# East bound and down!



## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

Greetings @Dusty , @Doggggboy , @6.5 Fan , @Scattered Parts !   Save some perogies for me,  pass the pilsner and my bunny-hug and please differentiate between dinner, supper and lunch!

If you haven't guessed, I'm moving!

After a nearly 30 year adventure/career in Calgary, my wife and I have purchased an acreage near my home-town of Langenburg Saskatchewan, sold our acreage in Calgary and are in the process of moving.

Why?  Well, we are both in the IT industry, can/have worked from home for years, and can pretty much work from anywhere.  Couple that with recent mental/physical health challenges, and a desire to be near family, and a great real-estate market in Calgary.....  well, it was a perfect storm.   After looking into it, we were able to buy low, sell high so to speak and advance our retirement.

The new property will be a labor of love -- starting with a planned shop build in 2023!  There is an existing 30x42 triple car garage w/10' ceilings, so I'll have a place to store my machines until then.

Which brings up the talk of the 'move'.  For those of you who have seen my shop.....  this is an event and I've been at it for nearly 6 weeks now.  I've been running two trucks w/flat-deck trailers and running weekly convoy's out and back.  The distance out is 1000km, so it is about 12 hour days of driving, and one day in between to load.

I'll be posting some pics soon.

For my metal-crazy-members in Calgary -- this isn't goodbye, I plan to visit often I have family still living here.  It has been great to attend the meet-ups and I've made some life-long friendships.  It saddens me that the percentage of John to non-John members will go 'up', but I've always considered myself an honorary John.

For my green-blooded brothers and sisters to the east -- I look forward to the opportunity to get to meet/know you as I move to the machine-tool-desert!  I can officially confirm that the per-capita number of shapers to people has gone way-up!


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

So logistics....

I needed to be able to load flat-deck trailers here, then unload there....   Without a crane/picker-truck.

Thankfully, I had purchased the PA 2-ton gantry crane a month back when I saw it on sale for $250.  I already had a 2-ton home-built gantry here, so the plan was to move the new one to the new acreage on the first load.

One of the issues with the PA crane is the width -- it won't fit across the full fender width of my flat-deck (or the one I rented) .  During a metal-pick last year I picked up a piece of I-beam that I retro fitted to the PA crane.  Now it is nearly 10' across and will allow the trailer to be backed under.

Some pics of the project and a pic of our test lift.


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

First-trip - giving the Beverly Hillbillies a run for their money!

How do you eat an elephant?  one bite at a time!   For the first trip, I needed a palette jack, the gantry crane, and a few other cribbing items.  Other than that, it was the first 3 or 4 large objects from the front of the shop including a project surface grinder, power-hacksaw, welding table, 7x12 bandsaw etc.  This opened up a hole in the shop for the subsequent trips.  The downside, nothing fit together and it looked like this.....

Believe it or not, I didn't have to touch a strap -- it was rock solid.






Next step - resurrect the 2-ton gantry at the other end.






the water body you see in the background is Lake-Decelles.  A 4-6' deep 12-acrea slough.  I took this pic shortly after launching kayaks and paddling it for 30 minutes!


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

Ok, second load -- lets get serious and move some metal!  (@Dusty - your spider sense should have been tingling as I rolled through Moose-Jaw with this load!)

What went on this load?   1903 Von Wyck Lathe, 14x40 Modern Lathe, Surface Grinder, CNC project mill, 6x26 knee mill, Southbend lathe, and a BBQ (lets be civilized here!)

A quick word on our wrapping process.  I've never had luck with tarping, especially loads that are freakishly 'non-square'.  I pick up some black cling wrap (22" spools) and then used red (and some blue) tuck-tape to lap seams and reinforce corners.  We learned on this trip that pre-wrapping with a moving blanket softens the edges and we were able to arrive after 12 hours of 100Km/h travel with it pretty much intact.  

