- 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.
this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025
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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?
You're probably going to want to hire a moving company for a shop that big and a distance that far.
Remove any blades, lock anything that locks like a mitre saw arm. Cover machines surfaces with cardboard or even wood. Wrap with moving moving blankets.
On top of this, see if you can watch any unboxing videos of this stuff and recreate the packing for yourself.
While I’m not a fan of insurance, it might be worth considering getting a moving insurance to cover any potential damage to your expensive items.
That said, moving blankets and industrial Seran wrap would be my packing tools of choice for your shop tools.
Insurance is a form of gambling.
For the large items, if they could fit on a pallet, buy or make the pallets. Rent a metal strap binder. Cut some 2x4 the width of your pallet and strap them to the pallet. Then box it off with 1/4" ply. If possible lay heavy side down.
Wrap everything in moving blankets and secure with ratchet straps.
If you have anything really heavy, you might see if you can rent or borrow a small tractor with a hydraulic liftt and forks. I lugged a planer (300+ lbs) into my basement shop by myself, with a refrigerator dolly. I won't make that mistake again.