Moving Heavy Tools

Boatbuilders are sometimes called on to make theatrical scenery, and theater stagecraft “techies” are sometimes drawn to boats. In the spirit of supporting my colleagues in both vocations, I offer some ideas from the theater world for moving big stuff in the shop.

As with boatbuilding shops, there never seems to be enough space in theater settings. The most important requirement is that “the thing”—whether it’s a tablesaw, a set of boat molds, or scenery—gets placed exactly where you want it (“on spike” in theater jargon),
and when it is in position it needs to be absolutely secure, without wobbling during use.

To this end, theater folk regularly engineer devices to move tools, equipment, and sets so that these items will be solidly in place after they’ve been moved. They have to be placed directly on marks on the (possibly uneven) floor, with shims as necessary to provide solid footing. You likewise want a stationary tool to be firmly “home” when you use it in the workshop, assuring safe and effective work. On the following pages, I offer some tricks and devices from the theater world that can be applied to managing tools and other heavy items in a boatshop.

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