Moving shop. What to do with machinery?

[GarageWarrior]

Getting fed up with moving/relocating. Seems like it became my full time job, and I've only moved 30 miles away from my last shop. Can really use some advice on how you guys handle machinery and other bulky stuff when relocating.

I have a bunch of machines from my hobby woodworking/metalworking/auto-repair shop. Things like woodworking and metal working band-saws, radial arm saw, belt/disk sander, air compressors, welders, shop press, cement mixer, sand blasters/cabinet, lathe/mill, metal brake/slip roll/shear, drill press, tool and cutter grinder, miter saw, cherry picker, etc.

Moved my shop a few months ago. Most of the stuff I boxed and partially disassembled. Good part is that almost nothing got damaged/broken in transit. Bad part is that it took about 6 months to box/crate/disassemble everything. The other bad part is that it's taking me even longer to get everything back together.

I've been in the new place for almost 5 months and it's still looks like this:

About half of my stuff is still in boxes/crates. I'm now in a rental unit with a lease that will be up in 7 months, so looking for an easier way to move light machinery that is too big to fit in regular moving boxes. It would be good to minimize disassembling/packing/crating/palletizing and also the later set-up time. But moving stuff "as is" seem like a sure way to loose pieces, smash handles and dials, crack plastic covers that will only cost more time and money to fix later. Also it seem like loading a moving truck would be a hazzle if all the stuff is unboxed/non-stackable. Would really appreciate some real life experience/tricks of the trade moving shop equipment.

 

[power wagon]

just leave it and i will be there

 

[SGKent]

work the problem backwards. Pretend you are moving in a new place 7 months from now. What does the equipment look like coming off the truck bringing it to you? Now make it like that and load it on the truck.

 

[aabirdman]

Give it to ME!! I'll br there ASAP

 

[Cryptic1911]

either sell it, or man up and transport it. Rent a truck, anchor everything to the floor and strap in, and you should be fine

 

[dirttracker18]

What is the name of that lift by the toolboxes in front of the service door. I want one but never know what to search for

 

[csp]

That lift looks like it's a Vermette lift. Another brand is Genie.

http://www.vermettlifts.com/

 

[rsanter]

Heck the big stuff is easier for me to move than the mass amount of small ****.
I had to move out of the house and moving the garage was a pain but the tools/equipment was the easier part.
Things on rollers go into a moving truck if you can get them up the ramp.
Larger equipment goes on a flat bed trailer. A couple of friends with AG trailers came over and we roll the stuff on using 3 floor jacks per piece of equipment and 4 people to do the move
Looks like you have a fork lift so that will make things easier

Bob

 

[justanengineer]

Looking at your pics, no wonder youre frustrated. What you need to do is make it so everything is easily movable. Everything needs to either be on a skid or wheels. That way with a pallet jack or a decent shove it can move. Bolt your cabinets together in big chunks, and add a skid. Put your lathe and other machines on cabinets with some built in storage to help eliminate boxes of ****, and once again, add a skid. Boxes = bad as they get buried and things get lost in them, consider eliminating. Consider getting rid of the pallet racks and half the contents, if it cant sit on the floor its not easily/quickly moved.

I can empty or completely rearrange my shop in a very short time bc everything including benches is either on a skid or wheels....including the Bridgeport, which goes in/comes out in ~2 mins.

My Dad has a similar shop btw. He owns one of every crazy tool and machine imaginable, up on pallet racks or stuffed in a corner. It only takes 20 mins and quite a bit of effort to use most everything...Im lazy, want that 20 mins back along with the effort, and the projects that need doing the most are also the quick 20 minute ones Ive been putting off/forgetting forever.

 

[cyamaha2007]

Buy a forklift. Most my machines have metal skids with fork pockets on them. I could empty my shop in a hour no problem. Even my lista bolt bins are on metal skids.

