On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 01:11:43 GMT, AndyB
wrote:


I come to the oracles seeking the wisdom of the ages.

(heh)

More specifically.... I am planning on moving in a few months and I want
some advice on moving my larger stationary tools.

Can I trust a regular moving company to move power tools with precision
surfaces/mechanisms? I am most concerned about my planer, jointer,
contractor style table saw, and band saw. I also have a floor standing
drill press.

Can a regular mover handle these ok?
Are there special moving companies?
Is it really worth begging my friends to lug heavy metal for me?

Any and all advice appreciated. I have never done this before. Last time I
moved was BWW (before woodworking) and my tools fit in a couple of
cardboard boxes. How time flies and shops fill up.

I don't know how big your tools are, so this may be very good or very
bad advice. When I moved, I used a furniture dolly (the kind with the
strap to hold things in place when moving) and a low flatbed trailer
with a ramp, and moved all my tools myself. The major caveats to this
approach are that 1. My tools mainly fall into the "benchtop"
category, and even with stands full of ballast, the heaviest weighs
about 250 pounds, 2. I work with steel all day, so too heavy for me
and too heavy for, say, a computer programmer are not necessarily the
same thing, 3. My stands were all built by me, and have enough surface
area below the tools themselves to strap the stands down securely
without touching the fences or work surfaces, and 4. My shop was
moving from a street-level garage to a street-level basement- no
stairs or hills were involved in the move.

As long as you can do it, I'd vote for moving the tools yourself- no
one is going to be more careful with your shop than you are. But if
you've got a Unisaw and a 8" freestanding jointer and a 20" bandsaw,
you may be out of luck- in that case, I'd personally go for another
poster's suggestion of using a piano moving company.


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