For Those Who Have Moved Your Workshop...

[Julie Moriarty]

We'll be moving from the Chicago area to the West Palm Beach, FL area. I've been considering selling whatever the new owners of our house might want in the workshop. I have no idea how many homeowners would even be interested in having a workshop.

Anyway, I'm looking at the cost of moving vs. the cost of purchasing something new when we get to the new place. Things like the table saw, band saw, and roll-around cabinets are heavy and/or bulky. But I don't know how much it would cost for movers to move them.

If you've moved, how did you go about deciding what gets sold and what you took with you?

[Jim Rimmer]

I'm considering moving soon and I haven't even entertained the idea of selling my tools and buying replacements after the move. I haven't looked at the cost but I can't imagine it would be at all a reasonable approach. I'm considering renting a truck and moving my shop separately from the household goods to hold down the cost of the household move. I am only going about 600 miles and I have a warehouse available for storage of the tools.

[Mike Henderson]

One thing you might do is look in the craigslist of the place where you're going to see if tools you would want are available.

If you're shipping your household goods, adding the tools will not be much of an add on. But you need to think about the gorillas they hire to do the moving - most are just "pick up" labor and may have very little experience in moving things, let alone tools. You need to take very good pictures. When I moved, the guys broke something while putting it in the truck. The driver made a cryptic note on the manifest which I didn't notice. When the stuff arrived, I noticed the damage and he tried to tell me that I had signed off on the manifest so the damage was not his fault.

I've also had stuff stolen during a move so make SURE that anything small that has value is not available to the movers - jewelry, watches, coins, etc. You can try to sit on top of them during the packing but you can't be everywhere. Pack the small stuff yourself - if you can - and let them handle the big stuff.

Good luck on your move.

Mike

[Chris Padilla]

Personally, I would take ALL my equipment with me. I can't imagine it would be cost-effective to sell the large ww'ing equipment only to have to replace it in the new location. But it all depends on if you will get basically the same equipment or upgrade or go used or go brand new or what-have-you. Things like cabinets I might not take or simple roll-around-carts that could be easily rebuilt I might not take BUT I probably would want to take just about everything. I spent a good amount of time slowly acquiring what I have and I like all of it and would see no reason not to use it in a new location and not have to go through the time and hassle of finding it all again.

You might look up prices on Craigslist for items you are considering selling to see what they go for in the new place (assuming you can find it). What is the size of your shop space in the new place? Is it similar or larger or smaller...funny L-shape or something? That might help you decide.

I don't know what it would cost to move all my heavy stuff either but as long as it wasn't outrageous, I would do it in a heartbeat. Most everything I have is on wheels anyway so moving it around wouldn't be too difficult. I think the cost comes in space on the truck or cost for a larger truck or multiple trucks or whatever.

[Charles Wiggins]

I've never used a paid mover so I have no idea about that. I would rather replace furniture than try to replace my shop equipment. Most of it was acquired at deep discounts that would be hard to replicate in a new environment.

[Jim Laumann]

Julie

A long time ago (30 years), I moved about 90-100 miles, the move was via a moving company, hired by my new employer (I got a 1099, so I ended up paying for it on my taxes).

At the time, I owned a 10" contractor saw, a 6" jointer, a router table, and the usual assortment of hand tools, both electric and non powered. I didn't sell a thing, as I knew I'd need to replace them if I sold them. I did leave my work bench, as the buyer of my house made it a condition of the sale of house.

The movers balked at loading the saw and jointer (to heavy for them - a couple of wusses :( ), even when taken apart, so I ended up putting them on the truck and off again myself. From a basement shop into the basement in the "new" house.

The one thing I can suggest is to watch how you load your boxes - I had way to much weight in the (cardboard) boxes we had.

Hope this helps

Jim

[Wade Lippman]

I moved 50 miles 2 years ago. I sold everything big. Let someone else worry about taking it apart, moving it, and reassembling it.
Guy that bought my planer dropped it, and the guy that bought my TS hurt his back, but those were not my problems.

