Moving the shop

[Brian Fennell]

Now that I've almost gotten my shop setup, my wife and I have finally managed to sell our house. I need some advice on how to move the equipment. How does one move a PM3520 lathe and Rikon 10-325 bandsaw to either a new location or a storage facility until said new location is found?

[Phil Thien]

Any reliable moving company can handle those no problem. I'd remove the table from the bandsaw, and the fence/rails from the table saw, but I'd leave the rest to them.

[Lee Schierer]

Any reliable moving company can handle those no problem. I'd remove the table from the bandsaw, and the fence/rails from the table saw, but I'd leave the rest to them.

The problem is most movers don't know much about power tools. If it needs moved they will pick it up by the most convenient place they can get a good grip, which might be the table saw wing or bandsaw table. The blade tilt hand wheel and lathe tool rest makes a good handles too. They don't understand that just because it is on wheels it may be top heavy and tip over when they try to run it up the ramp into the truck. I've seen movers pick up an 8" jointer by the ends of the tables and saw the shocked look on their faces when the gibbs broke. My advice is to watch them like a hawk and if you see them doing anything you don't like stop them immediately, they are your tools. Plus make sure every tool and accessory is listed on the manifest so that all the parts arrive on the other end.

You have no idea how many times the truck will be repacked before it gets to your final destination or whether the roof leaks. Protect all your tools with a good coating of Boeshield and don't wipe it down. Let it dry in place as it is sprayed, it will clean off easily at the destination with another spray down.

[Philip Rodriquez]

When I moved, I decided to do it myself. I rented a truck with a lift-gate and I was able to push everything up there by myself. The heaviest pieces were a 1,000 lb jointer and my 700 lb Saw Stop. The jointer, however, required an engine hoist to get it on the lift-gate.

As Lee said, movers will just grab your machines anywhere. The thought frightened me!

[Gary Venable]

While I have not had to move my shop we have hired professional piano movers to move large equipment racks for us were I work. You can also see video of a shop move here: http://thewoodwhisperer.com/shop-journal-2/

-Gary

[Paul Johnstone]

It's fine to have movers, if you will be there on loading day to explain about how to lift a jointer,etc
Honestly, in my experience, the movers want to avoid damage.. they aren't out to break your stuff.
For a jointer, for example, it makes sense to take the bed off the cabinet, so they can move it in two pieces
I don't think I'd bother taking the table off the bandsaw.. Every time I moved, the bandsaw was strapped to a handcart. That works fine. The lathe.. doesn't seem like there'd be much risk there.. I'd remove the tool rest and maybe the tailstock (if that is removable).. Obviously, take off anything like a chuck that could fall off and get lost.. Good advice for everything you move.

[Brian Fennell]

As an fyi, I used an engine lift with straps under the bed to lift the PM3520 up onto a flatbed trailer where I strapped it down. Worked pretty well.

[Matt Day]

I'll be moving again at the end of July. The first time I moved with my shop (VA to UT), I did it all myself with the help of a couple friends for the heavy lifting. Worked fine since I was in charge.

This time (UT to OH), my wife's new job is paying for the move so we're in the process of getting a moving company to move us. Their estimator stopped by last week to look over everything and the guy said I can't help due to insurance reasons, but I can be there to oversee, which I plan to do. I'm also planning on taking everything apart as much as possible so it's easier to move and there's less chance of them messing something up.

TS - remove wings
8" Jointer - unbolt top from base/motor, remove fence
Lathe (jet 1442) - remove motor, tailstock, unbolt legs
14" Rockwell BS - remove upper wheel assembly

My jointer is the hardest thing to move as the top is probably 400 something pounds and awkward to move. Took 4 guys each time.

[Chris Atzinger]

We are moving at the end of July, and I am mentally preparing myself for the move. How do you plan to box up all of the rest of your tools?