 

[spooler41]

Rent a large truck with a lift gate and a pallet jack. Palletize all of the small things.Larger
pieces, block up on 4x4's and use 4 wheel dollys to move them. I want through this about 7 years ago,when I retired. I had to move my entire fab shop,1800sq' of materials,small tools,steel work benches a large mill ,a 12 x 60 metal lathe,2 large rollaway tool boxes,
ect,ect. Every thing I could get wheels under,had them. The lift gate was the one thing that made the move possible.


...............Jack

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Ive found a case 85xt loader and forks to be a handy tool,when all else fails back hoes are handy also!

 

[GarageWarrior]

Buy a forklift. Most my machines have metal skids with fork pockets on them. I could empty my shop in a hour no problem. Even my lista bolt bins are on metal skids.

Pallet Jack -> Walkie Stacker -> Forklift is the natural path that we all go through I think

During the last move - starting out - all I had was a hand truck, an appliance dolly, a cherry picker and a bunch of furniture dollies + a full size VAN and a small 4X8 utility trailer. Added a few things since then - machinery skates, johnson bars/lever dollies, pedalift, electric winches, chain-fall, material lift, lectro truck, a whole collection of pallet jacks including a mini an all-terrain and a regular full-size pallet jack, that and a propane forklift ...material handling is getting easier, but only bit by bit - none of my stuff has metal skids or fork pockets so still gotta palletize everything.

Now, you must be pretty fortunate with your stuff being readily movable, because even industrial equipment rarely comes with forklift lift points or metal skids (not counting the usual light duty wood/MDF shipping crates/pallets type of ordeal that usually get discarded when machines are being set-up for the first-time use).

 

[GarageWarrior]

Looking at your pics, no wonder youre frustrated. What you need to do is make it so everything is easily movable. Everything needs to either be on a skid or wheels. That way with a pallet jack or a decent shove it can move. Bolt your cabinets together in big chunks, and add a skid. Put your lathe and other machines on cabinets with some built in storage to help eliminate boxes of ****, and once again, add a skid. Boxes = bad as they get buried and things get lost in them, consider eliminating. Consider getting rid of the pallet racks and half the contents, if it cant sit on the floor its not easily/quickly moved.

I can empty or completely rearrange my shop in a very short time bc everything including benches is either on a skid or wheels....including the Bridgeport, which goes in/comes out in ~2 mins.

My Dad has a similar shop btw. He owns one of every crazy tool and machine imaginable, up on pallet racks or stuffed in a corner. It only takes 20 mins and quite a bit of effort to use most everything...Im lazy, want that 20 mins back along with the effort, and the projects that need doing the most are also the quick 20 minute ones Ive been putting off/forgetting forever.

Good point on skidding. Here's a stack that I want to custom-fit for the cabinets.

But going to need to make a pallet dismantling tool first, something like this:

Already tried resizing pallets by hand and it's just too much work. Still another project away....


And the pallet rack - THAT"S STAYING FOR SURE!!! That's the only way I can have a light duty woodworking/metalworking shop + bathroom/office in 700sq ft of space (22*32) with all the supporting equipment and supplies, while still having all of the ground in the middle clean for car lift and auto repair.

Had to do an emergency boot repair, and my parts washer was still not setup after the move, just got around to filling it up with kerosene this week. Either way - a messy job for sure

Another option I had was to pay about $300 more per month for 1800sq ft of space instead of $400 I'm paying now. But I really could not justify it for the amount of work I do. Plus heat/lighting/electric would have been a lot more for a bigger place. If I had a bigger place, I'd probably find ways to fill it up anyhow

 

[LutzTD]

yep, find a good quality forklift on craigs and buy it, use it with a rented 25K GVW truck to move your stuff, then if you dont find it too useful, sell it for what you paid

I have kept my $900 forklift becuase it was cheap and its dead useful, I also have a 24foot car trailer I bought for all the moving around. truck would be better but this way I still use the excursion when not hauling the trailer

 

[cincinnati_kid]

You can get a forklift at auction cheap around here. I have passed on quite a few of them at auction because I didnt want to move it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you're paying $400/month rent, why don't you put up a bldg where you live and be done paying somebody rent ? Move one more time and be done moving.

