For Those Who Have Moved Your Workshop...

[Chris Damm]

We're getting ready to move about 800 miles south. I'm moving my shop with the help of my youngest son and my 18 YO grandson. I have a car trailer and everything should fit. (I'll have to make a 2nd trip for my El Camino). I don't trust the movers to touch my tools! I've witnessed the way some of them handle themselves.

[Jim Matthews]

This may be an opportunity to upgrade, or reduce your tool inventory. Anything you feel is surplus, in your current shop? Cast iron suffers in Florida.

[Julie Moriarty]

Not TOO much of a hijack I hope. How would using something like PODS or UPack and hire packing & unpacking for the large stuff compare to using a moving company? Particularly on a long distance move like Julie's? Or if you need to store part of the move for a while, like a shop?

I've been thinking about that option. I doubt we'll sell this house and have another ready to move into when I get down there. My SO will be getting an apartment to start work and I'll stay here until the house is sold. The PODS/UPack idea is a good one but I'll still need strong bodies to move stuff. Maybe our son and his friends can help on this end.

This may be an opportunity to upgrade, or reduce your tool inventory. Anything you feel is surplus, in your current shop? Cast iron suffers in Florida.

I've become almost intolerant of dust. I say almost because some dust in inevitable. Some tools I have are great offenders, mostly because dust collecting technology hardly existed when I bought them new. Table saw, miter saw and router table probably represent 95% of the dust that doesn't make it into the dust collectors. That's something I'd love to resolve and despite my best efforts, I haven't gained much ground. So I'm seeing this as an opportunity to upgrade some tools and, if I do, focus on safety features too.

As to the cast iron, what's the alternative?

Oh, one other thing Jim, what does "reduce your tool inventory" mean?

[Rick Potter]

One note on possible theft.

When we moved we needed to store our belongings for a month or so. United Van Lines charged us storage but never took it out of the trailer. We put our own lock on their trailer when it was loaded, and removed it when they unloaded a month or so later. Our move was local, but I assume they could do that on a cross country move with a large moving company.

Rick Potter

[Matt Day]

I've moved twice in the past five years, with my shop. The first time I packed up everything and disassembled the bigger tools and with the help of my friends (we were about 30 at the time) loaded up a rental truck along with our furniture and everything else we owned at the time (before we owned a house and had two kids). Then drive across country pulling a car. That was an adventure, but I probably wouldn't do it again.
The next time we had paid movers and they moved my shop (with me watching like a hawk and telling them what they could and couldn't do). The movers charged by weight, so the heavy tools cost my wife's employer quite a bit I bet!
The next time we move, if it's on our dime, I plan to rent a PODS unit for my shop and load the small to medium sized things by myself at my leisure, and the heavy stuff with the help of a couple friends and a stair climbing dolly.
I will plan to get rid of any large tools I'd rather upgrade like my bulky RAS.
Remember that all the little stuff take up a lot of time to pack and space. Think about all the clamps, handheld power tools, fasteners, finishes, jigs, and all of those things!
Good luck with your move!

[Hunter Locke]

...Cast iron suffers in Florida.

This is the truth! ^^

[Hunter Locke]

A friend of mine moved himself and small shop. He rented a truck, put all of his large tools and toolboxes etc. on pallets. He then rented a forklift at his departure location to load, then again at his new place to unload.

It's "a" way.

[John Coloccia]

When I moved from California back to the East Coast, not only did I have a shop full of tool, but I transported a partially built airplane that I was working on. Fuselage frame was complete. Wings were complete. This thing was HUGE. In the end, I ended up having a whole trailer all to myself. It took a LONG time until I could find someone to touch it because it was an "airplane". I finally found someone to transport it by rail. They backed out just a couple of days before my move!!!

I scrambled and scrambled and found someone to do it. It cost about 11,000. I finally convinced them to do it by telling them it's not an airplane...it's a metal sculpture. LOL. Now understand, I had an AIRPLANE in the truck.

