Planning the 1800 move

[David Cortesi]

To have a hope of putting it together again you must code everything and document everything.

Give every cabinet a number or letter code.

Give every connector or terminal a number or letter code, maybe its cabinet code, plus a letter for left or right and a number from top to bottom. So every wire or cable has a tag showing what terminal or connector it goes with.  (Maybe some wires and terminals have IBM original coding, then of course use that, but it will help later if you know, this cable comes out of cabinet C and terminates on the left bottom of cabinet D.)

Go into the place before moving day, with a good flashlight and a laptop and a camera and spend a few hours just working out this system.

When you begin to take things apart, go slowly and take many many pictures. Maybe you can designate one person the official photographer? You will be busy supervising.

On moving day do not forget to bring extra camera batteries, SD cards, camera battery charger!

Above all, please please PLEASE! do not deface the objects with adhesive tape or permanent marker or any kind of adhesive label!

I have documented many artifacts at the Computer History Museum that came from the collections of hopeful amateurs, and so many times I must record: "adhesive residue" -- "deteriorated masking tape stuck to object" -- "large number in permanent marker". These make permanent damage that can never be cleaned up. There was a collection from Germany, the amateur owner stuck a big A4-size label on every object with some kind of glue. Those labels will be there forever because getting them off might cause worse damage.

Here are some tags that work well:

http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=710

Use tags like that to code your cable-ends and terminals --  not markers or adhesive labels!

It is probably hopeless to ask, but it would be good if everyone who handles the machines wears gloves. Not so important handling painted surfaces but when handling plastic, or bare metal, human finger oil can leave permanent marks. At least have a supply of gloves like this:

http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=667

or like this:

http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=1053

for your crew to use.

There will be some dents and scratches from the moving, that is inevitable. However, you can minimize this by thinking ahead and getting lots of padding. Professional moving companies have padded blankets like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Movers-Choice-Large-Padded-Moving/dp/B000Q1A5W6

Maybe you cannot afford to pay professional movers? But maybe you can go to a professional moving company and rent 3-4 dozen blankets like that. You wrap each cabinet in blankets. It is OK to use lots of masking tape to hold the blankets in place, if the tape is on the blanket, not the machine!

Something else useful for packing is plastic film like this:

http://www.amazon.com/4-Rolls-Clear-Shrink-Plastic-Stretch/dp/B006YFNDCM

You can use this to wrap anything like a mummy. You can go around and around a cabinet with it to make sure the doors will not swing open. Then you put the blankets on, and go around and around again to hold the blankets in place. You can wrap it around a bunch of cables to hold them against the side of a cabinet so they don't dangle.

Best of luck with this!

[Clare Owens]

That is all very good advice.  Another thing that can happen to an IBM cabinet's pebbly painted surface is this:  I have personally  seen a brand new 1970's IBM computer delivered to one of my customers and when the tape that IBM had applied at the factory to hold the doors closed was removed, it pulled off almost all of the paint it was attached to.  What a mess!  The CEs sprayed the doors with the matching paint, but that was just a temporary fix until new doors could be shipped.  I imagine this would be fairly likely to happen to doors that are now 45 years old, especially with our modern super tapes.

Oh, and while I am reminiscing, there was the time that the company I was working for in 1986 was expecting high ranking visitors and I was told to "clean up those messy front panels on our Series/1" (IBM) which had fiberglass off-white snap on panels and matching pebbly paint on the exposed steel rack surfaces.  So I looked around and grabbed a bottle of 409 cleaner to use.  It really did a good job of removing the accumulated finger smudges so my boss was happy.  However, about a week later I was appalled to see that all of the steel surfaces were beginning to look orange!  The thin paint areas between the "pebbles" of paint all were becoming rusty.  Leaving a very strong detergent on the paint allowed it to collect moisture, penetrate the thin coating and attack the steel panels.  I should have learned from that but later on when I used some 409 to clean my car's windshield it permanently etched the glass.  Ah the Good Old Days... 

Anyhow, using a strong detergent on those doors without thorough rinsing could easily cause permanent damage.

Clare

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[Johannes Thelen]

Thanks for good advices!

You read my mind, I put my (reluctant) girlfriend to print cardboard labels already, I know some tapes are quite nasty (from other restauration projects). Labels have just cabinet number, like 1801, 2841, etc. and front/back/top/bottom boxes and below some space to add id number. I think we'll use cable ties, not strings, it is faster to put on.

However, everything can't be labeled with those, I have to look paint shop some non-sticky tape and water-soluble pens. Also I have plan how I keep cabinets without scratched, I wear them to foam sheets and wrap plastics around them.

I have my own CNC machine company, so I have moved heavy (and light) machinery before. I think this is not differ other machine dissassemble projects, you have to know (or at least think) what you are doing, you have to label everything and you have to make sure nothing gets any external or internal damage.

Money is not the issue, I have lot of cash reserved this project (too much, if you ask my still reluctant girlfriend... ;) and if I see moving is getting too complicated, I order some local moving company there to help. But I hope we get this out with friends and hobbyists. I'm not sure how well you know Finnish "sisu", which means willpower. That means also you have to do it yourself and never give up. That's drives us something this crazy projects ;)

>  I have personally  seen a brand new 1970's IBM computer delivered to one of my customers and when the tape that IBM had applied at the factory to hold the doors closed was removed, it pulled off almost all of the paint it was attached to.  What a mess! 

 

Yeah, sounds bad primers. It is very likely IBM didn't use use that much focus to paint job than car factories, maybe there is no primer paint at all..?

But I have to take seriously that finger mark problem. I normally use just those expendable nitrile gloves on my job, those are best gloves what you can use anything (except welding...)

And good idea that filming! I didn't tought that all! I have to my (reluctant, but venal ;) girlfriend to film whole process!

Ps. If I get permission, I take raised floor also with me. If that's not possible, I'll made one (I'm not sure did I mentioned, but I'm building new warehouse, where this IBM gets its place :D )