Pexto Model 137 Disassembly & Component Weight

Hello,

First time posting here. I do a good bit of bending sheet aluminum in my home basement workshop. I have a lovely old Di-Acro 24" finger brake but I'm currently cutting my sheet either with a table saw or band saw depending on the size and shape. I'd like to add a shear to my toolkit to make some nicer, easier cuts.

I'm currently considering a 1960s Pexto 137 stomp shear, but I'd need to disassemble it to get it down my basement stairs. I'm wondering how difficult it will be to disassemble/reassemble, and more importantly, how heavy the bed will be - i.e. can myself and another guy get it apart and down a narrow staircase without too much trouble?

I found one post here where somebody said the individual pieces were all ~100lbs or less, but that was for an older 32" Pexto. I tried calling Roper Whitney but they could only tell me the overall weight. From photos the bed looks cast and potentially pretty hefty, so I thought I'd see if anyone here has experience with this model.

I'd appreciate any input you have!

I’ve been stomping on my Pexto 137 a bunch today.

I will not break it into pieces or weigh them, but I will share some pictures:

While the overall machine does look quite big and heavy:


All of cast iron, etc.

The legs and table will be the heaviest pieces, but they’re not nearly as thick as they appear:



I’m guessing @3/16”-1/4” thickness for the leg castings and maybe 38-1/2” thickness for the bed.

Whatever weight Pexto gave you, I imagine the legs and bed will be 75% or thereabouts.

None of this sounds enjoyable, but I would hazard that two dedicated guys could carry each piece on stairs. I would figure three people to assemble and disassemble… two to hold the heavy parts and the third to make or unmake the fasteners.

An cherry-picker engine lift would probably help out.

I’ve swapped blades on mine… if you do embark on this plan I would pull the blades first, send them off for sharpening and only then start to disassemble the machine. That’ll take 40-50#’s out of the machine and save a trip to the hospital.

Lastly, make sure you’ve got the manual in front of you. I’m almost certain Roper-Whitney will sell you the manual.



Be safe



Jeremy

I agree that two people could probably wrangler the parts into the basement, especially if they could borrow an appliance dolly somewhere.

Keep in mind that the attachment of the legs to the bed is also part of the adjustment of the blades. Reassembly is a matter of slightly more than simply bolting it back together. It's not complicated, managed by the four screws in the front. There are also the springs to be compressed when you put the moving blade back on.

Thanks for the advice to both of you, and for the pics Jeremy! They apparently have a forklift on the pickup side we can use to hold up the center while we disassemble, which should help things. I can attache a come along to my rafters to help raise it once I get it in the basement. I'll report back with pics once it's in.

I cannot remember for the life of me the name of the outfit that I used, but I found a place in Illinois, that offered a free blade sharpening with purchase of a new blade set. It’s been several years, but this wasn’t a one-time offer. Something knife and blade or knife and shear… the price was more than reasonable even before factoring the backup blades with a fresh sharpening on them.

Something to look into





Be safe



Jeremy

One more thought - I was planning on bringing some large crescent wrenches, maybe a piece of pipe as a breaker bar, screwdrivers, channel locks & vise grips just in case things get ugly, & ratchet straps. It looks like there are possibly some large allen head screws? I'm not sure I have anything that big here in imperial sizes but any clue what size those might be? Any other must-bring tools?

Update:
My buddy and I picked up the shear a few weeks ago. It's a 1951 137K in nice shape. It cut paper on all sections, as well as some .05 and .063" aluminum I brought with me; the blades feel clean and sharp so I might even get away with what's on there.

My friend has been busy so he just brought it over the other day. The pieces came into the basement just fine. I put the main sections on my shipping scale just in case anyone else ever wonders about weights:

157 lb - bed
98 lb - each side
44 lb - treadle
100 lb - Crosshead w/o guard or blade

All we needed for disassembly were a couple crescent wrenches, pliers to remove cotter pins, and a 5/16" Allen wrench. Oh and the forklift that was holding it up...

A couple clevis pins were bent (they looked homemade from mild steel) and Roper Whitney didn't have them so I ordered some hardened ones from McMaster.
Since everything gets suspended by the two sides, I'm considering attempting to assemble it on its side - lay one side piece down, attach all the center pieces vertically, put the other side on, then have a buddy help me ease it up into the right position. Will report back on that unless anyone has tried it and says it's a terrible idea

Well the assemble-on-its-side-then-flip method seems to have worked pretty well. It was pretty easy to line everything up in that configuration; the only annoying part was getting the springs tensioned because the threads on the adjusters were painted over. I had two friends help with the tipping. I still have to get it dialed in but I think it's going to work out well in its new home.