dolly, with the cabinet strapped upside-down on it (most of the weight is near the table). I would hesitate to recommend removing the top to move the saw, because mine was very well aligned out of the box.

I did the same thing. Well, I didn't use Mike's Dad and brother, but you know what I mean

A friend and I managed to get my PCS down the stairs to my basement. I left the wings off, flipped it upside down on a small square of ply to protect the top, and secured it to a hand truck. We just took it slowly, one step at a time. I wanted to leave the top on and the motor installed, so I didn't have to reinstall them. My stairs were pretty sturdy (made out of 2x10's) but you should look to see how sturdy yours are.

[mreza Salav]

I have moved an ICS SS (the heaviest of all) down the stairs of our basement by myself by dis-assembling it and putting it back together (have done this with all the heavy equipments).
This is a one time only, can be easily done on a weekend. As others said, it's one time only. Get the better saw if you can.

[Michael Peet]

Michael Peet: What's a dotSmaS ?

It's a new flesh-seeking saw technology. Nasty thing, really.

Mike

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I had professionals do it and the delivery charge to my basement wasn't much more than to my garage. I beefed up my basement stairs with posts at about the midway point

I think that my basement stairs are probably pretty beefy already :-)

From where did you order that they offered a "take it to the basement" service? My intention was to purchase from the local Woodcraft because they are always so incredibly helpful. The store owner would deliver it to my house. Would need to see if I could hire one of his employees to help me get it down.... Or just rent the appliance dolly and call all of my friends :-)

Now that I think about it, I could probably even call a moving company, one of those local places like two men and a truck...

[Matt Meiser]

A cabinet saw with the wings removed isn't actually terribly heavy. The top makes it that much lighter. And if the motor comes out as easy as a Unisaw you could pull that too.

[Joe Leigh]

I got my PM200 down to my basement shop with just one other person and it is substantially heavier than the Sawstop due to its cast iron base and casters. Don't be afraid to remove the cast top and motor assembly. You'd be surprised how much weight they add. All that's left at that pint is the cabinet and trunnion assembly. Don't forget to wrap it in a moving blanket if the stairs aren't carpeted.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I would call a "safe" moving company and have them take it down the stairs. They have specialized equipment that can take a 2,000 lb. safe down the stairs.... plus, they are cheap!

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, if Diann and I can move a General 650 into the basement, you can move your cabinet saw as well.

Put it on a dolly, put a strap on it, one person above, one below and it goes down the stairs so easilly you'll be amazed.

Do not remove the top, you'll waste a lot of time and have to align the saw for no good reason.

Remeber that the extension tables, guard, fenc etc won't be on the saw, that will drop about 150 pounds off the saw weight.

Buy the cabinet saw, the move is easy...............Rod.

[Roger Feeley]

I think that my basement stairs are probably pretty beefy already :-)

From where did you order that they offered a "take it to the basement" service? My intention was to purchase from the local Woodcraft because they are always so incredibly helpful. The store owner would deliver it to my house. Would need to see if I could hire one of his employees to help me get it down.... Or just rent the appliance dolly and call all of my friends :-)

Now that I think about it, I could probably even call a moving company, one of those local places like two men and a truck...

Taking it to the basement wasn't free. But it wasn't that much more than dropping at the end of my driveway. I ordered the saw from ITSI in Kansas City. They move a lot of really big stuff so they had all the right skills and equipment. Nice bunch of folks too.

Roger