I’ve just found out I’m moving on September 1. This will be the first time I’ve moved my shop, as I’ve acquired all my stationary power tools in this stay. We have to pack ourselves, but the loading and lifting and moving will be professionally done. Any suggestions as how best to handle this move for my tools would be much appreciated. Thanks. Tom
“Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand”
Replies
cts,
How far are you moving and what major pieces of equipment are you moving?
Rich
120 miles--tablesaw (Ridgid TS3650), Ridgid 13" planer, griz 6" jointer, Steel City 14" bandsaw, SC benchtop mortiser. Those are the biggest machines. The rest are handtools, the bench and about 300 bft of lumber. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Tom, I too am moving and I have tons of equipment to move. In the end, I've decided to rent a truck with a lift gate and do it myself. My large equipment all sit on mobile bases and I plan on using an engine hoist, if necessary, to get the tools on to the lift.
Tools are:
18" Rikon BS, 3 hp jet shaper, SawStop w/ 52" rails, 10" griz jointer w/ SC. The rest of the stuff is under 200 lbs and not a problem.
I decided to move it myself because I was afraid someone would beat the hell out of my stuff. Even if they are insured, it will likely be several weeks before I get electricity to my new shop... and good luck filing a claim.
Can you imagine someone shoving a 1000lb jointer around by the end of the tables...
TbagnI won't be paying for my move, and it's happening so fast that I don't have much time to plan. So far, I've figured out that I'll tape signs down on the table saw wings and the jointer tables saying "do not lift and do not stack" and I'll point them out to the boss of the crew when they get here. We're packing ourselves, so the handtools will be fine. I'm going to use plastic twine to bind the lumber together in bundles, and I may put that in the back of my pickup rather than have them take it in the moving van. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Tom wrote:
I suggest you take the wings off of your tablesaw, that'll eliminate someone grabbing it by the wings despite your labels.
I'd label the jointer with "LIFT HERE" at appropriate points, as well as any other equipment that has defined lift points.
Remove all blades, including the jointer knives.
You might consider using zip ties for your lumber bundles, they can be linked together to make larger ties -- big ones are (or used to be) available at the Blue Borg.
Label all boxes and equipment with their locations at your new quarters. Even if they don't put them where you wish, it will save you time and frustration when you unpack. If you have multiple bedrooms, label boxes and furniture with the appropriate room, then label the rooms at your new quarters. Two inch masking tape and a sharpie are your friends.
Check with your movers about electronic stuff — when we moved last, the movers wouldn't handle electronic stuff, we packed and moved that ourselves.
Movers won't shelve books — save yourself time and annoyance by labelling boxes of books as to contents and shelf location.
Pick up some iced tea, soft drinks and bottled water, make sure the ice box is on at your new quarters, load them into it, or have a cooler with plenty of ice on hand. You and your movers will be grateful.
Make sure you have toilet paper in your new quarters. Pack a couple of backup rolls in your car.
Good luck!
Leon
Thanks, Leon. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
"I suggest you take the wings off of your table saw, that'll eliminate someone grabbing it by the wings despite your labels."
lol, I just read his post to me and I was going to make that same point! I'm not sure how heavy the TS is... but I'd bet that you could break the extension wings by lifting with them. Be sure to remove the rails and wings before letting the movers touch them.
As for the jointer, even with signs, I'd still bet $100.00 that the movers will use them for lifting. As a thought, see if the movers will put it in your truck. That way, you can make sure it gets there safe. If that doesn't work, you should plan on supervising. Your risk, your tool.
Tom,Don't want to rain on anyone parade, but make sure that your movers are cool with moving your 300 BF of lumber. We had a company paid move and pack courtesy of the boss lady's job, the mover wasn't too thrilled with bringing raw lumber with us, even though I made it quite clear from the outset it was part of the move. Lumber wound up below the tractor trailer bed in the compartment with the aluminum ramps they use. Good luck with your move.
I have never trusted anyone with my hand tools except for myself and my wife.
Moving time ......
I did it about 6 years ago. And my new shop wasn't even built yet, so my tools sat in rented storage for about 6 months.
The bad news is that each of your stationary tools will need to be tuned up after it's been moved.
The good news is that you have a chance to rethink shop layout, maybe build yourself a new bench or some storage cabinets.... and of course, all of your machines will have been recently tuned.
Since others will be handling and transporting, I would be sure to use a rust protectant on all of the important surfaces. It's impossible for them to prevent things like condensation.... maybe even a roof leak in transit.
Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
Like others have said: Take off the fences, wings, etc. Coat the tops with a light coat of wax, and while it is still soft, press plastic shrink wrap into it. Then warp everything with the plastic "flat twine", (more shrink wrap, but cut into thin rolls). The "flat twine" is great for bundling up boards, long clamps, the other odd shaped bits and parts, and putting a layer of protective foam onto things you don't want dented. If you had more time, I would say to palletize and box the big things if you can. Talk to the moving company now if possible, and get their input. They may have fork lifts and pallet jacks if they know thy will need them. If the jointer is in a palletized box, it may be easier for them to handle, with out manhandling it.
Lowers and Home Desperate sell heavy duty 27-gallon containers, rated to 400-lbs, (big black tubs with yellow lids), that can be stacked, and interlocked, that are great for hand tools, and hardware. Two bodies mate together to result in a box large enough for most bench top tools, such as a thickness planer. The lids/bodies have holes in the rims, that are perfect for securing with nylon wire ties. A word of warning from the "lessons learned" file: There are three brands of these, and both stores sell all three, depending on who was cheapest when the store bought them, and they don't interlock or stack well together. So, if you buy some pay attention to make sure they are the same.
Be sure the tools are back loaded so they come off first. I moved myself, and not having a house in the new location, I bought a used U-haul truck for the move, and temporary storage. My brother and nephew helped me move, and since the tools were all packed up, and the load would be more centered on the truck, we front loaded all the tools, and my too extensive hardware collection. (When Lowers and Home Desperate ran the smaller regional chains out of business, I spent a couple of thousand dollars at the clearance sales when things were down to 80% off. )
When I bought the "new" house it was a seventies ranch that needed work, (painting, floors refinished, some rewiring, etc., which I wanted to do before I filled it with furniture. All the tools, including the paint brushes, etc. were in the front of the truck behind the furniture. So, to get to the tools, I had to offload the furniture into the basement, then move it again after I did the work upstairs.
Take the small hand tools in the car with you. A drill, hammer, screw drivers, plumbing tools, etc. are nice to have on hand to work on the new house when you get there.
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