Moving soon...need advice

[Jason Morgan]

Will be moving from NY to WI soon and unfortunately that meand my shop tools will be moving also. Was wondering if anyone had sage words of advice on how far to dissasemble tools (I have contractor saw, 6" jointer, that I am most worried about everthing else is pretty stable)..

Thanks,

[Mike Heidrick]

I would ship them like they ship to you if a carier is moving them for you. I would get some pallets. Take the 6" jointer off the stand, flip it over and attach it to the pallet with cleats and or straps, Bolt the cabinet and motor to the pallet as well. What kind of saw do you have and how big a fence and table does it have. That will help decide how it should ship.

Are you moving the items, renting a truck, or hiring movers?

[Bob Yeager]

Having spent many years doing moving damage claims for furniture specifically, but seeing other damage also...this is my two bits of free advise...

1) buy ALL the insurance you can afford. Get the movers to explain "insurance" to you in words you can understand (that is not an insult to your intelligence)...they will often try to "soft pedal" THEIR responsibility..."don't worry about it, we are professionals and besides our insurance will cover you"...sounds good..EXACTLY what does that mean??? What about "replacement value" as opposed to repaired value?

2) I have seen way tooooo many claims where folks bought coverage for "60 cents a pound"...what that means is...say a chair weighs 10 lbs...they will pay only $6. to have the chair repaired. I have NEVER fixed ANY chair for $6.

3) Check with the state where the mover is licensed...to see if there are any unsettled claims or law suits against the mover...check the BBB for reputation.

4) Depending on WHO did the packing...will be responsible for damage. Often times the home owner will do the packing to save some $$$ and something gets damaged...where does the argument begin?

5) Becareful signing away any responisibility for "current or existing damage" unless you know FOR SURE it is there...photos are worth big $$$ when it comes to settleing any claim.

6) A video camera (discretely used) may be helpful in settleing any claims...often times the driver will hire local gorillas (day labor) to help, pay 'em cash...they are on their way...anything missing?

7) Not trying to scare you from movers...don't shoot the messenger...just don't trust them tooo far. They are usually working on a quote...so if they can cut some corners to save time...they make more $$$.

8) Really heavy stuff like tools...may be better off shipping with common carrier that has fork lifts and heavy equipment handling stuff. Most movers doing household moves don't have anything to lift heavy stuff, so damage can occur pretty easily.

9) Do your research on the movers...get as much advise as you can.

10) Don't pay anything extra...unless it is "necessary"...some unknown situation pops up...don't let them demand more $$$ upon delivery before they unload your stuff...call the cops, this is called extortion.

11) Ask LOTS of questions...get the answers in writing...in court, no paperwork...means you lose...you can't prove hear say in court, verbal promises are empty promises.

Bob

[John Hulett]

Bob - looks like sound advice for any move.

Jason - I was going to suggest selling your tools in NY and buying new in WI . That, or you can take Bob's advice. Good luck either way.

- John

[Brian Clevenger]

Sell the tools. Get fair market value, forgo the charge of shipping and hoping they end up right.

Then, when you get to the great north-central, replenish your shop with "Ol' Arn".

[Andrew Williams]

When I was in the recording studio biz, people were always trying to figure out what the safest way to send a huge recording console was..

Imagine a one-ton piece of sensitive electronics measuring 8 feet by 4 feet 3 feet costing about $200,000....

Generally they would go with moving companies and not with freight carriers. If they can handle full size grand pianos then they can handle 1500-2000 pounds and hopefully keep them in good shape.

Best of luck for the move!

[Jason Morgan]

I guess I am most concerned with the jointer, but its only a 6.25" ridgid that I spent about $350 for. In the end if I have to sell it at a substantial loss (due to damage) and buy new I can. I would think that the most I could get for it selling it now would be about $250. The saw it a powermatic "contractor" saw so its intended to be moves. I was going to take off the rails and the motor and go with that. The bandsaw I have is a Jet 12" model and should not be that hard to move. Another factor is that this is a company move, Im not paying for it. Dont know yet if that is good or bad.

