after 14 years it’s time to leave sunny ca and head back home to ny. i am debating whether to move my machines or to sell them off and buy new in ny. any and all advice or experience would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
A few years ago we moved and my TS and JT were damaged by the movers. Engaging them for a settlement was a worthless waste of time.
If you sell and buy new and the new machines arrive damaged, your chances of getting it resolved in your favor are much better.
yours was one of the comments that helped cement it in my head that i should sell. thank you.
Best to you and your travels! Please consider sharing your new shop here when you get settled.
I moved half way round the world and everything arrived just fine in a container.
If you have good tools that are hard to find, parcel them up and take them with you.
If you would prefer an upgrade and have the funds then this might be the time.
Difficult to say, my 30+ year old Unisaw would sell for a fraction of what a Sawstop, or one of the fancy sliding table euro models would cost which is the only thing I would consider to replace it. I think if I had the money I would opt for new unless I had some truly classic machine. If I elected to move them I think I would pallet and crate them myself or at least oversee the job. Shipping them uncrated seems like a recipe for disaster.
I recently moved, albeit a shorter distance, but aside from the drive most moves are pretty much the same for packing/loading/unloading. For the same money the movers wanted for lift truck, I was able to buy a very sturdy 16 foot double axle tilt trailer with a winch. Used trailer prices have spiked since then, but still likely a good option. I moved a sawstop (note - when they ship them, they protect the motor from "bouncing" with foam block), a 14" bandsaw, 8" jointer, floor model drill press, lunch box planer/stand, dust collector, etc. etc. without inflicting any damage. There are a lot of variables involved in the decision....what tools?, are you thinking about upgrading any of them anyway apart from moving? do you have a truck? are you driving a truck across country? do you have the time and maybe a friend or relative to help you load? Depending on the tool, the cost of movers or even doing it yourself might give you an excuse to buy used/new from your new shop location. Note, you can call tech support of the major brands and ask for any recommendations they have for packing/protecting/securing the tool for a move. best wishes on the move!
I'd only move them if the dollars lost replacing them approaches half the cost of a new machine, or if the "upgrade" is really a downgrade in terms of casting weights or plastic parts vs metal ones. Add the cost to move them to the price you'll get to sell them when doing the math.
thank you. i considered very similar math myself. given a chance, i typically buy high end tools. the grizzly machines i am planning on selling are very much top of the line for them. given that the inventory is low everywhere and the demand is through the roof, i have a feeling i will get close to what i paid for them.
now, replacing them will be a different story altogether. i m planning on giving oliver a shot and their high end is considerably more expansive than grizzlies. even so, i feel it will be money much better spent as oliver has a very long history and a reputation for quality.
I just ordered a Hammer planer and found the lead time was 9 months!!! It's almost doubled in the last 2 years. They won't even get my machine on the factory floor until December. Worth being aware of lead times being very long for some machinery, especially the good stuff. All that Government money floating around for post-covid recovery has led to a bit of a consumer boom...
Sell your machines and buy hand tools instead. Wood should be worked, not machined.
-The Wood Luddite
Groooooaaaaannnnnnn
Funny. That is the exact same noise I make every time I hear machine jockeys over-think every little problem that pops up with their machines when a simple plane or hand saw could fix the problem.
Cue the Polar Bear...
“[Deleted]”
um... k
Not originally my image so I thought I'd wait...
The "k" was meant for Wood Luddite because that was as much effort as I felt was worth putting into a reply.
Imposing our values on the wood is chauvinistic. I ask the individual boards how they would like to be worked.
Cast off the shackles of bias!
lol! i too talk to my lumber on occasion.
Does swearing at it count as talking?
my friend, that's not very likely. while the idea of dimensioning sugar maple or white oak by hand might sound romantic, in practice, it's a nonstarter for me. i want to build a lot more than pine hutches and hall tables. after watching a guy on youtube take 9 months to build a simple walnut shaker sideboard with hand tools i quickly realized that to be a hand tool only woodworker meant that i either abandon building complex pieces or take years for each to complete.
btw, i am what you would now days call a hybrid woodworker. i leave all the menial tasks to machines and do handwork where it counts. my boy-crushes are mike pekovitch, tom mccloughlin and rob cosman. i try to emulate them as much as i can.
