Moving a shop

[Greg Book]

I've received an offer for a job in a different state, and as I wait for HR to perform their blessing on the new job, I'm pondering how I will move my workshop to a new house?

We currently live in a small house with a 10'x20' basement shop. The only access to the basement is via a staircase to the first floor. The major tools I have are: table saw (270lbs), bandsaw (180lbs), jointer (~100lbs), dust collector (~100lbs), lathe (50lbs), CNC machine (~75lbs), portable drill press. Plus a 10" sliding miter saw and 12" planer. Plus, lots of clamps, hand tools, accessories, power tools, a home-built tool cabinet and workbench. We plan to move into a new house with either a garage or basement workshop.

It took me 6 years to slowly assemble this shop in the basement, but now I'll need to move the whole thing in a month or two.

What have other people's experiences been moving a shop? Should I have the movers take the stuff out of the basement or should I put it into the garage first so they can just wheel it onto the truck. How should I pack the hand and power tools? How should I prep the large tools for the move? I do plan to disassemble as much as I can before hand to make them easier to move.

[Jerome Hanby]

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I didn't want the movers touching my tools. I rented a truck with a lift gate for a week and moved my shop myself. Depending on the distance you are moving, this may not be practical.

[Kirk Poore]

When I moved my shop out of my basement, I built a sled to haul my heaviest tools (particularly my tablesaw) up the stairs. This allowed four of us to drag things up (two pulling, two pushing).


I'd want to move the stuff myself. But if that's impractical:
You should pack the smaller tools yourself, and all the tooling (fences, extra blades, bits, etc) too. Don't leave any removable item on the machines. For the bandsaw, take off the table. You may want to take off stuff like handwheels too. Take pictures to document the condition of all machines--if they get dropped and broken, you'll want to substantiate the claim.

Kirk

[Mark Ashmeade]

+1 on photos. My tools & furniture got wrecked when they were shipped. Not that they were worth much, but they were the only ones I had at the time.

I also agree on removing as much as you can from each item and carefully pack. Any cast iron I would coat in grease/T9/oil/whatever.

Not to be off, but those tools aren't THAT heavy. I've recently moved a 500lb planer, a 500lb jointer and a 742lb RAS into my basement. I just took them apart to sensible lumps and carried them down there using a sack truck/appliance dolly. No big deal. Get a friend to help, make him sweat for an hour then buy him dinner or a case of beer.

The moving guys will be on an hourly rate, but there's only so many hours in a working day, so they'll be motivated to get the job done. They won't bother too much if your stuff gets scratched, scuffed or dented. They'll see that as the purpose of insurance and all part of a day's work.

One other piece of advice: Make sure your new place has somewhere for a shop with better access, even if it's just a walkout basement.

Good luck, moving is an adventure!

[Jim Laumann]

Greg

Many moons ago, like 1983 - I moved using a moving company from a basement shop to my current house/shop (also in the basement). At the time I had a 10" contractor saw, a 6" jointer, and table top drill press. Everything else was a portable power tool, or hand tools. Benches stayed in the former house, as the purchaser wanted them.

I disassembled as much as I could, but there were still some heavy chunks of iron. I packed / wrapped all the smaller tools, but made a mistake - used to big of boxes, so they were still quite heavy - and the movers complained mightily - I ended up carrying out several of the boxes myself.....and they (movers) were biggier/beefier than I was. Not impressed w/ the bunch.

As Kirk said - take pics - it wasn't something I thought of/could do then as easily as today.

As an aside on the subject of movers - they weren't terribly careful w/ the packing. We had a box w/ my wife's wedding gift china - box was labeled as such, and w/ "fragile", etc. It rattled terribly when we were in the new house - the wife was livid and to the point of tears.....

We opened the carton, the dishes were fine - the bozo movers had put a box of rice in the carton, and hadn't sealed the box - so rice had spilled out and was rattling around. Not impressed.....

