shipping cabinets : How have/do you pack them?

lexefx · #1 10-20-2011, 12:30 PM

When I got them of course they were in giant cardboard boxes.

Getting sufficiently large cardboard boxes seems trickier than getting a box for a bass in a hard case.

I have shipped empty cases before just covering them in a few passes of commercial cling wrap.

What have you done/ used with success?

Lex

**nutdog** · #2 10-20-2011, 12:37 PM

This was sent to me by Jxbass. He did a very good job. I've gotten into the habit of photographing or videoing the packing or unpacking of expensive stuff.

I saved all the stuff and it left my possession in the same fashion.

Clammy · #3 10-20-2011, 12:42 PM

Here's how I shipped 2 MArshall 4x12 cabs earlier this year:

1. Wrap the backs of the speaker frames with corrugated cardboard (to prtect the conse from the rear).
2. Wrap the casters in bubble wrap.
3. Fill the entire cab with large bubble wrap. Use enough so that you have to sit on the back to screw it back on. Put the bubble wrapped casters in the middle somewhere. And leave the jack disconnected from the jack plate/cup and in the bubble wrap.
4. Tape (using blue or green body work tape) a double thick piece of corrugated cardboard the size of the front of the cab (not the size of the grill area, but the outer dimension of the cab) to the front of the cab.
5. Get a large enough box, and place the cab inside it. If you can get cardboard corner protectors, use them. If not, a layer of large bubble wrap around the outside of the cab will be fine.

It cost me about $85.00 to ship a standard 1960B sized cab from L.A. to upstate NY using (UGH!) ups, in January.

This sounds involved, but it really isn't I think it took me about 20 minutes to pack each cab. And trust me on this: if you don't want the speakers to be destroyed by the courier monkeys when they drop the cab (and they WILL), pack the inside as I have explained.

Cheers!

lexefx · #4 10-20-2011, 01:02 PM

These are sealed Eden cabs... so I can't really get behind them without pulling the drivers. I wish these would just sell locally. lol

lexefx · #5 10-20-2011, 01:15 PM

U haul.... Bingo! Thanks!

skidrawk · #6 10-20-2011, 01:19 PM

very carefully

lomo · #7 10-20-2011, 02:11 PM

They need 2 inches of soft, noncompressible packing (=foam) at all corners, otherwise they may be easily damaged. That is all.

sammyfallen · #8 10-20-2011, 02:22 PM

When working for UPS I'd pack cabs with 2 wraps of 1" bubble wrap, one inch of Styrofoam board on all sides, then shrink wrap double walled cardboard around that. Never had a cab get damaged and I probably shipped over 200 cabs ranging from 1X12's to 8X10's from my store...

pfschim · #9 10-20-2011, 03:46 PM

probably won't help you too much, but I usually keep the original shipping boxes and material. So, when I sell and ship something, I usually just repack it in its original packing.

Last thing I sold/shipped like that was a Mesa Scout 15 to a fellow TBer sometime last year.

For this cab, the original packing that Mesa shipped it in was a very heavy duty cardboard box, with at least a 3 inch air gap between the cab and the inside of the box. The cab was wrapped in plastic and cradled by large, specifically fit, foam corners. The only thing I could see killing the cab packed this way would be if it got speared by something in mid box (which could happen).

Of course, you have to have the space to store the broken down boxes and packing material in order to be able to repack things this way.

billfitzmaurice · #10 10-20-2011, 03:54 PM

Follow the shipper's requirements to a 'T'. Otherwise any and all damage will not be insured.

s_mcsleazy · #11 10-20-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Follow the shipper's requirements to a 'T'. Otherwise any and all damage will not be insured.

bill. is there anything about amps you dont know?

**JxBass** · #12 10-20-2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutdog

This was sent to me by Jxbass. He did a very good job. I've gotten into the habit of photographing or videoing the packing or unpacking of expensive stuff.

I saved all the stuff and it left my possession in the same fashion.

Thanks Nutdog! I was going to chime in when I first saw the thread. I didn't realize I was already in, indirectly.

A key for me is double-boxing and using new boxes.

jnewmark · #13 10-20-2011, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexefx

U haul.... Bingo! Thanks!

