making a shipping crate for TN to Germany

dfp · #1 10-10-2005, 12:45 PM

i may be shipping a bass to Germany, any tips? I'm thinking my retired-mechanical-engineer-who-loves-carpentry-and-likes-me-ok-too father in law and I can pretty easily build a good crate for it, has anyone got anytips on that? how to build strong and light?

the bass will be in a deluxe padded bag with the bridge down, i guess. surround with old pillows? styro-peanuts? newspaper? frozen in carbonite? thanks for any tips!

Dave Peeples

Silversorcerer · #2 10-10-2005, 01:09 PM

My bass came from Bulgaria in a very thick cardboard box (3-ply) with very large crushable foam filling most of the vacant spaces in the box. Peanuts are not going to hold the bass centered in the crate so you need at least some large shaped pieces of foam or whatever padding you use to keep the bass centered and away from the crate surfaces. You don't want it to settle to one side or that side becomes vulnerable to every little jostle.

The shipper (UPS will not ship musical instruments) was J.H. West Global Logistics of Fremont, CA. The truck across country was California Sierra. One company that ships from Europe is TNT. Most of the time the shipper will tell you what kind of crate meets their specifications for insured shipping. 3/8 plywood reinforced at the corners would probably be about the best material available to make the crate. Be careful choosing the shipper.

Ike Harris · #3 10-10-2005, 10:14 PM

My Kolstein bass came in one of their wooden crates 4 yrs. ago. I'll try to recreate with my feeble memory how it was constructed. The frame was made with about 1x2" strips of wood with a thin paneling(I would use a thin plywood of some sort instead of the cheaper board they had), and metal joints on the corners, etc. This was done with all sides put together except a removable front piece(bass standing)which was screwed on with several wood screws. Make it large enough for the bass to be surrounded by styrofoam peanuts everywhere and foam supports on all the outer parts of the bass that might make contact with the sides of the crate, including around the neck.

It wasn't oppressively heavy and was well protected enough to make it from TN to PA by truck(the old bass I sold, that is). With all that said, if I had to make one, I would rather try to find a bass trunk to rent.

Ike

Pete G · #4 10-11-2005, 12:52 PM

I have a wooden crate that Barry K. used to ship me my 5-string. It's yours if you want it, along with all the plastic "peanuts" you'd need to ship a bass. The only catch is that you're going to have to have someone (a friend, relative, or shipping company) pick it up at my house in suburban D.C.

Send me a private message or email if you're interested.

dfp · #5 10-12-2005, 09:42 AM

thanks for the ideas, thanks for the offer Pete, sent you a PM.

looks like the potential buyer of my bass is actually a would-be internet scammer. he doesn't know i'm on to him yet, i'm wondering if anyone knows the best way to deal with this type of thing. ignore it, confront it, report it?

his scam is one of those classic "my associate in the US owes me 8000$, he will send you a money order for that amount..." blah blah blah. i was reading about internet scams (thank you, google) and this one is sometimes described as a Nigerian Letter scam.

now, this has nothing to do with BASSES, but if anyone has experience with this, it would be valuable to all.

azflyman · #6 10-12-2005, 10:11 AM

I would hook that fish, reel him in, and gut him. Play along, let him send the money order. When you get the money order, cash it and let him know it will be at least three weeks before the crate can be made to ship the bass (you want it to be done by a professional shipper for insurance, blah, blah, blah). That will give time for the MO to bounce. Get a whole bunch of info on him that way when the wheels fall off you have something to give to the authorities to take this guy out. I work real hard to make sure these guys get what they deserve.

az

Aleph5 · #7 10-12-2005, 10:41 AM

The last time I sold audio equipment on Audiogon I was amazed at how many international inquiries I got. Never got to the stage of determining their legitimacy, but one from Sweden was real pushy about offering me another $100 over my asking price (though it would've cost me hundreds more to ship) and one from Korea kept asking for my bank account to wire me money (yeah, right). I had to emphasize No International Offers, etc. Hated to discriminate, but this is the "new world order." Heh.

Just looking at req'ts/costs to ship a cardboard box to another country made me dizzy. I think I'd trust a Canadian transaction now, though, via USPS (& not UPS) ONLY (thanks, Adrian!). Sorry you got targeted, Dave.