Shopsmith Forums

Just ordered a new MK 7 and understand the freight hauler will only deliver to the tail of the truck. I was told the freight weighs 300 lbs. So my question is: what's the best way to get it off the truck and into my basement? I know I'll need some extra bodies to help, will 2 work or do I need 3/4?

Thanks for your input. I'm excited and can't wait to get some sawdust therapy.

smithje539j6 wrote:Just ordered a new MK 7 and understand the freight hauler will only deliver to the tail of the truck. I was told the freight weighs 300 lbs. So my question is: what's the best way to get it off the truck and into my basement? I know I'll need some extra bodies to help, will 2 work or do I need 3/4?

Thanks for your input. I'm excited and can't wait to get some sawdust therapy.

Congrats on your purchase!! I'm jealous!

Maybe you'll get lucky and the truck will have a lift gate and you can unbox it there in the driveway and carry it into your shop in more manageable pieces for assembly. If no lift gate, and you're responsible for getting it off the truck, the more friends the better!

Mmmm happy memories! I had got a basic dolly and was able to get the boxed Mark 5 into the house and down the basement stairs. I had one guy to help me. That was in the 240-lb days before Power Pro, though.

When I received my 520 a few years ago the truck driver looked at my friend and i and said where does it go? I showed him and he said, I can't carry it in but have a wheeled device that will drag it to the door. The next time I had a four wheeled dolly at three friends on hand. That dolly was a life saver. Two beefy guys can get one to the ground, still that is a tough deal. When the trucking company called to arrange delivery I cautioned them I was on a dead end road with no place for a large rig to turn around. I also asked if the truck would have a lift. The first one didn't second one did. They try pretty hard to accommodate. Jim

The tailgate service is all that is required for the driver by law, but think you will find 99% of the time they will unload it anyway. They have many stops to make in 8 hrs and the last thing they want to do is sit and watch a bunch of guys try to unload something and run the risk of damage.

You can always go to the truck station and pick it up yourself (if close) then unload it at your house when you can round up some help.

I was selling major appliances back in the early 1970's. It was common for me to unload 470 # large side by side fridg/freezers alone. They were "VERY" well palleted and protected. I could pull them clear of the back of the semi bed then pull the bottom on out when it was about a third of the way down causing the back of it to rub the edge of the trailer as it slid down. Easier than it sounds.... but not for the faint hearted. Also not for a Shopsmith...
One good way to unload from the back of a semi is in two steps. First into a pickup then from there down to ground level.
I have often loaded and unloaded large heavy items into or from the back of a pickup by using a two wheel trailer, rolling it around by hand like an over-sized hand truck (works best with two people).

I got my mark 7 in either july or august (forgot already) this year, and fedex freight was really smooth.

I was all set for it to just land at the curb worst case.. but the guy was amazingly helpful and just let me wheel it using his pallet truck to wherever I needed it and then take it back to his truck.

He spent so long in his truck doing paperwork that I ended up asking him if he wanted all the packing material (I had it completely unpacked before he left).

One word of warning, take the manual off the top of the box before you get rid of the box. I *almost* forgot it but I remembered before the driver left.

For what it's worth the packing job that shopsmith does leaves a lot to be desired. They used the cheapest flimsiest wood I could imagine without the right holes on the side for pallet trucks, so the fedex guy ended up having to muscle it around by himself at the back of his truck just to get it into a position he could use the pallet truck to move it more. Apparently the forklift that loaded his truck didn't have that problem.. but you could also see that most of the slats were bent or bowing under the weight of the mark 7. It seems to me that shopsmith is cutting all corners they can on "extraneous" costs. If I compare with a 50 pound server shipped from IBM on a pallet, the wood used for the lighter server was 3x thicker for the slats and could likely have easily carried the weight of the shopsmith.

If anyone is curious, I kept the shopsmith mark 7 pallet for scrap wood and I can take photos next to the ibm one for reference.

As far as unpacking goes, once you have the box open, there are really no pieces that I needed any help with to handle, and it would have been pretty fast had I needed to unpack it and take it into the garage piece by piece. It took reading the manual before I figured out why it was packaged with a couple scraps of wood inside the box and an extra bag of nuts and bolts.

For the record, I still haven't figured out how shopsmith intends me to use the metal ruler they provide (it spans multiple tables).. it seems I would have to attach it and detach it every changeover... and things may not always line up the same way each changeover, but this is probably a topic for another thread.

smithje539j6 wrote:Just ordered a new MK 7 and understand the freight hauler will only deliver to the tail of the truck. I was told the freight weighs 300 lbs. So my question is: what's the best way to get it off the truck and into my basement? I know I'll need some extra bodies to help, will 2 work or do I need 3/4?

Thanks for your input. I'm excited and can't wait to get some sawdust therapy.

Congrats!!! You'll love it. I would go rent a commercial grade appliance dolly and get 2 or 3 friends (strong) to assist. You should be able to put the box long way up and bottom toward the dolly then strap it down with the straps the dolly comes with.

Jack

nil wrote:.......
For the record, I still haven't figured out how shopsmith intends me to use the metal ruler they provide (it spans multiple tables).. it seems I would have to attach it and detach it every changeover... and things may not always line up the same way each changeover, but this is probably a topic for another thread.

I have never used the long metal rule except on my workbench. It hangs on the wall along side of my extra saw blades and arbors.

The short one is on the table and gets used regularly. I verify its alignment to the edge of the saw blade before starting a project. Once positioned, I have never experienced it moving without me doing so.

300# is not really all that heavy...2 young guys should be able to handle it with a hand truck... one handle the hand truck by tilting back while facing away from the load and let it rest on his sholder..the other guy stays on one side and keeps it from tipping...go slow and steady....
or go to local gym, chalenge a lifter to the task.. he can get real close to the SS while it is on its end, bend his knees, bear hug the crate, straighten out his knees and walk to the final location...piece o cake, five minute job...
Or rent a uhaul truck, slide it from one truck to the other, assemble it , run electricity to the uhaul...you have a shop ! a little rental cost, but if you can afford a new SS, should be easy to foot the rental (won't be any milege)...