[george wilson]

Julie,take the table off of your bandsaw before the movers break it off trying to carry the bandsaw by it. Or by letting it tip over. Also an excellent idea to remove the extension leaves from your table saw. They are very easily broken off also,and should NEVER be used as handles when moving the saw. BEST HEED THIS ADVICE.

[Val Kosmider]

I moved a couple of years ago. 800 miles or so. My tool collection was not huge, but there was a table saw, drill press, bench grinder, dust collector, band saw and a goodly assortment of hand tools. I broke things down--such as removing the top of the table saw.

It all "seems" heavy, until you compare it with a house full of furniture, books, dishes and what not. Then, it just becomes part of the "load". To the mover, it is not "outstanding" one way or the other.

We used a first class mover who wrapped everything in blankets, then shrink wrapped it as well. Nothing was broken or damaged; nothing was missing.


I never considered selling and replacing. In fact, I bundled up wood planks and cut-offs as well and moved those. The mover says he saw it all the time. Nothing special.

BTW, take you time picking out a mover. You don't want an outfit that uses "pick up labor" from the local unemployment pool. Try to get the same guys who load you to go along and unload you. Be suspicious if you use a national brand and they say they will get labor from the local franchise when you get to the destination: many times that means "from the local pool".

The additional costs for "good" are nominal in the overall scheme of things and well worth the expense.

[Julie Moriarty]

Thank you for the replies! :) Lots of good information here.

What I'm looking at is a combination of tools that might have safety issues (like a table saw w/o a riving knife), older tools I'd like to upgrade and shop carts that are heavy and bulky and just weren't very well designed in the first place. I haven't replaced them or built something better because they are there right now and I make it work. But there are a number of things that really bother me and I don't want to drag them 1200 miles to the new place. Yet some still have value.

I can't get a 300 lb bandsaw out of the basement, as well as a lot of other tools. And getting the kids over at the same time to help would take a miracle. So I'll have to hire movers. And since there are other heavy items in the house and the distance is what it is, movers are a must. We're trying to decide what furniture we really want to take with us. Some of it is pretty old and not worth moving. And that got me to thinking how nice it would be to set up the new shop the way I want. You know, retiree style. ;)

But if I'm being honest with myself, truth is I want some new tools, and I'm looking for some support. :D

[Chris Padilla]

But if I'm being honest with myself, truth is I want some new tools, and I'm looking for some support. :D

:D :D I KNEW it!!!! :D :D So I expect to find some stuff in the Classifieds soon.... ;)

[ray hampton]

is the moving company "Mayflower " still in business

[Jim Hill]

I moved my entire shop about 1200 miles almost 5 years ago. I had a basement shop in Illinois, where I hired a local moving company to remove the tools from my basement and load them on to a rented Penske truck. I forget what I paid them for the loading; it wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it from an exertion standpoint. I drove the truck to save on moving expenses. When I got to Texas, I hired another moving company to unload and place my tools in a storage facility. Would I do it the same way today? NO, I wouldn't. I wish I would have sold my General 650 cabinet saw, my Jet 18 inch BS, my 8 inch Grizzly jointer, as well as all my other large equipment. By the time I paid for the loading, unloading, renting the truck, paying for fuel, room on the truck which could have been used for other items, and storage fees until I could get my new shop, I spent a huge amount of money. I would have been better selling the stuff and replacing and/or upgrading when I got here. I still would have moved all my smaller equipment and ancillary tools. I think I could have upgraded all the larger shop tools (think SawStop, MM etc) and not really spent much more money than I did. Just my opinion.

[Shawn Pixley]

My longest move was paid by my employer. I moved my tools. The last move we paid for it ourselves. However, I think the books were actually more work and expense to move. I'd move them. If you have a van full of just you belongings, they go straight through will little chance of losing stuff. I would do the prep on the equipment myself. Let the movers do the lifting.

[Curt Harms]

Not TOO much of a hijack I hope. How would using something like PODS or UPack and hire packing & unpacking for the large stuff compare to using a moving company? Particularly on a long distance move like Julie's? Or if you need to store part of the move for a while, like a shop?

