Moving- how to? (longish)

[Bill Ryall]

After the corporate downsizing bloodbath I was a victim of at the end of last year, I swore I would not get back into the broadcast business full time. My wife and I decided that I would stay home with our twin toddlers, do some part-time engineering contract work, and work on building my sawdust making business.

Well, to make a long story short, I am being pursued by another company to work for them, and the $$$ they are offering may be too good to pass up. The down side is I would have to relocate across the country.

Here is the question- how the H*** do you move a woodshop across the country without having your tools and machines destroyed? I was in the shop this evening looking around- TS, RAS, jointer, planer, sanding station, BS, compressor, dust collection, benches, router table, grinder, hand power tools, hand saws, chisels, full set of mechanics tools, some special boards I won't let go to the fireplace, etc.
You get the picture.

How do you pack this stuff so that the moving company apes don't destroy it? Any and all advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

TIA,

Bill in SW PA, hopefully soon in the South West.

[Steven Wilson]

If you pack it and then the moving company won't reimburse you for loss, if they pack it they will. If you're really concerned then break your machines apart and build crates for them. Give yourself about a months lead time to get everything packaged properly. I shipped a household from Saudi Arabia back to the states and part of the shipment was 13 guitars and a rather complete (and fairly expensive) recording studio. It took me 2 weeks to just inventory the studio and then break down the cableing, clean and wrap, and pack wires. The rest of the house was packed in 3 days. BTW, the Pakistani/Sri Lankan/Saudi packing crew I had was fantastic - zero breakage, zero damage.

[Steve Roxberg]

I only move about a mile, but the items were store in a truck for a week. Here are some observastions.

1. Men moving furniture and heavy equipment get sweaty. It drips and is on their hands. Wrap and protech your cast iron. I have drops and hand prints that show to this day.
2. The packaging wrap like sharan wrap is great. I disassembled each machine and would the wrap the rails of the table saw together, board ends together, stand parts together, you get the idea. But I broke the equipment down.
3. Zip lock bags, I used them to keep screws and small parts together, and then used the plastic wrap to hold them to what they belonged to.

Good luck, the move will be fine.

[Wes Bischel]

Bill,
Make sure you inventory everything with pictures and specifics for each machine. Then take the time to review the mover's inventory list. A gentleman that moved to my area (moved by his company) had a number of tools "lost" during the move. They were not on the original manifest so it was his tough luck.

Sorry to hear you won't be home with the kids. I've been doing the Mr. Mom/consulting thing for almost 2 years now - best gig in town. :D

Wes

[Jim Becker]

Much of this comes down to choosing the right moving company and having a clear understanding of expectations. Since you're making a cross-country transition, you should be working with one of the "big boys" and be sure that the nature of your special items is clearly defined. When my wife and I moved to our present property, even though we were only going about 30 miles, we still chose a major moving name to do the work (they were actually competitive with local carriers) and had no problems. We did our own packing to save money and there were no issues with insurance...especially with pictures to back things up as being properly packed.

Major tools are the only things that require special consideration; protection from moisture and damage from other objects. Ideally, crating would be the answer, but it's not practical in some cases. (You could talk to a rigger about that to at least find out the cost) Slathering the cast iron with something protective and wrapping things up is at least a good measure to take. Removing things like cast iron wings and placing them inverted on top of the saw table with wax paper between the surfaces would be something I would do to insure that stresses were not placed on the mounting bolts, etc....cast iron can break if it receives a blow. Keep in mind that without crating, there are limits about what can go on top of what...that may require additional van space for the move.

As to the small stuff...I absolutely recommend you pack that yourself despite having to do the insurance dance. Why? Potential theft. You pack the boxes, taking pictures of the contents and making a list, thereof. Once the box is closed and taped, do NOT write what's in the box on the box; rather, use a coding system of colors/numbers/letters that will help you have those boxes placed properly at the other end without advertising what is in them. My sister-in-law lost a lot of wonderful hand tools in a move a number of years ago because she let the company pack them... Using a coding system lets you know what's there without making it hard to get things organized at the other end. In fact, it may be easier if you need to find a specific thing without unpacking everything. And with proper documentation, you should be able to deal with the insurance issues since inter-state moves are done like freight...by weight by default. You need to insure for the value and have documentation about what you have moved.