Thanks again, Ill keep you all posted.

[David Genrich]

Two years ago, I moved from California to Texas and had to move my shop. A moving company did all packing, EXCEPT for my shop. For that, I created creates with wheels for every part. I made the creates so that nothing moved inside them. The movers where able to roll my creates onto the truck without problem. When they got to Texas, they had even re-arranged the creates, some going ontop of others, sideways. I had no damage to anything.

My creates where just 3/4" plywood with 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 framing, and 500lb rated wheels from Harbor Freight.

Next year, I am planning to move back to California, and will do the same thing.

Hope this helps,
David Genrich

[Jim Grill]

I recently had professional movers move us out of state.

I removed the motor, blade, and extension table from my contractor's saw and covered the top with thick plastic and two layers of cardboard topped with a piece of hardboard.

I already had a guy coming out to crate a few glass table tops and other fragile items. I removed the top from my jointer and had him crate it as well. I had to help him since it's pretty heavy.

The drill press and band saw were a moved as is with any loose parts, blades, etc. removed.

The moving company offered an insurance policy that covered up to $100 per pound replacement value. We had a few items that were more than $100 per pound to replace. I had to really think to make a list of those items in the shop. Router bits and hand planes are a good examples of items that can cost more than $100 per pound. The additional items cost me a little bit more to insure, but it wasn't much more and was worth the peace of mind.

We've been moved professionally twice and we had a claim the first time. They sent someone out to look at the damage and then decided with me on repair VS replace. I had no problems getting my claim handled. No tools were damaged that time.

The most recent move went smoothly. I had no damage to tools. Both times our belongings went to the moving company's storage facility while we looked for a house.

The drivers are usually independent contractors and they are responsible for paying their help and paying any claims. They carry their own insurance through the moving company and have to pay their own deductibles, too. Because of that arrangement they are very careful.

It helps if you can identify any damage before they leave, but I found damage after and they still paid the claim. In most states you have 9 months from the delivery date to file a claim, which gives you plenty of time to identify damage.

Everything gets an inventory number and they put a sticker on each item. These numbers are very important when filing a claim so make sure to keep good records and double check everything.

Best of luck to you.

[Scott Kuykendall]

I used PODS to move cross country. It took three 18 foot containers and everything made it fine. You pack and lock it and they pick it up and deliver to your new house. They really don't have a weight limit as long as the truck can lift it, the container with most of my shop in it did strain the lift.
Scott

[Michael Lutz]

When I moved from MI to IL I sold my craftsman TS, because I knew I wanted to upgrade from it. I didn't have jointer at the time. I do have a 1950's Delta drill press that I had to disassemble for the movers to take. Everything moved fine.

Mike

[Merle Clor]

I recently moved from NY to NM. I used ABF and hired local companies to load and unload the trailer. ABF was great. The loaders didn't do a very good job and some wooden furniture suffered-broken, rubbed, dinged, etc. The unloaders were okay, but not as careful as I would have been. There is no recourse. My tools made the trip well, except for the drill press which must have rocked on the cast iron base which snapped even though it was secured.

Check out movingscam.com for more info.

Good luck,
Merle

[Mark Patoka]

I've been in the same situation with several military moves over the years so whoever got the lowest bid was the company I had to deal with. Both my Craftsman TS and Jet 6" jointer have survived just fine with the moves. I had both on roll around bases which the movers actually liked so they didn't have to lift. They did cover/wrap the tops with moving blankets to protect them.

You may want to remove the motor on the TS since that would be most susceptible to damage hanging off the back end. I did pack my benchtop drill press and all the other tools myself in some old shipping containers I had so I knew there wouldn't be a problem. Just be warned that if you pack it yourself, the movers will annotate is as such on the inventory sheet and may not claim responsibility for that part of it if something is damaged.

I was also present when they loaded up the truck so they were usually more careful about everything. It's when it gets to the storage warehouse where it gets handled several times before being delivered to your new place where most of the damage seems to take place. Having it delivered from door to door and it never leaves the truck is the ideal situation.