[Chris Damm]

We're getting ready to move about 800 miles south. I'm moving my shop with the help of my youngest son and my 18 YO grandson. I have a car trailer and everything should fit. (I'll have to make a 2nd trip for my El Camino). I don't trust the movers to touch my tools! I've witnessed the way some of them handle themselves.

[Jim Matthews]

This may be an opportunity to upgrade, or reduce your tool inventory. Anything you feel is surplus, in your current shop? Cast iron suffers in Florida.

[Julie Moriarty]

Not TOO much of a hijack I hope. How would using something like PODS or UPack and hire packing & unpacking for the large stuff compare to using a moving company? Particularly on a long distance move like Julie's? Or if you need to store part of the move for a while, like a shop?

I've been thinking about that option. I doubt we'll sell this house and have another ready to move into when I get down there. My SO will be getting an apartment to start work and I'll stay here until the house is sold. The PODS/UPack idea is a good one but I'll still need strong bodies to move stuff. Maybe our son and his friends can help on this end.


This may be an opportunity to upgrade, or reduce your tool inventory. Anything you feel is surplus, in your current shop? Cast iron suffers in Florida.

I've become almost intolerant of dust. I say almost because some dust in inevitable. Some tools I have are great offenders, mostly because dust collecting technology hardly existed when I bought them new. Table saw, miter saw and router table probably represent 95% of the dust that doesn't make it into the dust collectors. That's something I'd love to resolve and despite my best efforts, I haven't gained much ground. So I'm seeing this as an opportunity to upgrade some tools and, if I do, focus on safety features too.

As to the cast iron, what's the alternative?

Oh, one other thing Jim, what does "reduce your tool inventory" mean? :rolleyes:

[Rick Potter]

One note on possible theft.

When we moved we needed to store our belongings for a month or so. United Van Lines charged us storage but never took it out of the trailer. We put our own lock on their trailer when it was loaded, and removed it when they unloaded a month or so later. Our move was local, but I assume they could do that on a cross country move with a large moving company.

Rick Potter

[Matt Day]

I've moved twice in the past five years, with my shop. The first time I packed up everything and disassembled the bigger tools and with the help of my friends (we were about 30 at the time) loaded up a rental truck along with our furniture and everything else we owned at the time (before we owned a house and had two kids). Then drive across country pulling a car. That was an adventure, but I probably wouldn't do it again.
The next time we had paid movers and they moved my shop (with me watching like a hawk and telling them what they could and couldn't do). The movers charged by weight, so the heavy tools cost my wife's employer quite a bit I bet!
The next time we move, if it's on our dime, I plan to rent a PODS unit for my shop and load the small to medium sized things by myself at my leisure, and the heavy stuff with the help of a couple friends and a stair climbing dolly.
I will plan to get rid of any large tools I'd rather upgrade like my bulky RAS.
Remember that all the little stuff take up a lot of time to pack and space. Think about all the clamps, handheld power tools, fasteners, finishes, jigs, and all of those things!
Good luck with your move!

[Hunter Locke]

...Cast iron suffers in Florida.

This is the truth! ^^

[Hunter Locke]

A friend of mine moved himself and small shop. He rented a truck, put all of his large tools and toolboxes etc. on pallets. He then rented a forklift at his departure location to load, then again at his new place to unload.

It's "a" way.

[John Coloccia]

When I moved from California back to the East Coast, not only did I have a shop full of tool, but I transported a partially built airplane that I was working on. Fuselage frame was complete. Wings were complete. This thing was HUGE. In the end, I ended up having a whole trailer all to myself. It took a LONG time until I could find someone to touch it because it was an "airplane". I finally found someone to transport it by rail. They backed out just a couple of days before my move!!!

I scrambled and scrambled and found someone to do it. It cost about 11,000. I finally convinced them to do it by telling them it's not an airplane...it's a metal sculpture. LOL. Now understand, I had an AIRPLANE in the truck.

Before you make any decisions, get quotes. You will take a hit because the stuff doesn't stack, but it won't be as bad as you think. Just be sure you're there when they pack/load and make sure they do it YOUR way, not their way. When you get the quote, make sure they know they're doing it YOUR way, not their way.