After turning some serious miles in August, (not @Brent H serious, but serious enough) we NEVER encountered a drop of rain.  it was 29-36 degree days, blue skies and sunshine every single trip.


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## DPittman (Sep 10, 2022)

Congratulations man on the move up in the world. Way to go, I think you will always be glad you did what you did and when you did it. 
That is quite the move.  Lots of work and lots of planning.  Be careful and take your time when needed.  I wish I could offer to help somehow.


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

Trip 3..........  SHAPERS!   'nuff said.

This towed GREAT!


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

Some offloading pics










And a pic of the inside of the temporary shop.  Filling up nicely


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

And here is what the morning view is at 6am.  Tough to leave on those mornings


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## YotaBota (Sep 10, 2022)

Congrats Kevin, glad all is going well. How much land did you get?


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

25 acres.


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

Mixture of water, trees, grass, scrub bush.  A hoarders paradise!


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 10, 2022)

So much mystery metal hiding in the trees..... old farm machinery, a 1950s Pontiac car..... haven't explored it yet.


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## Doggggboy (Sep 10, 2022)

Welcome to the neighbourhood


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## DPittman (Sep 10, 2022)

kevin.decelles said:


> Mixture of water, trees, grass, scrub bush.  A hoarders paradise!


Your living my dream man.


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## Doggggboy (Sep 10, 2022)

Being close to the mine may even mean some vague availability of used machines


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## RobinHood (Sep 10, 2022)

Congrats on your new home!

That move is quite the undertaking. You seem to have it well organized.

If you need help on this end, let me know.


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## PeterT (Sep 10, 2022)

Congrats!
Well this explains the high speed Sphinx sighting, eastbound Hwy-16


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## Chicken lights (Sep 11, 2022)

kevin.decelles said:


> Mixture of water, trees, grass, scrub bush.  A hoarders paradise!


Congrats!! Can’t wait to follow along


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## Dabbler (Sep 11, 2022)

you are living my dream too!


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## John Conroy (Sep 11, 2022)

Congrats Kevin. What a huge undertaking. Looks like a great place to move. Wow you're almost in Manitoba!


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## Susquatch (Sep 11, 2022)

Better stop there Kevin. I don't care how much family you have in Ontario. It's horrible here. The rust rate alone will kill you.


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## kevin.decelles (Sep 11, 2022)

I learned the hard way about rust already.  Humidity is about 70 percent and I had flash rust overnight.  Started coating everything in fluid film before leaving calgary.  So far so good but I’ve been reading the dehumidifier threads with interest


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## 6.5 Fan (Sep 11, 2022)

Welcome back to the Land of Living Skys. Jeeez i think i have only been near Langenburg once, it's a 5 hour hike from me.


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## LenVW (Sep 11, 2022)

That is a challenging move !!
Looks like a nice shop and lots of room.

Was Ellie-May running shotgun for the trips ?


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## Janger (Sep 11, 2022)

Congratulations Kevin on the fantastic next step. Living a dream!


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## Hruul (Sep 11, 2022)

Congrats Kevin!!  Welcome back home.


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## Scattered Parts (Sep 13, 2022)

Glad to have you back! You are just a short trip away from me now. Only 2.5 hours. The shop planning is a challenging but rewarding task. My shop is just starting the build today.


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## David_R8 (Sep 13, 2022)

Wow, I love the prairies! 
Good on you Kevin!


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## Tomc938 (Sep 13, 2022)

You have two shapers?

Seriously, congrats on the move.  Grew up in Saskatoon, went to the U of R.  Lived in Yorktown for a year, and had friends in Churchbridge.  

Looks like a gorgeous spot you have.  Enjoy!


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## Tom O (Sep 14, 2022)

One of those push pull saws fit in between.


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## YYCHM (Nov 24, 2022)

Hey Kevin,

Are you completely relocated now?  How many trips did that take?

Maybe change your profile location.

Craig


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