Best of luck on the move and new job

Jim

[Kevin W Johnson]

Best wishes on the move, and may your new place give you a larger shop.

On a side note, I'd love to see pics of the current shop. Mine is 12' x 20', and i can't imagine all that equipment in a such a small space.

[Chris Tsutsui]

Good luck with the move.

I am really dreading the day that I have to move my garage so please post how your move went.

The last time I moved I packed everything myself into a pod crate and a forklift picked it up and put it on a truck. I didn't move my machines this way though as I've got a heavy slider and lathe that would probably be transported best bolted to a pallet and moved with a lift gate truck.

[Paul Symchych]

I moved ~800 miles a few years ago and packed all of the small or hand tools myself but left the grunt work to the movers. It was bandsaw, jointer, table saw, workbench, & miter saw. They have the manpower and/or hand trucks etc to do that as a normal part of removing your boxed items and furniture. They put down ramps for the big tools that were all on mobile bases.
I just watched carefully as they positioned the tools in the moving van and wanted to see that everything was well padded and strapped down. Everything went just fine at both ends.
Just make sure you tell them in advance when they are estimating the cost that these things are part of the load so you don't get hit with an upset crew at the last minute. Moving charges are by weight so its only moving the tools around that could be a surprise. Give 'em a beer [after they're finished loading].

[Glen Butler]

I just moved my shop, but it was not a long distance, and I have an enclosed 8 x 16 trailer that carried all the tools, and it was not in a basement.

I will tell you what I did and in hope it helps give you ideas. I bought several sets of movers dollys from harbor freight, while on sale http://www.harborfreight.com/movers-dolly-93888.html. And put one under each end of each tool. I fashioned a simple ramp that tapered so the wheels wouldn't catch the ramp and rolled each tool right up into the trailer with the help of some friends. Installation was simply the reverse of removal. I was surprised how well it went, but as I said I wasn't in a basement. Good luck to you.

[Ted Calver]

I moved my two car garage shop several years and two herniated discs ago. Lathe 700lbs, table saw 300lbs, band saw 500lbs, Oneida dust collector, jointer, planer and bunches of other stuff, most of which was on wheels. Rolled out of the garage and into POD units, and then rolled out of the POD's into their new home. It was relatively painless. I highly recommend the method and would do it again the same way (with some hired help). POD's let you load/unload at your convenience...very nice when doing it your self.

[Chris Fournier]

There isn't a heavy tool in your shop - relatively speaking. Devise a sled for the stair work and coerce some pals to assist and you'll have that basement shop moved in hours. Nothing to it.

[mreza Salav]

I'm with Chris, all the tools you mention are really light. Should be a one man (or two) job on a weekend to take all out and put in a small trailer or U-Box.
I too dread moving too with my basement shop which includes an 800lb J/P, 750lb tablesaw, among other things and I have moved all of them by myself by dis-assembling them into pieces, one at a time.

[Al Weber]

I moved a long distance two years ago and basically got all my reasonably valuable small tools and so on together, packed securely, and locked into tool boxes. All fences and other removable items should be removed before the movers arrive so they can pack them as appropriate or move them loose. If you have tight fitting drawers in cabinets or workbenches, have the movers wrap the whole bench or cabinet in "saran wrap" or whatever the film material is and leave the tools in place. Then let the movers do the heavy work. In general, the only damage I had was the switch on my joiner that is on an arm off the base. Someone apparently tried to lift it by the arm and broke it. I should have unbolted it before the move. If the company is going to pay for the move, then let the movers do it. By the way, if you have wood, take it with. I can almost guarantee that it will cost more to replace it than move it.
Professional movers are much better equipped to do heavy things than most individuals. Most are fairly reliable but need some oversight from you during packing and loading/unloading. You are the primary steward of your belongings.