BTW, that plastic stretch wrap on a stick is the "best thing since sliced bread" for keeping things like your mechanic's tool chest drawers (and other furniture) from coming appart, etc. It's inexpensive, so don't be afraid to use it wherever it appears to be practical.

Good luck with your move! Despite the change in plans for you, it's "good to be wanted" and if the opportunity is right and works for your family, go for it...

[Ted Shrader]

Bill -

Congratulations on the new job! The Navy has moved me 13 times. All were with "Name Brand" companies, so recommend you interview a couple of them prior to making arrangements. They will also tell you about prohibited items - gasoline, propane bottles, compressed air, finishing supplies, etc.

Also recommend packing the smaller tools yourself. Lots of pictures and documentation. Pack them in relatively small and thus lightweight boxes - like 1.5 cu. ft. book boxes. You can get them commercially. The standard size also aids in packing the truck.

Keep the owners manuals and receipts separate - aids in proof of ownership should the need arise.

Remove wings, fences, etc from saws and so forth and crate them. The movers will use dollies and hand trucks to get them into the truck, so no wheels on the crates.

How many vehicles will you be moving across country? One option is to rent a truck, put your tools in the front and the spare car in the back. Will result in extra expense, but your stuff will be there.

If you already have a place to live at your destination it helps immensely. House to house moves go very smoothly. No interim storage of your stuff and the same driver (and possibly helper/co-driver) will be at both ends.

Remember - they are only inanimate things. They can always be replaced. It is just a royal PITA. If you have a sentimental tool or two that was Grandpa's, take those with you in the car.

Good luck,
Ted

[Paul B. Cresti]

Bill,
Last year I moved about 5 miles away and I packed the shop myself (with some help of course). I refused to allow some moving company touch any of my machinery. I ended up renting a forty foot truck with lift gate. I rented it for a week and took my time loading it and unloading it. I started to break down the machines ahead of renting. The only machine I crated was my 24" BS which needed to be on its back due to height restrictions. All of my smaller tools and miscellaneous machine parts were boxed, numbers were placed on the boxes and then I created a packing list/inventory. It has takenb me 15 months since my move to finally have time to set up shop again and if I did not have my packing list I would have been dead. As far as your cast iron make sure you put a heavy coat of grease on them to protect them, I did not and was sorry ( had to clean the light rust off of all of them) because who knows when you be able to set up again.

[Rob Littleton]

you guys are scaring me.............

I am moving from California to Arizona in a couple of months and I am gonna be doing this.....getting a 28 foot trailer for the first load, you know, the wifes shoes etc.......then the second trailer is for the shop. I aint thinking about breaking anything down......dont tell me Im crazy....i just cant face it :-(.

I will be doing the packing and un packing my self, they are just gonna drive it for me.

I will get the saran wrap stuff for the cabinets but the saw etc, will just push into the trailer.....

am i crazy ?????

[Bill Ryall]

Thanks all.

It is not a done deal yet- still in the works.

I am excited about the potential of the job, but dreading the move.


Bill R., still in PA

[Dennis Peacock]

you guys are scaring me.............

I am moving from California to Arizona in a couple of months and I am gonna be doing this.....getting a 28 foot trailer for the first load, you know, the wifes shoes etc.......then the second trailer is for the shop. I aint thinking about breaking anything down......dont tell me Im crazy....i just cant face it :-(.

I will be doing the packing and un packing my self, they are just gonna drive it for me.

I will get the saran wrap stuff for the cabinets but the saw etc, will just push into the trailer.....

am i crazy ?????


Rob and Bill......

I moved myself from Alabama to Arkansas.....it's NOT exactly across the country, but it was a 400 mile one way. By the time I priced a few moving companies and once I told them I wanted my ww'ing tools moved too....the price jumped $8K....Needless to say, I couldn't afford to pay almost $20K to move across three states. I rented the largest truck that Ryder had that had a lift gate on it and that was the truck where all my tools rode in. One of my machines is 1100 pounds all by itsself..!!! Now THAT was fun moving. I didn't break anything down and I packed it and strapped it all down and together and the move was fine. Unpacking where the friends and neighbors were no longer, was another fun project.....Not knowing anyone around and trying to wrestle this stuff by yourself is not fun.

All this was just over 4 years ago....and I will remember it for the rest of my life.!!!! :)