Basement Shop, Narrow Stairs--Table Saw?

[Chris Wolf]

I have a small basement shop with steep, narrow stairs that take two bends on the way down. Because of the difficulty of getting things down the stairs, my shop is equipped with benchtop tools. The only exception is a Delta 6" inch jointer that we were able to take down in pieces. (Needless to say, I don't assemble any large cabinets down there.)

I would like to get a real table saw, so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good model that would be easier than most to get down stairs. What I'm hoping in particular is that certain models come partially unassembled, so the pieces would be manageable enough even though the whole saw wouldn't be.

I'm interested in something in the $500-$1,000 range, where some of the better-reviewed saws seem to be the Ridgid 3650, the new Craftsman models, and the Dewalt. Since my shop is small, the compact size of the Dewalt is especially appealing.

Thanks for any advice.

[B A R R Y]

Most any contractor's saw (real CS, not just a "site" saw) should fit quite easily with the legs, wings, and motor removed.

Depending on the turns, a 10" cabinet saw should also fit, if broken down into body (with or without motor), wings, and top sub-assemblies. The body section will be heavy, which is where the turns will come into play as the carriers try to maintain a grip. Planking the stairs an sliding it down, roped from the top of the stairs, may be an option.

[Anonymous]

4 bolts hold the top on my Grizz 1023 .. .. remove them and the base will fit in any stairwell I've ever seen .. .. if weight is an issue, remove the motor before trying to get it down the stairs.

[Chris Wolf]

I was most concerned about the weight, since that's what gave us the most trouble getting the jointer down there, and it probably weighs only 200 pounds, half of what these saws weigh.

Since I've never assembled/disassembled a saw, I have no concept of what the main subassemblies are or how heavy each of them is. It would certainly be easiest if the largest piece was under 200 pounds.

If you take the legs, wings and motor off a CS or one of the hybrids such as the Dewalt, is that about the max you can break it down? How heavy is the body after that?

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[RonB]

I think you will be fine with about any saw in your price range. Your back might complain but they should fit with some help. I own a Griz 1023s which is rather heavy. But with wings and fence rails removed it is about 24" square x about 3' tall. The 1023 should be representative of about any good contractor or cabinet saw. Just buy one and assemble it downstairs.

BTW the 1023 is a very good value for the money. Even with shipping you might get one at your upper $1,000 target.

RonB

[RonB]

IMHO I would worry less about weight right now, and go for the best machine I could afford. Then round up friends, relatives and a case of beer and lug the boxes down the steps.

Drink the beer after the saw is downstairs!

Seriously, the 1023s I mentioned in my previous post weighs in around 360 pounds. However the heaviest single piece is the body, including the main table casting, which I would guess is in the 200-220 range. The cast iron wings, the fence, fence rails, etc are all rather heavy but manageable. The cast iron top and motor could be removed; but, if you had a moving dolly and a couple of buddies you should be able to get it downstairs without total disassembly.

Regarding assembly. It took 2-3 hours to put mine together. Another 2-3 hours to tweak adjustments (some of that was playing).

Do Not comprimise the quality of the machine by selecting one that weighs less. It might not be sturdy either.

Ron

[Doug Miller]

Careful with that -- I remember a post from a few years back in which someone described removing the top from (IIRC) a JET JTAS-10 to make it easier to get down the stairs -- and as soon as he did so, a handful of shims which had been installed at the factory came out.

[B A R R Y]

Not very.

The main weight of a contractor saw is in the motor, top, and wings. There's some weight in the body from the trunnion, but it's really not that bad.

[Howard]

with that -- I remember a post from a few years back in which someone

[Scott]

I removed the top from my Delta Unisaw and my brother and I took it down my basement stairs. I then placed the main body in the mobile base, installed the top and wings and with a dial indicator trued the top to the blade. Installed the table board, legs, fence and was finished.

I also brought down those stairs a Delta 14" closed base band saw, 10" radial arm saw, Jet closed base 6" jointer, a Ridgid full size drill press, Ridgid 13" planer, Gizzly stationary belt sander with stand and a 1.5 hp Delta dust collector.

