Tips on moving my woodshop? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by keepee@lemmy.world to c/woodworking@lemmy.ca

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My woodworking shop lives in my 2 car garage. I have several large-ish machines, like a sawstop PCS, a 12" jointer and a dust extraction system.

I'm in the US. I'm currently in the process of selling my house and moving to a different state 2000 miles away. I'm dreading having to move my woodshop. My main concern is those large machines getting damaged in transit. I plan to use pods for the move.

So, people who have gone through a similar move, do you have any tips? How did you pack large/heavy machines?

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[-] wjrii@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

        Shop around.  For us, PODS was pretty convenient as local storage, but surprisingly pricy for a non-local (~300mi) move.  I had a Shopsmith and a cast-iron contractor saw to consider.
Whether you use movers or not, YOU are the one who knows the machines. Spend time (and it will be a lot) to break them down as compact as they can be. Remove fences, belts, extensions, wings, cutter heads, basically anything that wobbles or offers a point of leverage.  Movers (if you use them) know heavy and they know awkward, but they don't know pulleys, tensioned induction motors, etc., and they sure don't know that the giant stick of steel tubing is the most precisely aligned part of your saw.
At least consider selling the big iron.  Sawstops in particular hold their value well, and then you can replace with something similar that only had to deal with a local move.  Any loss you take should be considered a moving expense.
Make sure chisels and blades are safely stowed, where "safely" means for both people and edges.
View the whole exercise as a chance to revisit your tooling, layout, and workflow, and accept now that you will be spending a lot of time reassembling and re-aligning.


      

[-] keepee@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks for the tips. I have considered selling the sawstop and other big tools, but with the current economic uncertainty, I'm worried about not being able to afford to re-buy the things I sell.

Who did you go with instead of PODS?

this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025

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