[Chris Fournier]

If you really want to dread moving put a metalworking machine shop in your basement! Regardless of what you have to move, think like an ant or an Egyptian pyramid builder, dismantle what you can and have lots of dollies, tie downs, rollers and friends. Of course a fat wallet and a will to hire pros is a nice way to fly. I like Al's phrase "Primary Steward" which sounds better than "worry wart" so I choose to be involved in all of my equipment moving dramas. I am going to put Primary Steward of Chatals on my resume! Thanks Al.

[Greg Peterson]

You could use a POD. Load it at your leisure and to your satisfaction, then have them pick it up and deliver to the new house. You can then unload it at your leisure.

[David Keast]

My main concern with other people (eg removers) moving specialised machines etc. is making sure them know what they can use to get hold of when lifting, eg not handwheels, sliding tables etc. I've no experience of moving a woodworking shop, but experience of moving a lot of electronic equipment is that it is better not packed. It is easy to throw an anonymous cardboard or wooden box into the back of a truck, not many people are willing to do the same with a television or a computer. I think the same would go for machines.

[Josh Bowman]

I used one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/370x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_749.jpg
and one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/160x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_11834.jpg
and some of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/160x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_2730.jpg
No strained back, stopped and thought a few minutes before I every tried to muscle my stuff, all went very well.

[fred marcuson]

the first question , how far are you moving ??
i moved my shop an others short distances (across town).
if it is a long distance , spend the time and crate up your large tools !
break them down for easier handling . itemize everything in every crate .
put 'shock markers' and'tilt indicators ' on the crates ...
keep a record of the materials cost for the crating , it is tax deductible (or at least it was ) .

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on PODS and the engine hoist.

I recommend removing motors, in heavier machines - if that is possible.
Movers care about time, not boxes. If you pack the POD yourself, or hire a day crew, you can take your time.

This is also an opportunity for you to pare down to the tools you regularly use to free space in the new shop.

[Chris Kennedy]

I moved my shop quite a distance with movers and then once by myself locally. Honestly, I would go with movers again. I would move things out of the basement out of concern for my tools, my stairwell walls, and the movers' health. They are going to brute force things out, and something or someone could easily be damaged. But after that, I would trust them to get them into the truck and back out on the other hand.

I doubt they will move things into your new basement. Usually most moving companies state they are only responsible for moving items to a reasonable location. Pack your boxes too heavy and you will find them all nicely stacked in your living room. I think with tools, if there is a garage at your new place, they will them there and call it good. Also, I would highly recommend you have them pack your fragile items that you cannot move yourself. If you pack something and it breaks in transit, you have little to no recourse. If they pack it and break it, you have some recourse.

Cheers,

Chris

[David Thompson 27577]

Take pictures of all your stuff. Pack any hand tools that are inherently valuable (planes, squares, rules, etc) so that they are impervious to damage in transit. Then let the movers handle the weight. No sense in pulling your back out, when others can do that for you.

[Greg Book]

Thanks for all the information. We're planning to move about 90 miles, and were definitely having movers move everything in the house at once. Unfortunately, I'll probably be started the new job before we close on a new house, so everything will need to be packed and ready to go before I start. I think the safest thing is to bring the pieces of the heavy machinery into the garage and then let the movers just push it into the truck.

Someone mentioned wanting to see pictures of the shop since it's so small. I just measured it and its actually 10'6" x 17'6". Vertical is the key. Everything can be stacked on top of something else. I've found that the planer fits nicely below the miter saw. There is also a full size mattress set in the corner, which I'll leave for the movers to move. I think the bench will stay at the old house, since its just 2x4s, but I may disassemble it and take the bolts/lag screws with me.

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[Greg Book]

I'm still moving the shop, but it turns out it'll be into storage first. We couldn't decide on a house, so we'll rent an apartment for a few months in the new city before going for a house. There will hopefully be a space for the new shop in the new house, but in the meantime, I need to move the whole shop into storage. This is not a climate controlled storage unit, and it'll be stored in CT from October through at least January.

I think I'm good for moving the equipment out of the basement, but any tips for storing equipment in non-climate controlled environment in the winter?

