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Thread: For Those Who Have Moved Your Workshop...

  1. #1
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    Question For Those Who Have Moved Your Workshop...

    We'll be moving from the Chicago area to the West Palm Beach, FL area. I've been considering selling whatever the new owners of our house might want in the workshop. I have no idea how many homeowners would even be interested in having a workshop.

    Anyway, I'm looking at the cost of moving vs. the cost of purchasing something new when we get to the new place. Things like the table saw, band saw, and roll-around cabinets are heavy and/or bulky. But I don't know how much it would cost for movers to move them.

    If you've moved, how did you go about deciding what gets sold and what you took with you?

  2. #2
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    I'm considering moving soon and I haven't even entertained the idea of selling my tools and buying replacements after the move. I haven't looked at the cost but I can't imagine it would be at all a reasonable approach. I'm considering renting a truck and moving my shop separately from the household goods to hold down the cost of the household move. I am only going about 600 miles and I have a warehouse available for storage of the tools.

  3. #3
    One thing you might do is look in the craigslist of the place where you're going to see if tools you would want are available.

    If you're shipping your household goods, adding the tools will not be much of an add on. But you need to think about the gorillas they hire to do the moving - most are just "pick up" labor and may have very little experience in moving things, let alone tools. You need to take very good pictures. When I moved, the guys broke something while putting it in the truck. The driver made a cryptic note on the manifest which I didn't notice. When the stuff arrived, I noticed the damage and he tried to tell me that I had signed off on the manifest so the damage was not his fault.

    I've also had stuff stolen during a move so make SURE that anything small that has value is not available to the movers - jewelry, watches, coins, etc. You can try to sit on top of them during the packing but you can't be everywhere. Pack the small stuff yourself - if you can - and let them handle the big stuff.

    Good luck on your move.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  4. #4
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    Personally, I would take ALL my equipment with me. I can't imagine it would be cost-effective to sell the large ww'ing equipment only to have to replace it in the new location. But it all depends on if you will get basically the same equipment or upgrade or go used or go brand new or what-have-you. Things like cabinets I might not take or simple roll-around-carts that could be easily rebuilt I might not take BUT I probably would want to take just about everything. I spent a good amount of time slowly acquiring what I have and I like all of it and would see no reason not to use it in a new location and not have to go through the time and hassle of finding it all again.

    You might look up prices on Craigslist for items you are considering selling to see what they go for in the new place (assuming you can find it). What is the size of your shop space in the new place? Is it similar or larger or smaller...funny L-shape or something? That might help you decide.

    I don't know what it would cost to move all my heavy stuff either but as long as it wasn't outrageous, I would do it in a heartbeat. Most everything I have is on wheels anyway so moving it around wouldn't be too difficult. I think the cost comes in space on the truck or cost for a larger truck or multiple trucks or whatever.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  5. #5
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    I've never used a paid mover so I have no idea about that. I would rather replace furniture than try to replace my shop equipment. Most of it was acquired at deep discounts that would be hard to replicate in a new environment.
    "Live like no one else, so later, you can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE!"
    - Dave Ramsey

  6. #6
    Julie

    A long time ago (30 years), I moved about 90-100 miles, the move was via a moving company, hired by my new employer (I got a 1099, so I ended up paying for it on my taxes).

    At the time, I owned a 10" contractor saw, a 6" jointer, a router table, and the usual assortment of hand tools, both electric and non powered. I didn't sell a thing, as I knew I'd need to replace them if I sold them. I did leave my work bench, as the buyer of my house made it a condition of the sale of house.

    The movers balked at loading the saw and jointer (to heavy for them - a couple of wusses ), even when taken apart, so I ended up putting them on the truck and off again myself. From a basement shop into the basement in the "new" house.

    The one thing I can suggest is to watch how you load your boxes - I had way to much weight in the (cardboard) boxes we had.

    Hope this helps

    Jim

  7. #7
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    I moved 50 miles 2 years ago. I sold everything big. Let someone else worry about taking it apart, moving it, and reassembling it.
    Guy that bought my planer dropped it, and the guy that bought my TS hurt his back, but those were not my problems.

