The dreaded shop move, advice from those who have been there is needed.

[Silas Smith]

Well, it looks like my days of complaining about air conditioning the shop are over and now I will join the majority in whinning about the cold :o . I recently accepted a new job that will move me from Houston to Utah. They will pay for movers to pack me up and move me, but I wonder about my tools. In particular, I am concerned about my DJ-20, Bridgewood contractors saw, Bridgewood 17" bandsaw and my 3hp Delta shaper. Do they charge extra for these and how much? I bought all of my equipment used, so I am fairly confident that I can recoup my $$$ out of them if I needed to sell, but I would hate to part with them. What advice can you all give me on this move?

[JayStPeter]

When I moved, there was no extra charge for moving the shop (although the mover did see the shop before the quote). Whatever the case, it should be cheaper to move the shop than to sell and reacquire. I partially disassembled some of my machines. I removed the fences and packed them separately. I tried to picture the machine bouncing up and down and see what pieces to remove or secure. How it was shipped to you should also give you some idea. I braced the motor in my table saw as shipped to me (probably would remove it on a CS) and removed the extensions. I removed the table on my band saw. I waxed up all the tables without buffing them off. I also removed some of the handles and taped padding over the sharp pieces. I feared that my machines would tear up furniture they were packed near.
Then, the most important part, put your fingers in your ears and close your eyes while they move them. You don't want to know :eek: . Just check them out thoroughly on the other end to see if you should make a claim. :cool:
My preparation paid off. Despite a mistake that even the fingers in the ears couldn't block, all my machines are fine. Even if the mistake had hurt my machine, a part or two would probably fix it up for less than the loss I would've take replacing them.

Jay

[Michael Gabbay]

Silas - I have not moved my shop, yet... :( But I know the day will come. Unfortunately for me it is a basement shop with no direct access to the outside. What I would do is disassemble as much as possible and wrap everything with bubble wrap or similar. All the small parts and hand planes etc you might consider moving yourself.

Also make sure you document everything. Record how many boxes and their contents and take photos for insurance purposes. Keep the list with you.

Where in Utah are you moving. My sister and BIL live in Eden.

Mike

[Peter Pedisich]

I just did this last winter, and I'll try to help you avoid the mistakes I made.

1) bag and label all fasteners.

2) see #1.

3) see # 1 again.

4) put labels such as "top heavy", "do not lift here"

5) Unpack completely as soon as you can.

Good Luck with the move & new job!

[Silas Smith]

Michael, I am moving to Spanish fork, right at the mouth of the canyon. Beautiful country. I guess I'll have to resist the urge to let them pack everything for me, it is just easier to pack it myself rather than chase down some claim. I worry about them lifting the DJ-20 by the beds, but I would imagine that it will happen. Hopefully, it won't cost more to move everything, but some movers can be scam artists. The worst part is that most likely they will end up storing everything for a month or so while we close on the new house so everything will be double moved. Of course, this will give me a chance to replan my shop and make sure the setup of the machines is right.

[Rob Russell]

One point I saw from someone who moved recently was that they made the shipper see things working before they were packed. Electronics, machines, etc. That way when they give you a form to sign that says "as delivered" or whatever it says, you can say - "Nope - working" because that's the condition they signed off on.

[Mark Patoka]

One thing to be aware of is if you do pack some of your own things, the mover may not be liable if it breaks since he technically didn't pack it. At minimum they will at least want to look into the box before they seal it. Check with them first.

I haven't had to move as many large equipment items as you my last couple of moves but I haven't had problems with the tools yet (furniture has arrived broken). Since large items are packed in the truck as is, it may also come down to how the truck driver wants it loaded into the truck. I would remove any smaller pieces that could easily be broken off. Otherwise they will probably just wrap the tool in blankets and padding. For smaller tools, having the original cases really helped.
If you have the good fortune of being able to deliver directly to your next house, it will be a lot easier. If it has to sit in a warehouse for awhile that means it gets loaded and unloaded again and potential for more problems.