[Jerome Hanby]

The cosmoline with which many new power tools arrive covered seems to do a good job. Not sure where to buy it...

[Carl Beckett]

Hi Greg,

First - good luck with your move (I have moved my shop several times now). One of my moves included a temporary storage for my shop in your area (Boston - although I enjoy Max's when in West Hartford). Looking at your pictures doesnt frighten me - you will be able to move this pretty easily. Some thoughts:

If you pack and it breaks, your problem. If they pack it and it breaks, movers problem (its an insurance claim process - the actual mover guys generally dont care that much - they just want to get done, go home, watch the game and have a beer)

Bring water/gatorade/snacks for the movers. Its not a requirement - just a show of good will. In fact, a couple of moves I tipped everyone a $20 UPFRONT. Cost me some $$ - but they did a lot of extra effort for that $20.

Assume something will get broken. Dont wig. Take lots of before pictures, and after pictures. Especially the outside of the boxes that show exterior damage, then the inside contents.

An unheated storage in New England in the winter is worth protecting. I use Boshield. The hand planes, chisels, etc - I wrap in rags with WD-40 sprayed on them.

Rent storage as close to your new place as possible. Put the pieces into the storage in reverse order that you think you will take them out. That way, if you dont have the time you wanted to setup your new shop you can do a little at a time.

Take everything. Even the ratty old useless bench. Again, you might not have the time to build a new one (plenty of other stuff to do), so it could turn out that you want it. If nothing else, you can use it as a second bench for a while since it sounds like you will have more space.

If it were long haul move or overseas, I would consider just selling some items. But 90 miles is no biggie. Heck, in the limit you could work out a rent deal with the new owners of your house and just leave it all there (unlikely, but just being creative here). But consider the possibility that you know you will want a different machine at the new place since you have more space, and go ahead and unload the current machine now and have the new one delivered there. Dont even have to move it that way.

Better you than me - I 'dislike' moving....

[Ryan Mooney]

+1 on the engine hoist/crane in general. Not usually a huge fan of HF but they have one thats only $160 if you have a 20% coupon and seems to work just fine - definitely saved the heck out of my back.

Agree generally with disassemble what you can, although I don't see much on your specific list that would likely benefit a lot from taking apart (possibly remove the tables on the bandsaw and dp to remove temptation to lift by them :D). Basically look at it and try to figure out what the worst case grab, carry, throw and work to protect against that.

If I was in your shoes I would get everything up to the garage. Build some simple pallets under the major pieces (TS, Jointer, CNC maybe?) what are just wider than the widest point and bolt/screw the machines down to those - they have the advantage of providing a "stand off" so that they aren't slopping around into other stuff. Pack the rest into boxes padding or screwed together + padded crates if its a real valuable piece. Make a good list of all of the tools and relative value, take good pictures of all sides of every piece before packing them up so that when they get dinged up you can say "see before and after".

[Matt Day]

I've moved my shop twice in the past year and a half, from VA to UT, and from UT to OH. The first move I did myself with friends. That time we actually went down steps from my shop to the truck (sloped backyard from the basement), and the second time it was up steps and by movers.

Are you packing the boxes or are the movers coming into your house and packing your stuff for you? As someone mentioned, whatever you pack is your problem if it breaks.

On my last move we had movers that would pack the boxes and move them to the truck. One day the boxers showed up, and the next the movers showed up. I didn't want them packing up my tools (paranoia I guess), so I did everything I could. This meant putting all the little stuff into small shoe box size boxes that the movers could then put into larger boxes. For the tools, I disassembled them as much as I could. For instance, I took the uppor portion of my 14" BS apart, I removed the TS wings and motor cover, I removed my planer from my flip top stand, I disassembled my 1.5 HP DC, I took apart my lathe, and I separated the bed from the base of my 8" jointer. I packed the smaller parts myself so I knew where the parts would be when I went to put it all back together.