-Chris

[Lee Ludden]

One thing to beware of. If you purchase insurance from the movers, be sure and read the fine print on the policy. Many of them set a max value per piece moved at total policy amount/# of pieces moved. So if you have $50,000 in insurance and they move 500 individual items, the most the insurance will pay is $100 per item.

Had a client move offices and had $100K in movers insurance. They dropped a 4'x10'x3"thick granite desktop and were only on the hook for about $50 because they have moved an entire storeroom of records' boxes.

[Jerome Hanby]

I didn't trust the movers. I rented a truck with a lift gate and borrowed my Dad's shop crane. It was a lot of work, but I knew if anything got dropped or slammed, it would be my own doing. My move was a short distance, so i got a 15' truck and made multiple trips.

[Dan Hulbert]

I've moved my shop 4 times on company paid moves. I've only had one tool broken and the insurance claim more than covered the replacement. They broke an old 12" Crafstman bandsaw and I now have a used 14" Grizzly.

Each time I'ved moved I have added to my crate collection. When I get ready to pack my shop, I look arond at all my leftover wood tha will not make the move and build whatever crates and containers I can. For the larger crates, I add casters and end up with rolling tool boxes in my new shop. Wrap your tools ( I use newspaper) and pack them tight into the crates to minimize the risk of damage. Since these will be "packed by owner", you are liable for damaged contents unless the movers destroy the container. Another advantage to PBO is that your tools are hidden and not subject to walking away. Not that movers are dishonest, by why tempt fate.

Most companies want their paid moves to go smoothly and are quite generous in their insurance coverage. They really don't want to start a new employee off with problems.

Enjoy your new locations. We're on our 6th state now. Still looking for the perfect location.

[Jim Hill]

I made the move from Illinois to Texas about a year ago. Bandsaw tables were removed. 3520B lathe had the headstock, tailstock and legs removed. 15" Powermatic planer had the wings removed. 8" jointer broken into cabinet and bed. Cabinet saw had the wings removed. Cyclone was broken down. Basically, anything that could be removed to make a piece lighter, was. Part of the reason was that my shop was in a basement with a 90* turn in the stairs. I hired a moving company to come over with 4 worker bees and a supervisor. In addition to me! I watched like a hawk, along with my wife, and gave directions on how every piece was to be moved. The worker bees loaded it directly on the truck, which we rented and drove ourselves. I had another moving company unload at the end of the trip. Everything has been in storage until about 6 weeks ago. I've had a 30 x 40 shop built. Between me, my son, and son-in-law, we've moved everything to the new shop. Even, with my careful packing and watchful eye, there are a few scratches on metal that weren't there before. To be honest, the most damage was done by me as we moved the tools from storage to the shop. The most significant being the lathe headstock slipped a bit when I sat it down-and dented the fan cover. It was a lot of work, and I spent a fair amount of money hiring the loaders and unloaders, but it was money well spent. The loaders were unbelievably exhausted when they had finished loading the truck. Unloading wasn't nearly as tiring. It was more than I would have been able to do by myself, especially moving the tools up the stairs. I'm almost positive that had I not been watching, the movers would have moved everything the easiest way possible. I'm almost as sure that my "babies" would have arrived with more injuries.

[Chris Kennedy]

When I moved five years ago, I didn't have as many tools as I do now, but the movers did a fine job. Like someone said earlier -- they aren't out to break your stuff. When the movers arrived, we walked through the place together to discuss what was to be done and any special instructions. I gave them plenty of instructions when it came to the workshop and they did a really good job.

Regarding insurance, when we moved, it was a tariff based on weight of material moved. You could purchase extra coverage after the initial tariff, but your reimbursement was not determined by the weight of anything damaged. You may want to look into a separate rider for the move on your homeowner's policy.

Cheers,

Chris

[Jeff Monson]

A moving truck with a lift gate, or a small drop deck trailer. I really like the drop deck trailers, they go right to the ground, very minimal lifting required. If your machines are on mobile bases it makes it easier yet.