If you're present when they pack and load, you can also ensure it's done in a way you think will be best. Also, take lots of pictures and document everything just in case you need it for the insurance claim.

[Michael Gabbay]

Silas - You might want to look into PODS (or similar) to see if they can store it and have it moved long distances. As for the jointer, You might consider building a crate for the jointer bed. That way it is fully supported and protected from being picked up from the tables. Also check with the mover to see what experience they have with moving heavy machinery. The last thing you need is a couple of goons droping your BW 17 off the back of the truck.:eek:

Mike

[Allan Johanson]

What do you guys do with something top heavy like a floor standing drill press? Remove the head assembly?

A friend of mine has to move his shop and isn't sure about some of these things so this thread is very timely.

Thanks,

Allan

[Steve Stube]

Allen, On some drill presses you can lower the table and head to the base, block and strap it solid.

[Gary McKown]

What others have said, plus. I have moved shop from LA to OH to WA to VA to PA over the last 25 years. Movers love to see a shop (also piano, etc.) coming - mucho weight for relatively few pieces to handle. Only thing I was ever surcharged for was a 17' aluminum canoe - big bulky item weighing very little.

Take the extensions or tables off everything possible (TS, jointer, etc.). In addition to being convenient lift points, they are handy places on which to put HEAVY boxes during packing. Twenty million bounces later, with that leverage, and you can have a problem that may not be immediately obvious on inspection. If the saw is on legs, I would disassemble those, too. Tall skinny things like BS or DP are less of a problem, long as they stay upright(!!!).

Only real damage I have incurred is a warped TS top (yep, cast iron) because of the weight piled on top during a cross-country move. Oh yes, and also cabinets full of screws, bolts, nails, whatever, all turned upside down...

Expect wooden jigs and lumber to do funny things in going from the swamp to the desert. I had an opposite problem moving from the north to LA in January, humidity hitting everything still below freezing when unpacked = rusty iron, soaked electronics, etc. Fortunately, the "shop" was all hand tools at that point.

Next time (more and bigger stuff now, plus not a corporate move), anything less than 1000 miles and I would seriously consider a U-haul truck, packing the machines one-deep, and taking it easy on the way.

[JayStPeter]

Silas,

My last move was from my house, into storage for 6 months, then into my new house. I had the movers pack my stuff and take it away. I didn't see or have control of it again until they moved it back in.
I packed stuff myself that I was concerned about (plus everything I was moving into the temporary apartment). It turns out, they did an excellent job packing everything. You should see how well they wrapped up the pile of scrap wood I wasn't planning on taking with me :) . That isn't to say that every company would do as good a job.
As mentioned, one of the big things I did was slather wax on all cast iron surfaces. It all came through with little to no rust.

Allan,
There are a number of things in my house that are more expensive and as unstable as a drill press. As tough as it is to do, you have to put some trust into the movers. You do your best, but at some point there's nothing more you can do. Since I don't like my DP, I didn't do anything. Unfortunately it came out unscathed :p .

Speaking of trust, that's pretty difficult. One of my biggest fears was my hand held tools and mechanic tools disappearing. I bought a bunch of heavy duty plastic bins and packed them into there. I wrapped the bins closed with tape and wrote on each at the joint with the top. Also did the same with my stereo components and computer equipment that could easily be converted to cash. I never wrote what was in them, just the destination in the new house. I was concerned that some stuff could disappear and the crew 6 months later could point at the original crew and vice-versa.

The crew put a numbered sticker on each item that went into the truck and together we made a list of what each item was. On unloading, each number was checked off as delivered. The packing crew had inventoried each of the boxes they packed. So, the ones that said "box 24j" were inventoried on the list made by the packer with the first initial J. It was a pretty good system. I would guess that if something was missing we would've had around a 75% chance of identifying exactly what it was. It is a frenzy of activity, so having a couple people available to help monitor the sticker/listmaking or list checking activites and help ensure stuff gets in/out properly is good. Keep away kids and relatives who will hinder the process :D .

