[OT ?] How to move a shop?

I am in the process of moving my (meager) amount of tooling and other assorted junk. Can anyone offer me some advice as to how to pack it all up?

Right now it seems that most of the boxes either wind up far too heavy to move or they wind up full of random junk.

Use small boxes.

What about odds and ends of metal? Those seem to pose the most trouble.

Maxim, I was going to start a thread about this which I will when time permits.

The way I packed up my misc heavy stuff is this:



There are a number (4-5 usually) of independently supported "shelves" internal to the crate which have any number of things strapped or screwed to them. I bought a roll of heavy brown kraft paper from the local Home Dee for helping to keep smaller/lighter items apart in transit. Usual tactic was to position the heavy things, screw/block them down, and then fill in the gaps with lighter items. I have basically $50 or so in each crate in terms of wood, the pallet was free. I added the two steel "belt" bands just to prevent a nasty on-road blowout. I do trust the wood screws but my stuff scattered all over the highway was an ugly picture I didn't want to have to deal with. One side panel has the plywood sawed in half (top to bottom) just for ease of reaching the bottom, and screwed back into completion as the crate fills.

Note carefully what's on each shelf...I have this recorded in my "shop notebook". Also try to be strategic so that certain things are on the last/top shelf and can be accessed simply by removing the wood-screws from the top. Use liberal LPS3 or some other rust-preventative on anything which could pickup some surface rust.

The key piece of this which you've probably nearly instantly noted is that it requires a forklift to handle, but that's the advantage of having the lift is the ability to densely pack (I estimate 2000 lbs for one of the pallets). Without the forklift it could be moved with a pallet jack, or simply built upon a trailer and loaded/unloaded right there.

Drill-rod lengths will fit in there.

For long pieces, I'll build a shallow, long crate. I have a pallet that I picked up which is that size, I just need to get the plywood bottom and sides made up. Another possibility is to use the steel banding to a flat skid and go that route, although I like the extra security of having wooden sides and top in case something were to get loose.

Possibly another option is to rent a forklift for a day. It's not serious money and they pickup and deliver on a large-sized rollback truck.

Good luck with your move and drink plenty of water

Adding: for scale, the crate is 4' wide, 3' deep front/back from the photo, and 4' tall. The pallet is kind of a non-standard offering but worked well.

You can get wooden boxes from a army surplus store used for rockets and ammo that work great for heavy stuff but be carefull, you can make them to heavy to lift. The metal ammo cans are handy also. Keep the long metal you have and any other pieces that are hard to find. Toss the small scraps we all keep. Protect your machines with a coat of spray. If using a van type trk be sure to secure the machines to the wall so they don't flop over. I have moved my shop several times.

I am reminded of a famous person's suggestion
about stock like that. Sometimes it's better
to figure out what the true moving cost is,
compared with purchasing brand new stock, when
it is needed, at the other end.

I think if I had to move my shop, I would
retain at most 1/10 of the random bits of
stock I've collected over the years.

Jim

The last time I moved, 18 years ago I had a contractor friend make me a bunch of very heavy crates on casters...... having about 4 months to plan this we were able to scrounge the super heavy casters and stock in enough scrap wood that this was all done at NO cost. The machines etc were all crated and could easily be rolled do the ramp of a truck.... this was also great as this was all stored in a interim shop was the new one was being built so everything had to move twice......... I think when I do it again I will use a similar approach however I since it would be a long move move I think I would discard a lot of replaceable stock........ why move something if that you might not use when the cost to move is almost equal to the replacement cost......

One thing I need to add...if you rent a forklift...be very very careful that the machine will fit inside your garage door. Mine fit by about 1/2" with the mast tilted fully forward, slightly more clearance opens up as the load increases.

Otherwise you can be trucking along and cause a great deal of damage! (I have not yet, but nicked the garage door gasket once in a moment of indiscretion)

Regarding moving metal stock, you can place a rough figure around $1 per lb...so add it up and see what your wallet can tolerate.

Get a roll of stretch wrap. It is amazing how handy that will be for the move..
You can grab a bundle of tubing, or rods and wrap them up, accessories can be bundled together, etc.
And if they are wrapped up, they will not rattle against themselves.

Vice jaws and fixtures can be bundled together...

101 uses for a move.
Pete

A suggestion I would add is to make sure your boxes of goodies weigh no more than you can lift alone.

The pallet idea is a good one as long as you live in a world of smooth concrete floors, wide doors and always at hand lifting equipment.

I can only wish I lived in that world. ;<)

What happens when you have to store your stuff in a building with a crushed rock floor?

Or store it in a building with only a walk in door?

Or move it up or down stairs?

Or only have at your disposal a handcart?

When I have used the pallet approach, I have made sure that the inner containers are loaded within my lifting capability....and I seem to remember reading somewhere that 70 lbs. is a magic number to shoot for. Locating smaller managable containers within the larger pallet container is the best of both worlds...flexibility and efficiency.

Now I know many of you will think that approach is making for alot of additional work but when it comes to being able to move and store your workshop stuff, smaller is likely to be better.

The other major theme that counts is...yes, I am saying it...leaving some items behind. There is a real cost in moving anything and if you can buy it easily on the other end, then that item is a candidate for selling, donating or giving it to someone else. Metal stock falls into this category. Machines that you are serious about upgrading to a better one is another category.

You may also want to beware of the temporary storage trap. If for some reason you have to rent storage to hold your processions until their final home is ready, be sure to factor that cost in before you move. Many times that storage cost is high and will be a deciding difference between moving versus buying it again at the new location.

Good luck with the move and let us know how it turns out.

TMT

Another thought. Buy a Magliner 2-wheel hand-truck with the balloon tires (~120 NIB) and a load of milk-crates (or build the wooden crates roughly that size) There are "industrial packaging" companies, Global comes to mind, that have all kinds of blow-molded modular bins/boxes designed for transporting and organizing production parts of various sizes that you might own with not much investment.

The Magliner is good to the ~300 lb range until you have to get into the refrigerator hand-truck arena, and that will go up to around 600-700 lbs before I run out of strength and/or counterweight

The balloon (full pneumatic) tires on the hand-cart will easily conquer the gravel, they have some slippery-strips that double as a stair-climber and work surprisingly well for how non-functional they look.

I think if I had to move my shop, I would
retain at most 1/10 of the random bits of
stock I've collected over the years.

Click to expand...

Jim, have you checked any metal prices lately?
I don't think I would be throwing anything away
that was identified. Shipping stuff all the way
across the country is only 50-70 cents a pound,
scrap aluminum is up to 85 cents here.

Thank you for the tips. I don't have a lot of machinery (drill press, SB 9" lathe) so thats not too much of a problem. All the other little pieces that have been scavanged are, I just can't throw them away.

As far as the metal, I think I will keep the larger more expensive stuff and scrap the rest. No space, how much is brass going for in NJ? I have a bunch of parts from the colum of a 1968 vintage electron microscope and there must be a couple hundred pounds of brass there.

On the brass, just be careful...as stated, figure out if you can afford to buy the stuff new again, later.

Not that you have the time but I think you'd be astounded at what "a couple hundred pounds" of brass cost at new prices.

Build your crate tall and vertical, just so it's easy enough to drop the pieces in, and its stable enough not to fall over. This style of crate is easily tipped back, picked up and rolled by a hand-truck.