+1. And if you ever have to ship a 15/6 fearful type cab, a Small Wardrobe box is perfect.

dog1 · #14 10-20-2011, 07:33 PM

Listen. Cabinets are durable. Do you pack them in shipping cartons when you gig? Neither do I, or anyone else. You throw them in the back of a truck, van or trailer and go to the gig. Sometimes they get a little beat up due to handling. Too bad. I have shipped MANY cabs UPS and FedEx. Build (form) a box around the cab to prevent cosmetic damage, and trust the durability of the 3/4" wood cabinet to keep it safe in transit. If it is dropped off a roof or run over by a truck, no packaging will survive. But with normal handling, building a cardboard box around the cab will suffice.

JimmyM · #15 10-20-2011, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dog1

Listen. Cabinets are durable. Do you pack them in shipping cartons when you gig? Neither do I, or anyone else. You throw them in the back of a truck, van or trailer and go to the gig. Sometimes they get a little beat up due to handling. Too bad. I have shipped MANY cabs UPS and FedEx. Build (form) a box around the cab to prevent cosmetic damage, and trust the durability of the 3/4" wood cabinet to keep it safe in transit. If it is dropped off a roof or run over by a truck, no packaging will survive. But with normal handling, building a cardboard box around the cab will suffice.

I have actually seen many people who use the shipping cartons to move them around for gigs. And nobody wants to buy a cab with dings or tears that weren't there when they bought them. Your idea is a recipe for failure. If the box tears or rips, your cab will get trashed.

One Drop · #16 10-20-2011, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dog1

Listen. Cabinets are durable. Do you pack them in shipping cartons when you gig? Neither do I, or anyone else. You throw them in the back of a truck, van or trailer and go to the gig. Sometimes they get a little beat up due to handling. Too bad. I have shipped MANY cabs UPS and FedEx. Build (form) a box around the cab to prevent cosmetic damage, and trust the durability of the 3/4" wood cabinet to keep it safe in transit. If it is dropped off a roof or run over by a truck, no packaging will survive. But with normal handling, building a cardboard box around the cab will suffice.

Remind me not to buy a used cab from you.

JTE · #17 10-20-2011, 08:02 PM

Wrap the cabinet in bubble wrap. Then get a bicycle box from your friendly neighborhood bike store (unless the 'net's done to them what it's done to local guitar stores too). Make sure you have a good sharp utility knife, and cut the box to fit the cabinet. You'll have to do some re-engineering, but bike boxes are generally good heavy triple-wall corrugated that'll protect the speaker very very well.

John

billfitzmaurice · #18 10-20-2011, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dog1

with normal handling, building a cardboard box around the cab will suffice.

Famous last words. I shipped four cabs to a customer, all four were packed according to UPS standards, and all four were seriously damaged, the plywood shells shattered. Because they were packed according to the standards listed by UPS on their website I collected $1200, which I passed on to the customer, as he opted to have them repaired. If I had just wrapped them in cardboard I'd have been out the full value of the cabs, $3600.
OP, opinions are a dime a dozen. The only one that counts is that of your shipper.

Clammy · #19 10-20-2011, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Famous last words. I shipped four cabs to a customer, all four were packed according to UPS standards, and all four were seriously damaged, the plywood shells shattered. Because they were packed according to the standards listed by UPS on their website I collected $1200, which I passed on to the customer, as he opted to have them repaired. If I had just wrapped them in cardboard I'd have been out the full value of the cabs, $3600.
OP, opinions are a dime a dozen. The only one that counts is that of your shipper.

I'm convinced that ups goes out of their way to destroy things... I call them united parcel SMASHERS.

Everything I've had delivered by them looks like it's been through a war. I learned the hard way about making sure a cab is filled... cab came to me with one of the magnets off a speaker, thanks to it being dropped from a good height. It's probably not much of an issue with neo speakers, but when you have a 50+ oz magnet on the back of a speaker, it doesn't take much to knock it off with a drop.

Cheers!

worxforme · #20 10-20-2011, 08:51 PM

FedEx suggests that you put it in one box, wrap it in 3" of bubble and put it in a second box 6" bigger in all dimensions. This is great if you can find the right boxes.

If I don't have perfect fitting boxes, I wrap the cab in cardboard and tape the seems and then solid foam insulation from the home store and tape the seams. Next I wrap it in card board again and I use reinforced packing tape on the seams.

It worxforme