My wife and I are in the market for a new house. As a result, I will be faced with the challenge of moving all of my equipment, out of my existing garage, in to a new garage (no stairs will be involved). With that said, I am looking for everyone’s advice on how they have moved heavy equipment and, if necessary, what kind of movers everyone would suggest.
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Here are the heavy pieces:
SawStop w/ 52” rails (about 700 lbs) on mobile base
Griz 10” SC jointer (about 900 lbs) on heavy casters
Jet 3 HP Shaper (500 lbs) on mobile base
Rikon 18” BS (400 or 500 lbs) on mobile base
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I’ve never rented a truck with a lift-gate. Would a mobile base allow me to simply load these tools on and off – or should I go through the expense of hiring professional movers? We are planning on moving everything else ourselves.
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Thoughts?
Replies
Don't forget regular movers who do it all the time. I once had this very heavy piano that took 4 men to move around. Two young guys came in and just picked it up and out the door and into a truck, never setting it down!
I personally wouldn't let movers anywhere near my shop. To say nothing of the trust issue, they will not know (despite the "professional" tag) how to carry things properly...what parts to lift by and what not to lift by. Aren't jointer tables just the perfect lifting device? They also will not report to you any damage that might not be visible, but potentially ruinous to your tools. I would enlist the help of trusted (preferably young) friends and CLOSELY supervise or help. Beer, pizza and a "C" note or two (after completion) is usually enough for college age kids. For older friends, beer, pizza and a promise to return the favor does the trick. My brother and law and I have been trading indentured servitude (labor assistance) days on various projects for years. Not to scare you, but will movers really listen to you when you tell them ten times not to use the table of your table saw or jointer as a lifting aid? They don't care, and you may not notice the damage right away. The aforementioned BIL helped me carry my SawStop and PM Lathe up the garage stairs and down the basement stairs with no problems (it was hard though) and no damage. I can't stress enough, nobody knows your tools or cares about them like you do.
Threeputt has a point. I wouldn't let my machines move an inch without being present. That said, a good moving company will have the equipment and experience moving heavy objects.
I recently moved my shop. It was only a five minute drive, so I thought I'd use friends... and my father in law. Despite my best efforts, I still found them man handling my band saw up the ramp (using the table). My FIL was very convincing at telling everybody that all machines have a side they can be laid down on...
Strong backs don't necessarily care for the correct way to do it, and nobody is going to put the same value on your tools as you. In the end I looked like a jerk for insisting that the tools be moved in the proper way. If you look like a jerk with movers, it's not a big deal.
In the end the machines survived relatively unhurt. The switch on the lathe was broken off, but it was in line to be replaced. I had to adjust the bandsaw a bit, and one of the mobile bases suffered a broken screw... But that's it.
Hire professional movers with their own truck. Nothing you have cannot be replaced with an insurance check except for your back and those of your friends.
It is surprising what you can do with a hand winch (come along.) There should be eyes in the front of the truck that you can hook on to and with some chain or cable hook on to the tool and pull it right up the ramp. It is slow but you don't want to get in a hurry when pulling it up the ramp.
When I moved my equipment from the house basement to the new shop, I tied the tool to the bucket of the tractor and drove it to the new location. It was only a hundred yards of less.
Everyone, thanks for the thoughts. I'm pretty much convinced that movers would not take care of things the way I would. As a result, I think I'd like to try to move the equipment myself. Does anyone have any experience with liftgates? Would the standard mobile base just run up on it?
No, it will not. Most liftgates are at least a couple of inches thick. You will need a means to lift the equiptment onto the gate.