Don't be crazy. Stay in California! Winters get harder the older you get.
going back home was always the plan. the fact that it took 14 years was not, but being a lifelong new yorker, california and i just never got along. that and the fact is that i fully expect california to burn to the ground within the next few years. throw in the hot real estate market and i believe my window to act is shrinking fast.
you're 100% correct about the winters taking their toll on an older body. it's a cause for concern to be sure, but i miss seasons too.
Hey, winters are not so bad, Nothing like making wood chips in a snow storm and burn your waste wood to keep warm !
thank you so much everyone for your very useful comments and suggestions.
to provide a bit more detail; i purchased most of my machines from grizzly a few years ago. i like a lot of others i believe, was suckered in by grizzlies 'glowing' reviews on their web site (they don't bother mentioning that they suppress negative reviews). after nothing but a series of headaches with every single machine purchased (g1033x, g0696x, g0531b, g7948), i burned my bridges with grizzly and they will no longer sell to me let alone sell me parts to maintain their machines. suffice it to say i will never deal with them again and if given a chance will advise others to stay as far away from them as possible.
that said, i spent a lot of time dialing in each and every machine. painstakingly making sure that everything is within a thou (an engineer by trade). even with all the hastle i hated the idea of having to have to start over again.
given that chances are poor that they will survive a 3000 mile journey unscathed, i decided to sell them off. ridding myself once and for all of all the grizzly baggage. i will be building a brand new shop in ny and stocking it with oliver machines.
Sounds like your decision is made so I may be too late to the party. But wanted to make sure you considered delivery times. I work in a retail store on the East coast and we are currently quoting 6 to 9 month delivery times for a lot of items (band saws, dust collectors, planers, etc.). Some suppliers aren't as bad, it only takes 3 months or so to get a SawStop. Food for thought.
this is exactly the reason i considered moving the machines in the first place. i recently contacted oliver and told them i wanted to place a $40k order. the guy on the phone said great, get in line! what i wanted would not be available until december at the earliest and more likely january/february. i found a dealer in florida with the machines i want. they will deliver as soon as i close on the house in ny. thank you for the heads up!
Had enough of California wildfires and drought, have you? Can't say as I blame you. I can't offer any advice on your move, but as a golden state native and getting up there in age, I'll stick it out here, for better or worse. Having packed up a house full of home built furniture and evacuated three times already, I've kind of lost some of my enthusiasm for woodworking. I'll just stick with making small boxes for now and hope for rain someday. Best of luck on your move to NY.
california and i never really clicked. i am loud. i am in your face and i can't deal with hyper sensitivity and fake outrage that is so prevalent in the golden state.
that said, i built a pretty decent life here for myself and my family. i am one of the lucky ones. i make excellent money working from home and i want for nothing. my family is very well taken care off. i just miss the rhythm of new york so much.
Hi ch00ch00man
Since I also live in ca, I checked out your profile. I live in San Jose and would be interested in looking at your tools if you decide to go down the sale road. Best of luck with you move
nick, i live in gilroy. a hop and a skip from san jose. please pm me and i can set up a date and time for you to come over and peruse my shop.
Ok, so I can't figure out how to private message you. I've made the following craigslist add. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/wan/d/san-jose-woodworking-tools/7354653787.html. If you reply to that we can get our private conversation going and setup a perusing time?
I know this seems like a bit of a hoop, but it's all I could think of.
Thanks,
Nick
If you guys both fill out the contact form on my website I'll email both of you from there. I've done this for other members here in the past. Mention Grizzly tools in CA.
https://www.tailspintools.com/contact-us/
nick, i replied to your cr post with my phone number. text at your leisure. if you call i will not pick up as i don't answer calls that are not in my address book.
For some reason your reply didn’t come through. Would you mind trying again? Thanks
LOL! Maybe you two can enjoy a glass of garlic wine over some garlic ice cream while you're doing this? [I live in Calipornia and, in my checkered past, used to pick up from the Christopher Ranch. Oh, and I too am an East Coast transplant - New England.
Where in NY are you planning to land? You don't sound like an upstate guy.
new city in rockland county. we bought a nice house with 2.5 acres. planning on breaking ground on my dream shop (https://www.thegarageplanshop.com/062g-0098.php) in the spring.
Small world. I live in New City! Moved up here from Queens 10 years ago. Love it here.
If you have any questions about the neighborhood or need to borrow a tool while you get your shop setup, don’t be shy. Glad to help any way I can.
wow! that's fantastic, kevin. looking forward to meeting you. i am actually a new city native. lived with my parents on rt 304 (664) before getting married. moved to congers with my wife for a few years and then back to new city (the dells). then moved out to california for work in 2007. so, yeah, coming back to the old stomping ground, for sure (old phillips hill rd is where the new house is).
very kind of you to offer the use of your tools. the new house will need a lot of work (kitchen, bathrooms...). i might just hit you up as my new shop will be a while.