 

[GarageWarrior]

If you're paying $400/month rent, why don't you put up a bldg where you live and be done paying somebody rent ? Move one more time and be done moving.

I rent where I live and it's gonna stay that way because I want to move from eastern CT to southern California in the next year or two.

In any case, for workshop - would not want to build one - in a residential area they do absolutely no good for the property value. And industrial units usually come with 3 phase electric, loading dock and a man size dumpster among other things.

 

[pmiranda]

...industrial units usually come with 3 phase electric, loading dock and a man size dumpster among other things.

So... do you dispose of alot of bodies?

 

[GarageWarrior]

yep, find a good quality forklift on craigs and buy it, use it with a rented 25K GVW truck to move your stuff, then if you dont find it too useful, sell it for what you paid

I have kept my $900 forklift becuase it was cheap and its dead useful, I also have a 24foot car trailer I bought for all the moving around. truck would be better but this way I still use the excursion when not hauling the trailer

I already have a forklift and a loading dock. Loading palletized stuff on to a truck is not the problem!!!

Also for small stuff - I've bought a whole bunch of filing cabinets and blueprint cabinets on the cheap that I'll palletize and move with all the stuff in them so small stuff is not the problem either.

My question is on what to do with all the machinery and other large/bulky stuff:

As you can see I have a small Lathe/Mill, Metal Press, Shopsmith, Radial Arm Saw, Air Compressors, Bicycles, Welders, and some other things like hot-steam pressure washer, band saw and a motorcycle that I'd like to keep.

For a local move I can do as before - strap them down on a pallet or a utility trailer and be done with it.

And I've seen the recommendation earlier in the thread for an AG trailer. Thank you! Good weather and a lot of tie-downs would do it - I just don't see myself towing all of my stuff in the open like that going from CT to California

For an out of state move - real estate on the moving truck gets real expensive, so I think I'll need to stack stuff up. It's just that it would take me literally forever plus some $$$ in lumber/plywood to build custom crates for everything I have. Seem like there's gotta be an easier way, but right now I'm just not seeing it

 

[Steve from Socal]

I moved 120 tons of equipment, machines and, tools from California to Kansas. Three step deck or flat bed trailers and many trips with my tag trailers. On many machines and odd size things slinging them is far better than lifting from below. As far as crates, I would suggest skidding the stuff, you really want access to tie down the equipment. Hiring a flat bed is far better than doing it piecemeal.

Steve

 

[LutzTD]

I already have a forklift and a loading dock. Loading palletized stuff on to a truck is not the problem!!!

Also for small stuff - I've bought a whole bunch of filing cabinets and blueprint cabinets on the cheap that I'll palletize and move with all the stuff in them so small stuff is not the problem either.

My question is on what to do with all the machinery and other large/bulky stuff:

As you can see I have a small Lathe/Mill, Metal Press, Shopsmith, Radial Arm Saw, Air Compressors, Bicycles, Welders, and some other things like hot-steam pressure washer, band saw and a motorcycle that I'd like to keep.

For a local move I can do as before - strap them down on a pallet or a utility trailer and be done with it.

And I've seen the recommendation earlier in the thread for an AG trailer. Thank you! Good weather and a lot of tie-downs would do it - I just don't see myself towing all of my stuff in the open like that going from CT to California

For an out of state move - real estate on the moving truck gets real expensive, so I think I'll need to stack stuff up. It's just that it would take me literally forever plus some $$$ in lumber/plywood to build custom crates for everything I have. Seem like there's gotta be an easier way, but right now I'm just not seeing it

sounds to me like you need to get it all palletized including the big stuff. and then pay someone with a semi and a trailer, maybe two. I moved bridgeports and lathes in my move, why cant you pick them up with a forklift. if not follow my link and see the moving fixture built from trailer tongue jacks, there are also commercial versions with 2 end lifts with wheels. . you still need the forklift, put it on the last truck then use it when you get to Cali. Last time I was out there the prices would have put me in a single bedroom, let alone a decent house and shop.....