Before you make any decisions, get quotes. You will take a hit because the stuff doesn't stack, but it won't be as bad as you think. Just be sure you're there when they pack/load and make sure they do it YOUR way, not their way. When you get the quote, make sure they know they're doing it YOUR way, not their way.

That is, unless you want to upgrade all your tools. In that case, sell everything and start over

I'm moving soon myself. Not far away...just to another home yet TBD. I'm dreading the process of dismantling the shop and reassembling it. Ugh. You gotta do what you gotta do, though. But Listen...this is a golden opportunity to make the new shop "right". Take the time to insulate and climate control the shop. Take the time to run whatever wiring you need to run. It will be EASY if you do it before you're up and running. You will have a wonderful shop that is climate controlled year round. You'll thank me, and your tools will thank you

[Greg Portland]

When I moved, the incremental increase for my shop was shockingly cheap (<$500 IIRC). You've basically paid for the truck; the cost is similar whether it's full or empty. I agree with the previous posters... expect your tools will be mishandled. Additionally, take a close look @ the moving insurance. Often it covers by-the-pound breakage so the deductible for an 8oz handle is not going to be worth it. Additional insurance may be prudent.

[Dan Hintz]

Financially, the equation is pretty simple. Take the replacement cost of an item and subtract what you're likely to get by selling it. If the difference is less than the cost of moving it, sell it. You could even sway the equation a bit and say if the difference is less than or no greater than X% over the cost of moving it, sell it just to avoid the hassle of moving and consider it depreciation loss.

[Garth Almgren]

As to the cast iron, what's the alternative?

Granite is the one that comes to mind.

[John Coloccia]

The alternative is climate controlling the shop. You won't be able to build with wood worth a darn, and then take it into your nice, air conditioned house, if you don't do this. This is especially important for Julie since she's embarked on the instrument building. You just plain old can't do that effectively unless you can drive the humidity in the shop down to something reasonable, unless you commit to your instruments never living indoors.

The good news is that it's not that hard to do in Florida. An air conditioner in the shop cools and dries the air, so the dehumidifier requirements won't be terrible. In my shop in Connecticut, fall and spring are very hard to climate control. It's not hot enough to run an air conditioner, so my dehumidifier hardly keeps up. Some weeks, I've resorted to running the heater and the air conditioner at the same time in an effort to keep the humidity reasonable so that I can keep working. Talk about a waste of money! Contrast that with winter where I sometimes have to fill my humidifier twice a day.

[Roger Feeley]

I will be moving from Kansas City to northern VA in the next year. If the buy of my house would like to give me what I paid for my SawStop ICS, I will sell just to avoid having it moved out of the basement. Gravity was on our side going down. Going up, not so much.

I would also give a very good price on the air compressor. I have it permanently connected to some plumbing that takes air to the garage and other places around the basement. It will be a pain to remove.

[Julie Moriarty]

That is, unless you want to upgrade all your tools. In that case, sell everything and start over

But Listen...this is a golden opportunity to make the new shop "right". Take the time to insulate and climate control the shop. Take the time to run whatever wiring you need to run. It will be EASY if you do it before you're up and running. You will have a wonderful shop that is climate controlled year round. You'll thank me, and your tools will thank you

That sounds like music to my ears.

[John Sanford]

I moved everything myself 3 1/2 years ago, my 4th+ move of myself and shop this century. Any tools that you plan on upgrading, sell. Selling will both simplify your move, and move the upgrade date forward. Shop carts and such, if they aren't quite right, go ahead and sell/donate them as well. Be brutal with wood. Any and all particle board, MDF, construction grade plywood and lumber, leave behind. Only take the really good stuff. Cull, then cull again. Finishes? Probably be best to not bother with them, by the time you get set back up, they'll likely be past their prime, except for lacquers, which have very long shelf life.

Now, the fact is, table saws actually can get pretty small. Take the wings off, take the fence and rail(s) off, and it's no bigger than a chair. Bandsaws and drill presses present different concerns, namely, they MUST be secured properly or they WILL fall over in transit. Oh, and as noted previously, remove the table for the bandsaw, AND do the same for the drill press, else mover-apes may attempt to hoist thereby.