  8. #8
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    Julie,take the table off of your bandsaw before the movers break it off trying to carry the bandsaw by it. Or by letting it tip over. Also an excellent idea to remove the extension leaves from your table saw. They are very easily broken off also,and should NEVER be used as handles when moving the saw. BEST HEED THIS ADVICE.
    Last edited by george wilson; 08-27-2014 at 3:46 PM.

  9. #9
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    I moved a couple of years ago. 800 miles or so. My tool collection was not huge, but there was a table saw, drill press, bench grinder, dust collector, band saw and a goodly assortment of hand tools. I broke things down--such as removing the top of the table saw.

    It all "seems" heavy, until you compare it with a house full of furniture, books, dishes and what not. Then, it just becomes part of the "load". To the mover, it is not "outstanding" one way or the other.

    We used a first class mover who wrapped everything in blankets, then shrink wrapped it as well. Nothing was broken or damaged; nothing was missing.


    I never considered selling and replacing. In fact, I bundled up wood planks and cut-offs as well and moved those. The mover says he saw it all the time. Nothing special.

    BTW, take you time picking out a mover. You don't want an outfit that uses "pick up labor" from the local unemployment pool. Try to get the same guys who load you to go along and unload you. Be suspicious if you use a national brand and they say they will get labor from the local franchise when you get to the destination: many times that means "from the local pool".

    The additional costs for "good" are nominal in the overall scheme of things and well worth the expense.

  10. #10
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    Thank you for the replies! Lots of good information here.

    What I'm looking at is a combination of tools that might have safety issues (like a table saw w/o a riving knife), older tools I'd like to upgrade and shop carts that are heavy and bulky and just weren't very well designed in the first place. I haven't replaced them or built something better because they are there right now and I make it work. But there are a number of things that really bother me and I don't want to drag them 1200 miles to the new place. Yet some still have value.

    I can't get a 300 lb bandsaw out of the basement, as well as a lot of other tools. And getting the kids over at the same time to help would take a miracle. So I'll have to hire movers. And since there are other heavy items in the house and the distance is what it is, movers are a must. We're trying to decide what furniture we really want to take with us. Some of it is pretty old and not worth moving. And that got me to thinking how nice it would be to set up the new shop the way I want. You know, retiree style.

    But if I'm being honest with myself, truth is I want some new tools, and I'm looking for some support.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    But if I'm being honest with myself, truth is I want some new tools, and I'm looking for some support.
    I KNEW it!!!! So I expect to find some stuff in the Classifieds soon....
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  12. #12
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    is the moving company "Mayflower " still in business

  13. #13
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    I moved my entire shop about 1200 miles almost 5 years ago. I had a basement shop in Illinois, where I hired a local moving company to remove the tools from my basement and load them on to a rented Penske truck. I forget what I paid them for the loading; it wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it from an exertion standpoint. I drove the truck to save on moving expenses. When I got to Texas, I hired another moving company to unload and place my tools in a storage facility. Would I do it the same way today? NO, I wouldn't. I wish I would have sold my General 650 cabinet saw, my Jet 18 inch BS, my 8 inch Grizzly jointer, as well as all my other large equipment. By the time I paid for the loading, unloading, renting the truck, paying for fuel, room on the truck which could have been used for other items, and storage fees until I could get my new shop, I spent a huge amount of money. I would have been better selling the stuff and replacing and/or upgrading when I got here. I still would have moved all my smaller equipment and ancillary tools. I think I could have upgraded all the larger shop tools (think SawStop, MM etc) and not really spent much more money than I did. Just my opinion.

  14. #14
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    My longest move was paid by my employer. I moved my tools. The last move we paid for it ourselves. However, I think the books were actually more work and expense to move. I'd move them. If you have a van full of just you belongings, they go straight through will little chance of losing stuff. I would do the prep on the equipment myself. Let the movers do the lifting.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  15. #15
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    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?

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