That is, unless you want to upgrade all your tools. In that case, sell everything and start over :)

I'm moving soon myself. Not far away...just to another home yet TBD. I'm dreading the process of dismantling the shop and reassembling it. Ugh. You gotta do what you gotta do, though. :) But Listen...this is a golden opportunity to make the new shop "right". Take the time to insulate and climate control the shop. Take the time to run whatever wiring you need to run. It will be EASY if you do it before you're up and running. You will have a wonderful shop that is climate controlled year round. You'll thank me, and your tools will thank you :)

[Greg Portland]

When I moved, the incremental increase for my shop was shockingly cheap (<$500 IIRC). You've basically paid for the truck; the cost is similar whether it's full or empty. I agree with the previous posters... expect your tools will be mishandled. Additionally, take a close look @ the moving insurance. Often it covers by-the-pound breakage so the deductible for an 8oz handle is not going to be worth it. Additional insurance may be prudent.

[Dan Hintz]

Financially, the equation is pretty simple. Take the replacement cost of an item and subtract what you're likely to get by selling it. If the difference is less than the cost of moving it, sell it. You could even sway the equation a bit and say if the difference is less than or no greater than X% over the cost of moving it, sell it just to avoid the hassle of moving and consider it depreciation loss.

[Garth Almgren]

As to the cast iron, what's the alternative?
Granite is the one that comes to mind.

[John Coloccia]

The alternative is climate controlling the shop. You won't be able to build with wood worth a darn, and then take it into your nice, air conditioned house, if you don't do this. This is especially important for Julie since she's embarked on the instrument building. You just plain old can't do that effectively unless you can drive the humidity in the shop down to something reasonable, unless you commit to your instruments never living indoors.

The good news is that it's not that hard to do in Florida. An air conditioner in the shop cools and dries the air, so the dehumidifier requirements won't be terrible. In my shop in Connecticut, fall and spring are very hard to climate control. It's not hot enough to run an air conditioner, so my dehumidifier hardly keeps up. Some weeks, I've resorted to running the heater and the air conditioner at the same time in an effort to keep the humidity reasonable so that I can keep working. Talk about a waste of money! Contrast that with winter where I sometimes have to fill my humidifier twice a day.

[Roger Feeley]

I will be moving from Kansas City to northern VA in the next year. If the buy of my house would like to give me what I paid for my SawStop ICS, I will sell just to avoid having it moved out of the basement. Gravity was on our side going down. Going up, not so much.

I would also give a very good price on the air compressor. I have it permanently connected to some plumbing that takes air to the garage and other places around the basement. It will be a pain to remove.

[Julie Moriarty]

That is, unless you want to upgrade all your tools. In that case, sell everything and start over :)

But Listen...this is a golden opportunity to make the new shop "right". Take the time to insulate and climate control the shop. Take the time to run whatever wiring you need to run. It will be EASY if you do it before you're up and running. You will have a wonderful shop that is climate controlled year round. You'll thank me, and your tools will thank you :)

That sounds like music to my ears. :D

[John Sanford]

I moved everything myself 3 1/2 years ago, my 4th+ move of myself and shop this century. Any tools that you plan on upgrading, sell. Selling will both simplify your move, and move the upgrade date forward. Shop carts and such, if they aren't quite right, go ahead and sell/donate them as well. Be brutal with wood. Any and all particle board, MDF, construction grade plywood and lumber, leave behind. Only take the really good stuff. Cull, then cull again. Finishes? Probably be best to not bother with them, by the time you get set back up, they'll likely be past their prime, except for lacquers, which have very long shelf life.

Now, the fact is, table saws actually can get pretty small. Take the wings off, take the fence and rail(s) off, and it's no bigger than a chair. Bandsaws and drill presses present different concerns, namely, they MUST be secured properly or they WILL fall over in transit. Oh, and as noted previously, remove the table for the bandsaw, AND do the same for the drill press, else mover-apes may attempt to hoist thereby.

[Jim Andrew]

I don't plan to move, but if I were, would look at mobile bases for every machine not already equipped, and a flat bed trailer with a ramp, or tilt bed. And maybe use some plywood to make the slope a little more even. My shop is detached from the house, so would not have to worry about getting machines out of the basement, so don't have that concern, but think I would take the advice of others to take off the fence, extension wings, etc so I could fit as many machines as possible on the trailer, buy a good tarp and cover it well as getting ci wet would not be good.