I hope your movers are better than mine - they were a lot more brawn (sp?) than brain. They were 250# + Tongans, and one guy was the size of an NFL lineman. I was there the whole time and had to make many suggestions on how to carry and move things. On my jointer bed, it took 4 guys my size to wrestle it around, and it took 2 of them to heave it overhead and put it out a window - given that they almost got crushed during the lift and I was ready to call 911. So I suggest you do your best to be there and supervise because likely they don't know squat about caring for large tools. And don't help, or you could take responsibility. The guys who unloaded on this end were great though - younger college age guys who took direction well and did a great job - and earned a good tip!

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.

[Steve Kohn]

Not to derail this thread but is there a weight limit on what you can put into a POD? And how do you secure the tools inside the POD so they don't shift during transit?

[Jerome Hanby]

Not sure on the weight, but in the `16' POD currently in my driveway there are tie-offs all around the bottom of the walls you can use to lash things into place.


Not to derail this thread but is there a weight limit on what you can put into a POD? And how do you secure the tools inside the POD so they don't shift during transit?

[Ryan Hellmer]

I will jump on board with leaving it to the movers. The only tools that I see are at any real risk would be the jointer and bandsaw. Pictures of the condition before are always a good idea and I would try to be there to "assist" the movers with loading, at least for the jointer and bandsaw so that they don't lift things by the tables. You could even remove the BS table to further insure yourself against breaking the trunions. I don't know if this will sound snooty or rude, I hope not, but your stuff is not so huge as to require "riggers" and is mostly replaceable, including parts (you can buy new trunnions from gizzly for pretty cheap). If you had a 1600 lb 60 yr old jointer, that'd be another story. I've moved my shop twice in the last 5 years by myself, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really into that sort of stuff.

Ryan

[Sean Troy]

You could use a POD. Load it at your leisure and to your satisfaction, then have them pick it up and deliver to the new house. You can then unload it at your leisure.

Greg is right. Thats a great option.

[Greg Portland]

I've received an offer for a job in a different state, and as I wait for HR to perform their blessing on the new job, I'm pondering how I will move my workshop to a new house?

We currently live in a small house with a 10'x20' basement shop. The only access to the basement is via a staircase to the first floor. The major tools I have are: table saw (270lbs), bandsaw (180lbs), jointer (~100lbs), dust collector (~100lbs), lathe (50lbs), CNC machine (~75lbs), portable drill press. Plus a 10" sliding miter saw and 12" planer. Plus, lots of clamps, hand tools, accessories, power tools, a home-built tool cabinet and workbench. We plan to move into a new house with either a garage or basement workshop.

It took me 6 years to slowly assemble this shop in the basement, but now I'll need to move the whole thing in a month or two.

What have other people's experiences been moving a shop? Should I have the movers take the stuff out of the basement or should I put it into the garage first so they can just wheel it onto the truck. How should I pack the hand and power tools? How should I prep the large tools for the move? I do plan to disassemble as much as I can before hand to make them easier to move.I completed a local move of my shop 2-3 years ago. I hired professional movers for the entire house and was surprised how little extra the shop was (expecting 1000s, it was ~$250 extra). The movers -will- toss everything in the truck and tilt-able tools, especially drill presses or bandsaws, will be wedged into place instead of laid down & strapped. My suggestion is to buy their replacement-level insurance and let them deal with the damage. Total damage on my move was 1 drill press handle but the bandsaw almost tipped over when they were rolling it onto the lift gate.

I bought some moving saran-wrap and wrapped all my cabinets with the tools inside (versus packing everything in boxes). IMO it's easier to sort each drawer instead of going through 50 boxes looking for a screwdriver. Don't disassemble any tools, let the movers deal with it.

[Greg Portland]

Assume something will get broken. Dont wig. Take lots of before pictures, and after pictures. Especially the outside of the boxes that show exterior damage, then the inside contents.This is key. Also check your moving insurance... most cover damage -by-weight-. I.e. a 1lb handle will be worth $0.25. You want replacement insurance on your shop stuff. Check with your insurer as well as the moving company & go with the best option.