Bruce"A man's got to know his limitations." Dirty Harry Calahan
The liftgate on any truck I've ever rented has sort of sloped down and most have been bent in some manner or other. So when the item is finally gotten onto the lift, I've sweat bullets wondering if it will stay there on the ride up or down. This is not a comfortable position to be in. Thus my previous post..... let someone else take the responsibility. One who knows their equipment, is experienced in handling heavy mobile objects in awkward positions, and has insurance in the event that something goes awry.If you insist in doing it yourself, rent a truck with a good ramp. These are much easier and safer for a novice to deal with. In fact, the pro who I hire to move new furniture pieces that are too large for my vehicle, uses a ramp. I would trust this man to move anything in my shop. He's a pro and takes as much pride in his work as I do in mine.
Yea, I just got off the phone with my dad and he gave me the same advice. I guess I'll call around and see if I can find someone with experience moving heavy machinery. I'm sure that everything will be okay if I supervise the move.
Tbagn,
Riggers used to move heavy equipment and I believe still do. Regardless of the method you use, I wish someone would address securing the motor while in transit. My heavy equipment came with a 'bracket' that held the motor still while in transit.
Having just plopped my "new" Unisaw down on a recently-arrived mobile base with extension, I can testify that I would not want to move the entire unit across uneven terrain and onto a lift gate. I'd be concerned about the twisting forces exerted when the extension and the main body aren't level and evenly supported.
Might be different with something like a band saw or jointer. But safety is paramount, don't let those things (a) get away from you going downhill or (b) rock and roll inside the truck.
Good Luck!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Talk to the local shops that sell woodworking machines. Find out who they use to deliver the machines. Hire them to move yours.
Scotty
I'm with Scott Y... For the weight range you're talking about, you want people with experience rigging and moving heavy equipment. I've worked as a furniture mover, and most such companies wouldn't have the experience moving heavy stuff with the exception of an occasional piano. If you are skilled at rigging and patient, you could move the equipment yourself AFTER doing a complete disassembly of all removable parts (fences, cast iron table wings, rails, etc.) When you get to the other end you will have to do a complete realignment anyway, so starting with the machines broken down is not really that much more effort and you have the advantage that the pieces are easier to move than the assembled unit. I also recommend that you get a really good hand truck and a really good dolly. (Mine's knicknamed the Dolly Lama and has 8 250 lb casters.) With those two items and the "come-along" mentioned above, I've moved safes, saws, an oil furnace and a jointer. Truck with a lift gate is a great idea too, although you can use the come-along to pull stuff up a ramp. Beware of using wooden ramps as any small defect (knot / check) in the wood can become a toe-crunching experience -- steel toed boots are highly recommended. Nuff said.
Do you have any tricks for keeping stuff on the dolly while pulling it up an incline? Do you block it? Screw it down? Clamp it? I wouldn't trust gravity.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Heavy duty nylon "tie-downs" available at most big box stores. The attached photo shows how I strapped an old safe to a dolly. I used the come-along with various anchor points in my basement to move it to the bilco door, then I hired a tow truck to winch it out of my basement not wanting to risk pulling down the old tree in my backyard. The estimated weight was about 1500 lbs. You can also use braided steel cable -- just check the max tensile load of the cable. Double or triple-up the cable clamps you use to make loops. You don't want a loop pulling free of the come-along at the wrong moment. If you assemble your own dolly from framing lumber as I did, make sure you aren't just using dry wall screws. I used 3/8" lag screws and PVA glue. Keep the center-of-gravity (heavier part) of the load low if at all possible. You don't want it tipping off the ramp.
I called all over the place and, after contacting one of the area's larger moving companies, I have been referred to a local rigging company (I live in the Denver, Co area). They are sending someone out to bid the job.
From what the guy told me that they can load it, via a crane, on to one of their flat bed trucks. Assuming they are properly insured and this doesn't cost me an arm and a leg... everything else sounds great. heck, my jointer even has big hooks for this very purpose!
Of course, I'll remove all of the fences and remove the extension wings, check the motor mounts, etc and I'll give everything a full tune-up before I put them back in service.
A sincere thanks to everyone that commented. I'm still a few months away from moving... but I'll post pics of this part of the process, when I finally do.
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