[William C Rogers]

Julie
I move a year ago. I planned to move my shop myself, however I sold my house in 5 days and closed 10 days later with possession at closing. I didn't have time to cull anything and moved a 30 X 56 shop. What the picture doesn't show is my PM 90 lathe @700#, MinMax FS 35 @700#, cabinet saw, drum sander, and over 1200 bf of lumber. I moved 200 miles.
Advice
Get multiple quotes. My quotes were all over the map with as much as $8000 difference. Since my new shop and house were not even started I made sure their storage was conditioned. I ended up choosing Leaders Moving and Storage. There were several reasons including storage and price, but they will hold their quote and no up charges. I had a friend who used a different company and they ended up charging about 20% more than their quote for this and that. I didn't remove any tool tables, but I did spray them with lithium grease. About the only thing I did was remove all my saw blades. I packed my shop myself. I can tell you stretch wrap is your best friend. I stretch wrapped the power cords using the 6" wrap and then stretch wrapped the machine using the 22" wrap. The only thing I lost was a couple of rubber feet on some stands and one box with some odd and ends they gave me value for. I can only guess, but I think the shop added about $3,000 to my moving cost. None of my equipment was damaged. If you were to move yourself I would suggest a truck with a lift gate. That was what I was going to do as I thought the 700# machines were too heavy to be putting on my trailer. Most of my machines were mobile. I did use two HF moving dollies for my lathe.

Bill

[Matt Meiser]

If you use a container, look at the options first hand. PODS themselves are junk with no good system for tying anything down unless they've improved their fleet in the last couple years. We used a Mobile Attic brand unit to move most smaller stuff and its a MUCH sturdier unit with numerous tiedown points. I used a whole fleet of ratchet straps and it appears NOTHING moved in that thing. The one disadvantage to their system is that it gets winched up on a modified flatbed wrecker so it does get tipped to maybe a 15 degree angle. That and they are a smaller company with fewer franchisees.

Movers, we got two quotes for the rest and they were about the same. We did all the packing, they just had to wrap furniture and carry stuff. The actual amount was $400 lower than their quote. These places don't hire rocket scientists, so don't expect that.

[Jon McElwain]

There was a Wood Whisperer episode (http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/a-moving-experience/) a while back about moving his shop. Might be worth a look - as usual, he was good about talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly!

[John Huds0n]

How are you going to get there - drive a car?

If so, I would consider renting a truck from Penske (they usually have lift gates as standard) along with one of their car trailers. With pallets and a pallet jack, it would be fairly simple to load up your heavier/larger items from your shop into the truck with the lift gate for the trip. Load your car onto the trailer and your all set

[Brian Backner]

I would agree that PODS are junk. If I were going to move 1,000+ miles I would buy as many 20 foot shipping containers as needed. One thing is to make sure you get containers with NSD - nailable steel decking. Then load the big machines and either nail them to the deck, or drill and tap holes for 1/2" diameter bolts. If you have really big and heavy tools (I have a Crescent P24 that is over 3,000# and a metal lathe that's over four tons), you can weld 1/4" walled tubing from wall to wall and floor to ceiling to lock them into "cages."

Well padded boxes of small stuff can be loaded in around the big stuff and can be packed to the roof if you use sturdy enough boxes (200# or even 400# cardboard). Any space that is left, can be filled with inflatable tubes - you can get them from U-Line and similar companies. They are heavy walled plastic tubes that get threaded in between stuff, then they are inflated to take up space and lock everything into position.

Once you get everything loaded, use your welder to tack the doors shut for security! Of course if you cross state lines and the Feds want to have a look see, all bets are off.

A lot of work and not cheap, but it will be worth it. I've been collecting both wood and metal working machinery for over forty years and am too old to start over if I ever were to move.

