The Woodworking Life

Moving with Tools

comments (9) July 10th, 2009 in blogs

Patrick McCombe, contributor

6 users recommend

The tools to relocate. Shaped like an L and too small for working in, my workshop is used for tool storage. Projects must be built outside
Despite its small size, the shop contains hundreds of hand and power tools for woodworking and construction. The red tool chest holds my mechanics tools.

Power tools. Most of my portable power tools are stored on shelves in a narrow space next to the furnace. In some places theyre arranged two-deep to save space.

Outdoor woodworking. Obviously with such a small shop, I do my woodworking outside. For bigger projects I have an assembly/outfeed table built from 2x4s and a sheet of OSB. I just leave it outside covered with a tarp. When it gets too beat up, I put the lumber in the burn pile and take the OSB to the dump. This table required $25 in material and took about an hour to build.

The tools to relocate. Shaped like an "L" and too small for working in, my workshop is used for tool storage. Projects must be built outside

Despite its small size, the shop contains hundreds of hand and power tools for woodworking and construction. The red tool chest holds my mechanic's tools.

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An estimator from the moving company is coming to our house this Friday. It’s the result of a new job at Fine Woodworking Magazine and a conversation with a pleasant and efficient woman who answered the phone at the moving company.

At first she thought they could give me a quote for our relocation to Connecticut by asking a few questions over the phone. That way they wouldn’t need to send out an estimator, she reasoned. It sounded fine to me, so I started by telling her my wife and I didn’t really have a lot of stuff. She asked how many bedrooms were in our home. Two, I said. She asked if I had a garage (no), anything in the attic (no, too hard to get to). Then she asked, “Do you have anything out of the ordinary, large collections, guns, tools?”

That’s when I had to mention my workshop—which despite its present location in the 100 square-foot mechanical room of our small home— involves many hand and power tools, takes up a surprising amount of space and weight. I’m guessing, hundreds of pounds, maybe more.

By her silence it was obvious this raised a red flag. “Is it woodworking equipment, she asked. “Some,” I answered. “But nothing really big.” She paused again-then replied, “I think we’ll need to have someone take a look at what you’ve got.” I'll let you know what the estimator says.

My wife and I going to look at new places today. I'm hoping to find a space with a garage so I don't have to work outside all the time.

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Comments (9)

DLBavaro writes: Good luck with your move to Connecticut. I will be moving my one man shop from LI,NY to Ct myself. The move allows a slight upgrade in shopspace and hopefully an upgrade in lifestyle. I am going to the town of Putnam. I will keep my eyes out for another p/u truck making u-turns. Again good luck and godspeed.
Posted: 11:50 am on August 28th

RJLII writes: I relocated 2 years ago and had to move my shop too. Rather than count on someone to pack properly, I did it myself. My planes and other hand tools without durable and secure dedicated storage were packed in the stackable clear plastic storage tubs available at home centers. I caught a sale and picked up a dozen for cheap. The table saw was disassembled, as was the drill press. It took a while to get everything set back up but the advance care was worth it. Nothing was so much as scratched. The tubs are still handy to have as well.
Posted: 11:32 am on July 22nd

MgRasmussen writes: As a military member who has had his workshop moved 5 times by moving companies, I would conservatively guess that you've got 2-3,000 pounds of equipment in your workshop. And watch the shippers pack everything, just to make sure that they do it right. 90% of them will, but the other 10% will destroy your tools.
Posted: 12:08 pm on July 19th

Jim D. writes: I moved from California to Ohio about five years ago, and brought my whole shop with me - cabinet saw, 16" Laguna bs, 9" metal lathe, 6" jointer, a 600 pound bench, and a whole lot of hand tools, including a plane collection of over 100 items.

Allied Van Lines handled the move. Everything was carefully packed, and carefully handled on both ends of the move. The big tools were carefully covered/blanked, but not crated. Everything else was wrapped and boxed.

The total household move was just over 17,000 pounds. Cost was just under $10,000.00. We lost absolutely nothing in the move. Not even a broken dish!

It did take us several months to get everything unpacked and put in place, though...

BTW, in this move, I went from a shared two-car garage to a dedicated 26 X 32 shop building - definitely an upgrade!

Jim D.
Posted: 10:09 am on July 14th

tenhoeda writes: When I relocated from NC to PA 2 1/2 years ago, the moving company did an awesome job in moving my tools. The biggest tool I have is a Craftsman hybrid table saw, so it's not one of the heavy beasts but still a chore. I only had to make a few adjustments to bring all the tools back into shape. 6 months ago I moved again (I'm renting) and did it myself. Now THAT was an experience I hope not to have to repeat. Next time I am going to have to hire someone to either help or move the shop entirely. In order for me and the help I had to move the tools, things had to be broken down as much as possible to remove weight and size to get it into my new basement shop. Then put back together again. Thankfully I didn't loose anything or have any mishaps. Close calls, but no mishaps.

Good luck with your move

Dave
Posted: 10:43 pm on July 13th

farms100 writes: I know few wood workers that relocated in the last few years. Most of them have told me it would have been smarter and cheaper to sell off the bigger stationary tools. Then using that seed money to defray the cost of replacement, and or upgrading the tooling.

Posted: 1:24 pm on July 11th

Beckum writes: Best of luck in your new venture! Looks like, with moving inside, you're going to get to add a dust collector to your assortment. Have fun!

Bill
Posted: 5:14 pm on July 10th

patrick_mccombe writes: Thanks for the welcome, Chuck. My "shop" has been in Stowe, VT, so I know a little about New England winters. I'm hoping to work year round now. I have been trading the tools for cross-country skis during the cold weather.
Posted: 2:52 pm on July 10th

WoodLess writes: Welcome to Connecticut. Don't know where you're coming from but you need a garage or basement shop because you're not going to work outside during Connecticut winters. That said, if it is a garage workshop you'll need to find a way to heat it.

Chuck
Posted: 12:54 pm on July 10th

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