seeking for Moving Box And Packing Supplies
Question:
Anyone out there ever moved shop for a considerable distance? I am about to move 1000 miles and could use suggestions on how to move tablesaw (contractor), band saw, jointer, planer, drill press, lathe. I am having professional movers (eg. Mayflower/Bekins/Allied type folks) move most of my stuff, but have made a couple of trips with a horse trailer and can make a couple more. Can I trust professional movers to not mess up my precious tools? Note: before you suggest I move them myself, consider that some of these weigh 2-300 lbs and I am a small (and not young) woman. I managed to buy and put together these tools, but it was not easy to handle them
Answer:
_Seems like they would carry insurance to cover any damage that would occur.
Were your shop tools included in their bid for your move? The last time I
dealt with movers they were pretty specific about what they would move and
limits of liability for damages. I think I'd let them do the heavy lifting and
save my energy for getting everything tuned-up in the new shop. Check your
manuals for prepping the tools for travel, and take all your accessories off
the tools for separate packing. Then supervise loading and unloading
carefully. Just be sure to pin down the mover regarding the value of the tools
before hand so that if something was to happen there isn't a big a dispute over
damages.
_I just moved from California to North Carolina, a distance of about
3000 miles. My wife and I hired professional movers (Mayflower) and
are _very_ satisfied with their moving job. Here's a little
background about our move:
Our initial cost estimate included the movers packing everything for
us. However, the cost of materials and packing was over $3500 (they
charge sky high prices for boxes and packing materials). We decided
to buy all our own packing materials (a friend of ours works for a
company that sells packing stuff to commercial outfits). We paid only
$250 for two pallets of boxes, and only had to buy two mattress boxes
from the movers ($15 total). The big downside of this (and it's big)
is that the movers will not pack your stuff in any boxes they don't
supply (its a "law"). We were left with the job of packing
everything. All 11000 lbs of it.
I've been moved before (by United, if that makes any difference).
This was before I had any tools; the only critical pieces (my stereo
and computer) were packed in the original shipping boxes (you did save
yours, right?). One thing to remember about movers packing your
stuff: they want to do it as fast as possible, and they may not
understand/care/be aware of how delicate a chunk of steel can be (esp
if it's a Starrett square). They won't take the time to double (or
triple) pack certain items, and they won't sort/lable or organize your
tools so you can find them on the other end. If you want to guarantee
stuff will arrive undamaged, pack it yourself.
To make a long story short, my job was packing my shop (lots of tools
(stationary, power hand and neander-type hand tools)). This took me
two weeks to do, but everything came through fine.
The very first thing I did was clean all the sawdust off stuff, and
put a generous coat of rust preventative on all the steel and iron
surfaces (I used LPS-3, a thick brown waxy gel). It really really
works, and I only used about 1 cup for a whole shop. All my layout
tools (dial calipers, gage blocks, steel rules, etc. etc) were treated
and wrapped in blank newsprint (a great packing material, IMHO). We
bought two 50# packages (24"x36" sheets), used it generously, and
still have about 10# left. I had to pack all the odd bits (allen
wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.) in small cardboard boxes, because the
weight of all the tools made the machinist's tool chest (10 drawer)
too heavy for two people to lift. All the tool boxes were then packed
in a larger box, and well marked.
I essentially used this process for all my tools. Larger power hand
tools (router, circular saw) were placed in some wooden crates I had.
I also packed all my planes in a similar wooden crate, with, of
course, lots of packing material. Ditto for the Leigh dovetail jig,
my smaller clamps, and other wooden jigs I made that could not stand
dings or dents or bumps.
The key thing to remember is that you want to prevent hard contact
between the fragile tool and the crate/box. The box and packing serve
to spread the force of impact (it will happen) -around- the delicate
item, so it never "sees" the blow.
For the big stuff (table saw, jointer, band saw, floor drill press,
dust collector), all I did was remove loose or projecting bits like
the motor on the table saw, the upper bag, and hoses on the DC, etc.
I made sure to crank the table up on the drill press and wedge some
foam between it and the chuck. I didn't want my $150 Jacobs chuck
falling off along the way. I also put anti-rust goo on the jointer
knives, TS arbor, and all machined cast iron surfaces (saw blades and
router bits too!). All my stationary tools are on wheeled sleds
[space _was_ tight in my old shop :^)], so no lifting was required.
The movers simply wheeled the pieces up the ramp and into the truck.
The other thing that I feel ensured a good move was constant
supervision of the movers while they packed the stuff in the truck. I
had to remind them not to stack stuff on top of my jointer (the
tables, you know). One thing I had going for me was the driver - he
stayed with the load the whole way (there were two other shipments in
the truck - we were in the middle). He was an engineer (metallurgy,
and a victim of the DoD aerospace decline of the 80's and 90's), a
machinist and toolmaker. He appreciated the delicate handling tools
and equipment demand. He did catch the jointer thing too, I was just
faster
One final thing - get the insurance where YOU dictate the value of
your goods. I overestimated by 25% (it really doesn't cost that much
more) just for safe marging. Don't forget sales tax and shipping
charges when figuring total replacement costs.
Sorry about the ramble, but I feel that more info is better than a
short yes/no reply.
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