No problem getting them down the stairs but if I ever sell my home and would rather make a deal with the new owners to buy everything from me and start over again. Too damn heavy to carry up the stairs.

It can be done, just depends on how bad you want it.

[Leuf]

We brought a Ridgid TS3650 down into the basement here. It comes disassembled to the point you need it to be. By the time you get everything that isn't the main part out of the box it really isn't that bad. We took everything but that out and then used a hand truck, but really at that point the two of us could have carried it.

Keep in mind the stand comes in about a billion pieces and you'll be tightening bolts on your knees for so long you'll be longing for the joyful time you were carrying the saw down the stairs.

-Leuf

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Forget the stairs. IIRC, a few years back it was on this newsgroup that someone had a simple solution. They cut a hole in the floor and cut a portion of one joist, lowered the tools down to the basement, then patched the floor.

[Brian Henderson]

The Ridgid comes in lots and lots of pieces, I don't think you'd have any problem carrying it downstairs (there are a couple really heavy pieces, you'd better have help). When I helped a friend put his together, it went together easily and works wonderfully. Haven't tried putting together any other contractor's saws though but I would assume they're similar.

[J T]

Thu, Nov 23, 2006, 4:59am (EST+5) [e-mail] (Edwin=A0Pawlowski) doth sayeth: Forget the stairs. IIRC, a few years back it was on this newsgroup that someone had a simple solution. They cut a hole in the floor and cut a portion of one joist, lowered the tools down to the basement, then patched the floor.

I was wondering if anyone was gonna come up with that. I think I'd make a trapdoor, that'd make it handy to get big projects out.

JOAT Democratic justice. One man, one rock.

[lwasserm]

A conventional contractors saw is probably the easiest to dissasembe & reassemble. Take off the motor, unbolt from stand. I had to partially disassemble mine to get it in the basement and I was able to stop at this point. My saw has steel extension tables & rails for 25" rip capacity so I was able to leave them attached. If it has cast iron table extensions, you'll probably want to remove them and the fence rails before taking it down the stairs, even if it will fit, because of weight & susceptability to damage. down the stairs

[lwasserm]

I owned a small rowhouse once where a previous owner had actually done this to get a furnace into the basement.

[Joe Bemier]

First, for the best value on the dollar I would go to ....www.grizzly.com This stuff comes fairly well broken down. The cast table will be the most difficult but even that is not more than a two man job.

Good Luck, J

[jack]

I recently bought the Rigid 3650, and have the same narrow stairs problem. The thing is heavy - 300 pounds - but comes disassembled. The heaviest piece was about 100 pounds. I had no problem getting the thing into the basement by myself.

And, that tool is so accurate! Compared to my Crapsman radial arm saw it's night and day. Get some accurate measuring tools to set the thing up properly and you'll be able to get consistent cuts to a couple of a thousanths of an inch.

- Jack

[Chris Wolf]

These answers have been great--very helpful.

Does anyone have experience with the Dewalt DW746, as to how big its subassemblies are as delivered?

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[Prometheus]

My Delta contractor's saw (36-680) came in three seperate boxes- and I brought it home in the trunk of a car. It'd still be heavy to move down stairs, but I suspect that the boxes would fit if you put them on a two-wheel cart and move slowly. If needed, you could take the parts out of the boxes and move each part seperately- the base cabinet is one piece, the table is made from three pieces of cast iron (one assembled to the base, and two that get bolted on during assembly), the motor and plate it bolts to are loose, and the legs are pieces of angle iron that you need to assemble. Fence and rails come in the third box.

At a guess, the heaviest bit (the cabinet, trunnions, and middle section of the top) was about 50-75 lbs, with volume somewhat similar to an average benchtop saw.

IIRC, I paid something like $600 for it, and it's a heck of a nice saw- I would imagine that most contractor-style saws in that range come broken down in a similar fashion. If you're looking at something like the Delta, I could measure so you can figure out whether or not it'd fit down your stairs, if you like. While I do like the DeWalt for what it is- it may not fit your needs if you're looking for a "real" saw, and are only looking at it because it's easier to get into the house..