Ha. I’ll be driving near your new house in a few minutes as I drop off my kids at soccer camp at Zukor Park. I live on Mark Lane, about two blocks south of Clarkstown North High School.
Best of luck with the move!
hi kevin. just wanted to say; WE'RE HERE!!! finally! what a long, strange journey it has been but we're finally here and moved in. my entire shop is crammed in to a two car garage, but we're home.
i know with the vid and all it's probably not the right time, but we're triply and quadruply vaccinated here. stop by and say hello when you have a moment.
Welcome to NY!
That building is just for your shop? Have you ever considered adopting a 57 year old child?
with modifications, yes. i don't need an apartment so i am having them change the plan to just have open shop space + finish/paint room + storage room + bathroom. i have been wanting to get in to urban logging and am planning on a pad big enough for the shop + a bandsaw mill. the entire upstairs loft area is for drying the slabs and my pentz ef5 (damn that thing is loud).
as for adoption; i am about to turn 55 (8/21). i love my kids, but i need them to spread their wings and leave the nest. the sooner, the better.
If your machines are 20+ years old, move 'em.
They dont make the new shit like the old shit.
Else, sell 'em and buy refurb'd old shit.
Just sayin'
a-man brother! i found that out the hard way. as i said above, i purchased my machines from grizzly but a few years ago. they were all supposed to be top of the line. little did i know. live and learn.
as for old shit, i am of two minds here. you're 100% correct when you say they don't make them like they used to. old machines just feel overbuilt. beefy and meant to last for centuries. new crap is just cheap and flimsy. whatever they can get away with, they do. on the other hand new tech is superior to old (imho). i would not dream of running a jointer or a planer without a byrd head installed. i had an old 14 inch bandsaw a while back and every time i turned it off after a cut i might as well go get a cup of coffee for the time it took to stop the wheels. my new 21 inch bandsaw comes with a motor brake that stops the wheel in <3 seconds. very convenient.
so, yeah, i agree. old shit is superior in heft and durability. but new shit has the tech i like. how to marry the two?
I love the idea of refurbing old stuff way more than the fact of it, but can't help but look at the listings.
New is so shiny...
Welcome back to New York!! I live in Upstate, lots of room, lots of water, no fires lately. Wood will be cheaper if you venture away from the City. In fact good year for chanterelle mushrooms, growing all over on the hill in back of the house and shop. Regarding room, I just dump the dust collector out back, no one near for over a mile. I can run power tools all night, no one close enough to hear them. I know you hand tools aficionados love those quiet Lie Nielsen $400 planes (They are very good!) and those lovely 0.001" shavings, but as I approach the time to take that one way trip up to the Big Festool Shop in the sky. I don't have time or energy for them. Get done and start on something else - before it is too late...
thank you so much. it will be great to be back. back in my element!
i am so right there with you when it comes to debating hand vs power tools. i love my lie-nielsens all day long. they feel great in my hand. a joy to use and they look great too. but as i said to a commenter above, dimesioning sugar maple by hand is a non starter for me. at 55 i have neither the time nor the energy. i let machines do all the grunt work and use hand tools where it counts (joinery, surface prep...).
I moved my entire fully equipped shop from Toronto to Victoria,then to Philadelphia,then Florida (despised every min ute of those 2 years)then back to Philadelphia.I require virtually an entire 40 ft trailer.Each and every time I purchased used international freight crates.The last set were made of plywood of such quality that I kept it to use in my shop of 1000 sq ft.Through all this I have been able to make over 200 pieces of furniture that you can see at carolynprue.com.my Scottish artist wife wont let me spend money on my own site.Keep the stuff you got.Replacing it takes lots of time as well as money.I have both a Saw Stop and a 35 year old delta And my go to is the delta.Welcome back east
So, last week made a trip to Phoenix from Sothern California, I passed 12 U Haul box trucks towing cars on trailers with California plates. That was in a short 4-hour window.
On the return trip, saw no box trucks or any one towing cars with Arizona plates. That California exodus is real.
7 Mo old thread, guys.
I think he’s shoveling snow by now, or staring at an empty shop waiting for machines…….
Robert, look for post #49...
Thread revived by spam for a moving company
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled