Couple questions about a Powermatic 54A

[Scott Brandstetter]

I have been wanting an 8 inch jointer but after 4 months of looking, just can't find one. I ran across a 54A that has never been turned on (unfortunately the man died before he could use it). I am having it delivered for $750 which I feel is a very good deal.

Questions I have are these
Can I remove the base from the system in order to reduce weight and get it to my lower level shop. Will this affect the squareness or hurt in any way?
Anyone have an easier way to get this out of the bed of a pickup and onto the ground, was thinking of getting a Harbor Freight Hydraulic table but just not sure.
Is it really possible, and fairly safe, to remove the guard to put larger than 6 inch boards on the jointer?
My thought process is that I've gotten along with a Craftsman 6 inch jointer for more than five years, this should be a HUGE difference and if I come across an 8 inch down the road, I should be able to sell this without losing too much money.

Any thoughts in regards to this, or anything I might not be thinking about, would be appreciated.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Scott, the PM 54A is a really nice 6" jointer.. Owned one about 10 years ago, before upgrading to a wider machine..

The base cabinet weights about 75-100 lbs, most of the weight is the motor, you can safely remove the base without affecting any settings of the jointer tables.. IIRC there are four machine bolts that secure the jointer table to the base cabinet, plus you need to remove the motor belt from the upper part of the jointer..

If you are looking to remove weight, you can also remove the jointer fence assembly, probably another 75 lbs of weight can be easily removed from the machine..

[Kent A Bathurst]

Yep - pull the fence, the guard, and the drive belt, leaving the motor as is in the base. THe table section will still weigh quite a bit, but is quite a bit less than the entire machine.

Reassembly should take 10 minues, max. You won't do any harm to alignment, etc., as long as you don't drop something.

You will, of coure, want to re-square the fence to the table.

[Mike Schuch]

I have lifted and removed much much much heavier items out of the bed of my pickup with a harbor freight cherry picker (Engine crane). The cherry picker is the best money I have ever spent for loading and unloading machines. Don't dead lift it, finesse it!