the other option would be consider the cost of the move for each big machine and decide if its worth moving or selling it in CT and rebying it in Cali

 

[bullnerd]

Buy a forklift. Most my machines have metal skids with fork pockets on them. I could empty my shop in a hour no problem. Even my lista bolt bins are on metal skids.

Have a pic off the metal skids on a machine? Not sure I follow.

 

[GarageWarrior]

I moved 120 tons of equipment, machines and, tools from California to Kansas. Three step deck or flat bed trailers and many trips with my tag trailers. On many machines and odd size things slinging them is far better than lifting from below. As far as crates, I would suggest skidding the stuff, you really want access to tie down the equipment. Hiring a flat bed is far better than doing it piecemeal.

Steve

Good point on slinging - it seems like really a better way, and I do it from time to time with cherry picker and I-beam hoist, but have no clue on how to do it properly, so I'm always worried that one of the straps could slide off and drop the load, or the load could tip-over/etc. Should probably read up on proper slinging techniques.

 

[cyamaha2007]

This isn't the best pic but look at the bottom it has 2 rectangle tubes welded to the base that accept fork lift forks its a very stable way to move equipment. All my cabinets and large equipment have them.

 

[bullnerd]

OK,thats what I thought you meant,very cool.

Did you add your own or were they factory that way or both?

 

[NUTTSGT]

I rent where I live and it's gonna stay that way because I want to move from eastern CT to southern California in the next year or two.

In any case, for workshop - would not want to build one - in a residential area they do absolutely no good for the property value. And industrial units usually come with 3 phase electric, loading dock and a man size dumpster among other things.

Well I guess, you're planning ahead for the future then. That west coast move isn't going to be cheap.

Maybe consider pallets for the small things, neatly stacked, banded and stretch wrapped.

 

[cyamaha2007]

OK,thats what I thought you meant,very cool.

Did you add your own or were they factory that way or both?

I added most of them. Like my cabinets are in banks of 4. Those 4 are bolted to a metal skid with fork pockets. I first saw this at a oil rig everything had fork pockets so it could break down quickly. My only complaint is that spiders love to build nests in them

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

First...DO NOT BUY A FORKLIFT..if you own it, you will need to ship it = additional cost.

Next realize that EVERYTHING has a cost of ownership...EVERYTHING...time, space, money.

In your case you are looking at the cross country shipping as the major cost..it is one of them..the bigger cost is the daily cost of housing and feeding the herd.

Take a HARD look at what you have and ask yourself how hard would it be to replace each piece.

Most of your stuff could be sold and then repurchased on the other end.

The hard to replace (metal working machines and some wood working machines in my opinion) should be the only items you should move. Of your cabinets, the small beige flat file cabinet I would move..the rest are easily found at your final desitination.

I am seeing at least THREE air compressors...why not just one and they all look easily replaceable. Got other duplication...reduce your stuff to the bare minimum. The longer you wait, the bigger the hit you will take when you sell it. I LOVE going to garage sales where the seller is moving within the month...firesale panic pricing.

Take the workbench that the lathe/mill is sitting on, flip it over and use if the base of the shipping crate for the lathe/mill. Use any other tables/cabinets as crates as possible...and get them ready before you move..not the day before.

The pallet racks..do not ship them...easily found anywhere.

The bikes...unless a keepsake or damn expensive...do not ship...buy on the other end...same for lawn mowers, snow blowers..all yard equipment..these days you can't hardly get rid of them on Craigslist.

All wood/metal stock, nuts and bolts, etc...all are expendable..only save the unique or very expensive...a real good reason not to drag the stuff home in the first place.