Jay

[Silas Smith]

I forgot to mention one crucial point. I am starting my new job in a week and my wife is staying with the house until it sells. I may not be there for the move to check everything. I am concerned with them stacking stuff on the beds now. I am never moving again.

[Jim DeLaney]

I forgot to mention one crucial point. I am starting my new job in a week and my wife is staying with the house until it sells. I may not be there for the move to check everything. I am concerned with them stacking stuff on the beds now. I am never moving again.


Silas,
Just let Allied Van Lines (or whoever, just so long as they're pros) handle the packing and moving. They're pros at such things, and will do a good job for you. I moved my shop about 2500 miles last year, and just let Allied handle it all. They came through beautifully, with nary a scratch. As for cost, moving estimates, other than for packing time & materials, are by the pound - regardless of whether it's feather pillows or cast iron. Also, the big moving companies will all offer 'guaranteed estimates,' so that if your actual weight goes over the estimate, you still pay the estimate. OTOH, if your shipping weight is under their estimate, they refund you (in my case, it was $39.00 per hundred-weight) the difference.

PM me if you want more info.

[Harry Goodwin]

After moving my shop myself I ended up in cardiac care and my children unloaded the truck and after eight years I still do not know where and what is in the large piles of cherry and ash. I did not have a heart attack but it sure changed plans for the shop. On anothe subject have all the recepticals you think you need plus some. Insulate it, my mistake, but I put in air conditioner the other day. It will help heat or cold. Organize it as well as you can. Harry

[Jim Becker]

Interstate moves are priced by weight. No problem moving the tools as long as you prepare them for the move, removing parts that don't need to be on them, coating with wax or other protectant and perhaps wraping them for further protection.

I do suggest that the boxes that hold all the smaller, high-value, high-incentive-to steal items be packed by you and in boxes that are NOT marked "tools"...use a coding system.

[Steve Stube]

Prepare for the storage portion of the move by protecting all exposed metal surfaces then if the time runs longer than a month or your tools should be subjected to high humidity conditions they will still arrive in a ready to use state of repair not hidden behind the red dust monster.

[Larry Norton]

Silas, when I assembled my DJ20, my buddy had an engine hoist and we used it to lift it onto the base. If you can find one, it may make loading it on the truck easier and safer. I would take the jointer off the base and build a crate for it. Maybe use some of those dollys that are on 4 wheels to move it?


I moved my PM66 on a Uhaul from my temp house after the tornado. There were 4 or 5 of us and we rolled it up the ramp and lifted it into the truck.

Larry

[Steve Stube]

Silas, be happy you don't have the shop move described in the thread I posted "http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/subscribed.gif Another Old Shop tour, beautiful wood interior (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23323)" A truck load a day, 5 days a week for a year to move his shop. Of coarse if you had the resources this guy apparently had you could bring the new job to where you are now, or not.

[Steve Rowe]

Silas - I have had my shop moved multiple times with no damage to machinery. The key is to remove handles, etc that may get jammed. Door to door moves are best as things have a tendency to disappear when they go to the storage bin. Lost 20 pipe clamps that way but no machinery lost. I dread my next move as it has been over 15 years since the last.

Steve

[Ryan Ricks]

Silas -


I know exactly what you are going through - I am doing the same thing right now. I am moving from Denver to Lexington, KY. I am in Lexington right now while my wife and daughter are in Colorado while the house sells. The movers will pack us up next month, and all my tool are in the basement while I worry about them! I am hoping to get back there before they pack us to take blades off, and take the beds off the jointer, but I don't know if that will happen.

I am planning on letting them pack everything - the contract specifically states that if I pack items they will not be guaranteed against breakage.

Ryan