Palletising of timber and machinery

[paulm]

Due to some impending building work I probably need to move a lot of workshop equipment and timber into storage for a while, and think it would be most practical to put a lot of it onto pallets for ease of handling and movement.

Things like timber turning blanks could be stacked on pallets and then shrink wrapped, larger equipment like bandsaw, table saw etc bolted or strapped to pallets.

Thing I'm not sure about though is how to go about shrink wrapping or strapping to ensure stuff is secure and won't fall off in transit/handling ? Is it practicable to shrink wrap stuff through the bottom slats of a pallet doing it by hand, and are there plastic strapping tools I could use where bolting stuff down isn't an option ?

I would need to hire a pallet truck too I guess and then a luton type van with tail lift, but I guess that is the easy bit !

Any thoughts or advice welcome !

Cheers, Paul

 

[Harbo]

My SH Bandsaw arrived strapped to a pallet and then shrink wrapped so that should work for machinery.
Small stuff - could you not place in cardboard storage boxes and then stack on Palletts?
Pretty sure strapping devices are available and there must be big rolls of cling film for sale? (Edit - loads of stuff on Amazon)
I have a pallet in my side garden going spare if you want it Paul?

Rod

 

[RogerS]

Google is your friend

http://www.wikihow.com/Shrink-Wrap-a-Pallet

 

[flying haggis]

to strap items to a pallet you will either need ratchet straps or a strapping /banding machine like these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-FU ... 19f23ab90a


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pallet-Hand-B ... 51c0fea539

if you buy one on the above type you pass the plastic tape through the gap at the bottom of the pallet and round the item then tighten, BUT if you then use a pallet truck to move the pallet be careful pushing the truck under the pallet as it can break the straps(been there, done that) if you can get a strapping kit you can always sell it on afterwards. the types of tensioner and sealers can all be akward to get used to but the metal clips are cheap enough if you make a c*ck up

 

[paulm]

Thanks guys, had a busy day in the workshop and shed yesterday sorting through and cutting up some timber so didn't get a chance to google much and obviously didn't use the best search terms either as I didn't come up with much !

The wikihow is helpful, seems to rely on catching some layers of the wrapping film (the stretch stuff which is what I had in mind rather than the shrink with a heat gun type) under the corners of the pallet to anchor everything on the pallet, which I think would work if the pallet was raised slightly off the ground with a pallet truck to allow access ? I was assuming that I would have to pass film under or through the pallet to anchor stuff to it and wasn't sure how I would get enough access to do that, but if catching the corners is sufficient that seems more do'able without a forklift handy ?!!!

Might have a Plan B for some of the timber at least, but probably not anything like all of it, with a small garden shed being re-purposed and relocated, might even be worth buying a second and larger one as well given the price of off-site storage ! Looked into shipping containers and similar, but access isn't great and we don't want the house and garden to be looking like an industrial site for the duration !

Will still need to deal with the machinery and stuff as well though so I think likely to be after some pallets Rod and your one could be a start, plenty round here on the industrial estates I expect for the asking too.

Cheers, Paul

 

[valvoltec]

Just a quick point on the Luton and tail lift heavy items of machinery can be very unstable and top heavy,and considerable skill and care needed when getting them on and off the tailift with a pallet truck,The tailift will tilt when raised with a heavy load and moving the pallet onto the tailift in the raised position can be fun.I moved my south bend lathe in this way and it was scary at times.Load straps from nylon webbing,held the lathe to the pallet truck.

 

[paulm]

Just a quick point on the Luton and tail lift heavy items of machinery can be very unstable and top heavy,and considerable skill and care needed when getting them on and off the tailift with a pallet truck,The tailift will tilt when raised with a heavy load and moving the pallet onto the tailift in the raised position can be fun.I moved my south bend lathe in this way and it was scary at times.Load straps from nylon webbing,held the lathe to the pallet truck.

Thanks for the advice, and I thought the tail lift would be the easy bit !

Off to pick up a pallet truck in the morning, an ebay winning for £40, supposed to be in good working order but we'll see !!!

Cheers, Paul

 

[RogerS]

Silly question but I'm sure you've thought about it/doesn't apply. The surface from workshop to where the truck will be. It is concrete or similarly smooth-ish? My workshop opens out onto a stoned area and is a right pain to use pallet trucks!

 

[paulm]

It's a sensible question Roger !

Pea shingle driveway in front of the garage doors so could be a problem. Hoping to reverse a truck close enough so that the tail lift will land on the garage concrete floor. Should work okay, access is good to the front of the workshop.

Cheers, Paul

 

[flying haggis]

overlapping 8x4 sheets of thick ply is the way to traverse pea shingle (if you cant get the truck close enough) with a pallet truck(again been there, had to do that)
i would also urge caution trying to get pallets onto a taillift as the angled edge can be quite a steep slope

meant to say, to fasten the end of the shrinkwrap to the pallet just make the wide sheets into a "rope" and tie it to a corner block. if you need to you can use the same principle to fasten the shrinkwrap "rope" to a protruding bit of machinery