The point to remember is that when you move crosscountry you toss anything that can be found on the other end...if it is not worth the cost of shipping it is not worth keeping...if it is not worth paying storage fees for years for it...get rid of it.

Another point to remember...most household items are NOT WORTH SHIPPING when one moves crosscountry...something to remember when you are considering moving that 20 year old couch...or all the mattresses...anything bulky from the house. Also leave the appliances...no frigs, stoves, freezers, washers, dryers...all expendable.

Now you are saying "Whoa...this move is going to cost money"...well yeah no one moves without it costing them in time, money and energy...and the farther the more expensive it becomes...that's why you don't move unless you have to and keep the stuff you actually move to an ABSOLUTE minimum.

For the record...I have a fully equipped metal/wood/electronics/auto shops and have moved dozens of times on my nickel...it only hurt the first time ;<).

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Another thought..assume that your shop would burn down tonight...what would you replace?

In the end you would replace a fraction of what you now have.

That fraction (and I am assuming the metalworking machines and some of the woodworking machines because they can be major hassle to find..decades in some cases) should be what you move long distance.

I have known three owners of large complete shops which have burned down and each of them ended up doing just what I mentioned. Decades of lots of neat stuff up in smoke..and never replaced when they rebuilt...they bought only what they needed.

The old saying is...Three moves = one fire.

I believe that it is true.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Another suggestion..sell the RAS...in most areas you can't give them away since CMS became popular.

The Shopmate...depending on what accessories you have (hard to find) I would sell...they come up for sale regularly.

 

[bgarrett]

I want to move from eastern CT to southern California in the next year or two.

Going TO California? According to all the news reports, California is losing population as people and businesses flee to escape taxation, over regulation and oppressive government.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Another point...movers usually charge by the pound.

If you have a truck and trailer, make sure that you load the heavier stuff on it within safety limits.

(Hint = heaviest stuff you have are your machines.)

 

[Drew_flux]

What about one of those moving containers, you pack it and they deliver to your new place? As lond as you pack things safe, should be ok at the other end.

 

[GarageWarrior]

What about one of those moving containers, you pack it and they deliver to your new place? As lond as you pack things safe, should be ok at the other end.

Good packing solution is what I'm looking at right now! Container, semi-trailer or a box truck would be the same issue - rolling-in machinery and just setting it on the floor, will take a ton of floor space, palletized or not. And machinery does not make a good foundation for stacking things on top. A standard semi-trailer is 9ft tall on the inside, with typical small machinery at 3'-4' tall - that's more than half the space going to waste! That's why I wanted things crated in containers like this:

But was shying away because of the cost. I just found a guy that says he might have some used ones that I can have for free though so hopefully it will work out.

...from the responses so far, I can't belie I'm the only one considering crating stuff before moving.

 

[GarageWarrior]

First...DO NOT BUY A FORKLIFT..if you own it, you will need to ship it = additional cost.

Next realize that EVERYTHING has a cost of ownership...EVERYTHING...time, space, money.

In your case you are looking at the cross country shipping as the major cost..it is one of them..the bigger cost is the daily cost of housing and feeding the herd.

Take a HARD look at what you have and ask yourself how hard would it be to replace each piece.

Most of your stuff could be sold and then repurchased on the other end.

The hard to replace (metal working machines and some wood working machines in my opinion) should be the only items you should move. Of your cabinets, the small beige flat file cabinet I would move..the rest are easily found at your final desitination.

I am seeing at least THREE air compressors...why not just one and they all look easily replaceable. Got other duplication...reduce your stuff to the bare minimum. The longer you wait, the bigger the hit you will take when you sell it. I LOVE going to garage sales where the seller is moving within the month...firesale panic pricing.

Take the workbench that the lathe/mill is sitting on, flip it over and use if the base of the shipping crate for the lathe/mill. Use any other tables/cabinets as crates as possible...and get them ready before you move..not the day before.

The pallet racks..do not ship them...easily found anywhere.

The bikes...unless a keepsake or damn expensive...do not ship...buy on the other end...same for lawn mowers, snow blowers..all yard equipment..these days you can't hardly get rid of them on Craigslist.

All wood/metal stock, nuts and bolts, etc...all are expendable..only save the unique or very expensive...a real good reason not to drag the stuff home in the first place.

The point to remember is that when you move crosscountry you toss anything that can be found on the other end...if it is not worth the cost of shipping it is not worth keeping...if it is not worth paying storage fees for years for it...get rid of it.

Another point to remember...most household items are NOT WORTH SHIPPING when one moves crosscountry...something to remember when you are considering moving that 20 year old couch...or all the mattresses...anything bulky from the house. Also leave the appliances...no frigs, stoves, freezers, washers, dryers...all expendable.

Now you are saying "Whoa...this move is going to cost money"...well yeah no one moves without it costing them in time, money and energy...and the farther the more expensive it becomes...that's why you don't move unless you have to and keep the stuff you actually move to an ABSOLUTE minimum.

For the record...I have a fully equipped metal/wood/electronics/auto shops and have moved dozens of times on my nickel...it only hurt the first time ;<).

Yeah, I hear what you saying - shipping cost could easily exceed the market value of items being shipped!

Gonna be getting rid of some "extras" like air compressors and welders that I ended up with for historical reasons.

I'd like to keep one of each machine though, that I use. Like the RAS saw - yeah they are easy to find, but it still takes time to sort through classifieds, set up appointments, and I live in a small town so typically it means driving for hours to get it, not sure how it is in other places. Than the part with most tools of getting them cleaned up, tuned, setup and adjusted and than potentially spending months tracking any missing accessories (usually safety related) or fixing problems that were overlooked when buying. From saving money I can see it being cheaper to sell before move and re-buy (used) stuff at the new place, but what about time?

Now about the file cabinets that you saying to get rid. I actually got them after my last move so it would be easier to move in the future. Before the last move I had stuff sitting on shelves, and after getting things boxed up, could not find ANYTHING.

What a mess!

That's just sorting through one pallet. Had five more sitting out in the parking lot than this picture was taken. TOOK MONTHS to get stuff organized. Now it's all in 30 or so cabinets, nicely labeled. I can transport them loaded, stack stuff on top, and in the new place - just unload and have everything still accessible, and well organized. That's the idea anyways. Gonna have to wait and see how it actually goes

It's about 3k miles from CT to Orange County, CA. I heard a quote of $2.5/mile for FTL shipping. If I can get all my shop and household stuff shipped from coast to coast for $7.5K, I'll take it!!! Might be off on that quote though.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Bear in mind my suggestions are just that...suggestions.

They are meant to get you thinking about the REAL cost of anything you move across country...in town moves are cheap..cross country is where the real costs are.

Selling/replace it vs. keeping/shipping it ...almost no one keeps track of how much time they spend looking for replacements..they should...one's time is worth at least minimum wage...and as I have said keeping the hard to find machines makes econonical sense because they take so long to replace..that is if you can find them.

My point is to keep the really hard to find machines...especially in metalworking the older American iron is darn near irreplaceable...woodworking..not so much.

I have a number of air compressors too...and if I were moving I would be selling almost all of them..while I got them CHEAP/NEW I still would have more in them if I moved them cross country than if I sold them and then bought new on the other end.

The small stuff...yeah a real pain. I make a point to keep all accessories with the machines they are used with.

Hand tools...one can crate.

The file cabinets...I understand what you mean that you are using them for storage/shipping..which is a good idea...BUT..make sure what is in them is really necessary..you will be paying shipping by weight..not square footage.

Stock..wood or metal...dump it if you can...nuts and bolts/etc...again dump it...unless it is "special" it is a very expensive clutter that one can buy on the other end.

Moving is a time where one takes a long hard look at "things I meant to get to" and to be mercifulless in tossing stuff. Some hobbies have a high clutter factor...woodworking and car restoration are two examples...and when you move long distances you just have to be ruthless in what you ship.

As for using all the volume within a storage container, one can store machines at the bottom and build a "second floor" above them for storage of LIGHTER items..but bear in mind that LIGHT items add up fast and the storage on a higher level may change the center of gravity of the container.

A quick suggestion is to add up the rough weights of your machines/cabinets/pallets. I suspect that you will be shocked as to the estimated weight...and the cost that it will take to ship. (I did it a few year ago and stopped at 25 tons ;<) )

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Another thought...I see in your pictures that you have a number of bottles (chemicals?). Moving liquids is a pain and dangerous...best to donate them to someone.

 

[GarageWarrior]

Selling/replace it vs. keeping/shipping it ...almost no one keeps track of how much time they spend looking for replacements..they should...one's time is worth at least minimum wage...and as I have said keeping the hard to find machines makes econonical sense because they take so long to replace..that is if you can find them.

My point is to keep the really hard to find machines...especially in metalworking the older American iron is darn near irreplaceable...woodworking..not so much.

Yeah, that's the thing - often people look at how much an item can sell for vs. how much it costs to move. True comparison is how much it cost to move vs how much it cost to get identical item setup/equipped and working in your shop.

I have a number of air compressors too...and if I were moving I would be selling almost all of them..while I got them CHEAP/NEW I still would have more in them if I moved them cross country than if I sold them and then bought new on the other end.

So you'd keep at least one compressor, right? I mostly use a small HF 8gal compressor because it feels up quick and is enough for occasional use, but if I had to choose, I'd keep my 4hp dual stage Craftsman - it's old but works good and is very quiet. For comparison I checked that Lowes currently has a 3.75hp one for $499 and than I'd have to add tax and delivery and the time to set it up/wire a plug.

Stock..wood or metal...dump it if you can...nuts and bolts/etc...again dump it...unless it is "special" it is a very expensive clutter that one can buy on the other end.

A lot of the stuff that I build and work with is from scrap wood/metal and electronics that I collect, so it would be hard to let go. Lumber is cheap, but buying metal at retail stores could get pretty expensive, so I usually cut-up old appliances for sheet metal and get angle iron wherever I can find, and when I need something I can usually just reach to the scrap pile and furnish something with minimal labor.

For example - a little while ago I wanted to add 4' fork extensions for my material lift (stock ones were just 2' and really limited it's usefulness). So first I went to hardware store and did not see anything I would want to buy, than I went through my scap pile and there
"just happened" to be a couple pieces of c-channel that were scavenged from an old Ikea bed that fell apart (I don't shop at Ikea, my sister does). A couple of band-it straps and now my lift has good size forks that could move and lift most of my woodworking machinery that it could not really pick up before (it's de-rated for the load center, but there is still more than enough capacity). Light, strong, exactly the right size, even had tapper on the end - just perfect. Here's the lift with the fork extensions installed, don't mind the toolboxes in the background:

I feel like I would be lost without my scrap pile, for me it's a lot of time an odd piece like those sheet-metal c-chanels that save the day ... gonna have to give it a thought. At least your posts are encouraging me to consider getting rid of stuff. I've been known to hold on to stuff for way longer than I should have. At least I know I'm not a hoarder because my stuff is well organized

A quick suggestion is to add up the rough weights of your machines/cabinets/pallets. I suspect that you will be shocked as to the estimated weight...and the cost that it will take to ship. (I did it a few year ago and stopped at 25 tons ;<) )

I'm at about 25k lb for shop stuff + 4k lb in forklift + 1k lb jet ski + .6k lb motorcycle, 3k lb car + a bit of household stuff 2-3k lb at most. Semi trailer is 44k lb, so there would be some spare room as far as weight goes.

I can see how 25 ton would be pushing it. Was it before or AFTER you got rid of most of your stuff???