[Tom Clark FL]

3/2012 Moved this shop from FL to NM. 1700 miles. Included about 15 large machines including a full size Bridgeport milling machine and a 14" lathe, 24 custom shop cabinets, and hundreds of boxes. Cost was $7000. Mover was Mayflower. I packed boxes - they loaded semi trailer and drove cross country. They unloaded.

[Robert Parent]

This is a great thread...... I am planning to move as well within the next year so appreciate the varied ideas. I have been culling anything that has little value or has not been used in the past year or two. Just where does all the stuff come from?????

The plan is to buy a place before selling the current one so that should help with the logistics.

Robert

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I moved overseas years back, but it was all paid by the company I work for. The movers were instructed to pack anything and everything. When my stuff arrived the trash and the leftover pizza were neatly packed with everything else!

If you hire a container where you pay for the container, then pack it first with what you love, and with the room that is left you can put the stuff you are less attached to.

I recently moved just across town but decided to go ahead and get all new storage. I bought three of the biggest toolboxes HD sold, and am so happy I did. I really wanted to build my own out of mahogany, but needed to get organized fast, and ready-made was the best way to go for me. Setting up the new shop right the first time is the advise I use this point to make. So glad I did that. Unpacking the tools into their new proper storage bins was a treat.

[Thomas Canfield]

I moved my shop 3 years back about 300 miles using a POD. I made a detail list of items and estimated weight to avoid overloading the POD. It took 2 weeks at my leisure to load and secure the load packing it very tight, fastening it down with straps, and adding blocking blocks. I had to have the POD stored for about 2 months while my new shop was built, but was able to unload the POD in a day to shop and garage at house. The POD was a lot better method than using the moving van, renting a storage unit, unpacking at storage, reloading and moving from storage, etc. I would do it that way again. I did additionally move 3 pickup loads of miscellaneous material, paint, turning wood, and other heavy items that movers would not move or were concentrated weight and could be stored in garage while shop being built, and I was making trips to check on remodeling progress on house.

[Clint Schlosser]

Consider that you will only get about 50% of your original cost or less if you sell the large equipment. I would also count on the cost to move of about 50 Cents per pound.

You will certainly lose money on the deal by selling and re-buying. But think about this as an opportunity upgrade!

[Jason White]

I struggled with this question before I moved from Boston to LA about 3 years ago. Professional movers charge by weight, so after getting an estimate I opted to sell all of my heavy cast-iron machines and transport everything else. In my case, it would've cost more to move the machines than what I paid for them. If your machines are all newer and you paid a lot of money for them, it might be worth the cost to transport them. That said, I'd be worried about movers lifting them incorrectly and damaging them. With some machines (bandsaws, jointers, etc.), you can't just grab onto whatever part is convenient and start lifting.



We'll be moving from the Chicago area to the West Palm Beach, FL area. I've been considering selling whatever the new owners of our house might want in the workshop. I have no idea how many homeowners would even be interested in having a workshop.

Anyway, I'm looking at the cost of moving vs. the cost of purchasing something new when we get to the new place. Things like the table saw, band saw, and roll-around cabinets are heavy and/or bulky. But I don't know how much it would cost for movers to move them.

If you've moved, how did you go about deciding what gets sold and what you took with you?

[Julie Moriarty]

The one thing I'd really like to replace is the table saw. It's a 20+ year old Delta contractor's saw. Dust collection is poor, no riving knife, 1-1/2 HP motor. It would sure be nice to have a cabinet saw. Some other tools would be nice to update but aren't screaming at me to do so.

Yesterday my son and I were in the workshop working on a project and I just blurted out, "Most homeowners would turn this workshop into a kid's play room or something. They wouldn't know what to do with all these tools." I had to think about where that came from and then I remembered when we had realtors come through about ten years ago when we were thinking about downsizing. There were two women realtors who came to look at the house and as soon as they walked into the workshop they agreed it would make a great kid's playroom.

It made me wonder how many homeowners would see the workshop the same way. And that brings up the question, how many homeowners would even want a workshop? Maybe the idea of selling the workshop as a package may not be as universally appealing as I thought.

[Rick Potter]

My daughter, who lives with us, says she will turn my shop into a skating rink when I kick off. My 40 year old son is very mechanically oriented, but has zero interest in wood. He would put motorcycles in there.

Go figure.

[Larry Matchett]

When I moved from MT to MS 10 years ago I struggled with same thing. Decided to take it all along. Movers packed and loaded everything on the moving van. When the driver put locks on the doors he handed me the keys. The other set went in a sealed envelope that he carried with him. He said he needed a key in case the load needed to be inspected. When the truck arrived the envelope was still sealed. They unloaded and reassembled all the shop equipment. No breakage and no damage. I have since replaced and upgraded some stuff. Never regretted bringing everything along. Good luck.

[Steve Milito]

It made me wonder how many homeowners would see the workshop the same way. And that brings up the question, how many homeowners would even want a workshop?

Almost none. I doubt anyone would want the equipment even it was free. The house would likely 'show better' if you removed all the equipment and it was an empty room.

[Matt Meiser]

That was the advise 2 realtors gave me. Our house sold in 7 days, to a tractor collector.

[Julie Moriarty]

The house would likely 'show better' if you removed all the equipment and it was an empty room.

Yesterday I was in the shop cleaning it out and imagined it empty. I thought just what you said. The decision was then made, sell what I want to replace and pack the rest up.

[Richard Moran]

I moved my woodworking shop equipment 15 years ago, about 2 miles across town. I had the house movers stick the heavy stuff (tablesaw, bandsaw, planer, jointer, etc., including m,y 60" wooden workbench) that I didn't sell at a yard sale in the back of the large moving van/truck that we didn't fill up with households and furniture and everything made it OK.

Now, I've also invested in a mini mill and a 10"X 40" metal lathe, and welding equipment and we will have to do it again when we retire in a couple of years. I plan on hiring some help to load a car carrier type flat bed trailer and tow it with my Dodge Ram (diesel). Then I'll hire some help to set it up it in the new shop. Not really that bad unless I end up in a basement. I may even bring my 40 year old work bench/vise again...

[Julie Moriarty]

I just got back from a not-so-sunny week in Florida. I've probably visited that area a dozen times but never have I seen so much rain! Anyway, we looked at a few houses and each time I tried to imagine where the workshop will go. Some houses required a LOT of imagination! Without a basement, you lose a lot of utility space.

In none of the houses did I see any kind of workshop. But all the houses needed work. I was wondering if most homeowners just picked up the phone when they wanted something done. The realtor offered to give me names of local contractors he's used in the past, as if doing so wasn't at all unusual. But it's been a long time since I last looked for a home to buy so maybe this isn't uncommon.

I did get the chance to stop by a HD. Customer traffic looked about the same as around here though I did see more contractor vehicles in the parking lot than I do here. I also saw a lot of very pricey cars on the road and a lot more very old vehicles than I see around here. One local referred to it as "the land of beamers and beaters". It did seem like there was a big disparity between the haves and have-nots. I did a lot of driving around and not once did I not see see someone standing on a street corner begging. And the neighborhoods changed in the blink of an eye. I don't remember seeing much of that on my previous visits but last time I was in the WPB area was almost 20 years ago.

It looks like finding a place for the workshop will be a bit of an issue. Some homes have converted the garage in the back of the property into a residence. With all the damage the sun can do to your car, I was surprised how many homeowners don't use their garage, if they have one. This could be a challenge.

[ray hampton]

[QUOTE=Julie Moriarty;2318539]I just got back from a not-so-sunny week in Florida. I've probably visited that area a dozen times but never have I seen so much rain!

I did a lot of driving around and not once did I not see see someone standing on a street corner begging.

do Florida had a monsoon season ?, were the homeless people at the soup kitchen ?

[roger wiegand]

Moved the shop twice now, one long distance by Mayflower, once across town. I packed all the small stuff myself and for the second move had real equipment riggers move the big stuff. They were a quarter the price of a "moving" company and didn't flinch at hauling heavy machines out of the basement intact-- the "movers" required that I take everything apart and still banged stuff up and complained. I'd go with the riggers every time, they had the equipment and expertise to make it look easy. Everything had to go into PODs (not that brand) for most of a year during construction; moving it was easy except that we were about a ton over the maximum weight limit. The driver let us get by with that.