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Thread: Packaging Secrets of Success

  1. #1
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    RogerDat's Avatar
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    Packaging Secrets of Success

    I was able to find a thread in the archives on the subject of how to package lead so it all arrived. And I think the information applies to other heavy objects, and I am sure there are tips not covered there or items that I am not aware of that have a best way to package. Based on lots of shipping and receiving experience plus having worked as a packer for a furniture company and reading the archive here is what I have come up with as a check list of how to reduce the chances of package arriving with damaged contents.

    Feel free to add your own ideas of what works to have the contents arrive alive.

    #1 The item is firmly held in place from all directions so that it cannot move. We are all aware of the effect of velocity on the force of a lead projectile weighing a couple hundred grains. A 20 lb. item does not have to be moving very fast to have a lot of force. As an experiment put a piece of cardboard above your foot, resting on blocks on either side of your foot, heck put two pieces, now drop a 5# lead ingot on it from waist height on the cardboard. See lots of force. Ingot goes right through the cardboard. Even a 1 lb. ingot may get through with enough force to hurt. (If you do this experiment and are forever after known as hopalong or just "stupid" it is your own fault) You get the point a 20 lb. item = 140,000 grain projectile. It can move pretty slow and still hit hard.

    Really tight balls of newspaper on all sides, or those plastic grocery bags wadded into balls work well as padding. If the item has weight and can move you are rolling the dice on if contents will arrive inside the box, sticking through the sides, or deposited across several transfer facilities after the first time it drops from the conveyer to the parcel bin. 20 lbs. of dropped anything is not going to land gently.

    #2 The strapping tape with nylon threads in it is the only thing that works well. The clear plastic packing tape holds it closed by does not make the seam any stronger. The nylon strapping tape adds strength. Use the strapping tape liberally. One every seam, the folded lines of the edges in the cardboard are weaker so add tape to all of them. Use the tape like angle iron to reinforce each edge. Add as bands to reinforce sides and top.

    #3 if the box is fully packed with compressed packing material it won't get crushed as easily. A crushed box is a weak box so it is easier for more crushing to take place or for the stuff inside to become loose as the box changes shape, and then bust through the weakness where box was crushed if (when) it suffers a drop.

    #4 You can double up FRB pretty easily with a little trimming to just be able to slip the one inside the other. Double walls of outer shell is stronger than one layer.

    #5 know when it needs an inner box with soft packing like bubble wrap, then surround that inner box with tight pressed in packing material. I received a balance beam scale double boxed with inner box full of fluffy stuff and half the size of the outer box. Space between inner and outer box packed tightly with wadded newspaper. Scale was in great shape, nothing out of place by even a tiny amount.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    something to think about for odd shaped heavy items .

    i shipped a 46 lb compound jewelers vice to a customer awhile back and as you can imagine it was a little oddly shaped to pack .

    so what i did was to wrap it in a few plastic bags put it in the box and filled all the space with expanding foam from an aerosol can .
    once it had sat long enough to cure all the foam i shaved the excess off the top with a knife , closed the lid and taped the seams .

    it arrived safe and sound and although the customer did have to spend 5 minutes cutting off the box and breaking the foam from the vice
    he was very pleased with how safe and secure it was .

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    Extra time on the shippers end sure saves on problems

  4. #4
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    I received a super packaged box with a ransom rest in it. Seller had built a woob dox that fit within FRB and it was superb! Best packaging job ever!

  5. #5
    bhn22
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    Remember that newspaper/news print has no memory. it will not "spring back" at all to hold things in place. If anything, it will simply continue to compress. If you use it, use a lot of it, wadded or rolled up tightly. I avoid using newsprint as much as possible because it will let you down when you really need it. Most of my shipping involves bubble wrap from the local office supply store. Also, sometimes putting things in a plastic bag before packaging can really save you grief. I'm not just talking small parts either. I try to wrap of bag everything in plastic, and secure it with tape. If needed, I'll wrap odd shaped items like moulds in old plastic grocery sacks if I feel insecure. A couple of passes with tape, and I've pretty much eliminated sharp, irregular edges that seem to be the first thing to go through the side of a box when the shipping company employee tosses it twenty yards and the received fumbles. Another thing is that there's no written rule anywhere that says you cannot tape an item to the inside of a box. I often do this with tiny things that I've placed in double plastic bags.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by fg-machine View Post
    something to think about for odd shaped heavy items .

    i shipped a 46 lb compound jewelers vice to a customer awhile back and as you can imagine it was a little oddly shaped to pack .

    so what i did was to wrap it in a few plastic bags put it in the box and filled all the space with expanding foam from an aerosol can .
    once it had sat long enough to cure all the foam i shaved the excess off the top with a knife , closed the lid and taped the seams .

    it arrived safe and sound and although the customer did have to spend 5 minutes cutting off the box and breaking the foam from the vice
    he was very pleased with how safe and secure it was .
    if you fill bags which surround the item instead of just spraying the foam in it has the same effect but much easier to unpack thats how i used to receive lamps from Italy when i worked at a furniture store

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    Another secret is that the padded flat rate envelopes (usually need to ask the postermaster for these or order online) will fit 2 small flat rate boxes inside of it and only costs ~$1 more than the small flat rate boxes to ship. Works well for shipping brass that is inbetween SFRB and MFRB sizes

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    "Taping" a box is common sense . . but amazing how some folks are to ignorant or cheap to use a little of it. I purchased a Lyman 310 38 spl. die set about a month ago on flea bay from a person in Texas. It had to come to me in southern AZ. The idiot never taped the end of the box - what I received was an "empty box", flattened out with both ends un-done. Needless to say . . I was PO'd.

    I let hm know what a terrible job he had done packing the die set . . his claim was . . . "the SFRB is designed to be shipped that way - just fold together and seal the flap. As is said . . "sometimes you can't fix stupid".

    Golden Rule of Packing = alway "over pack it and tape well" - "secure in box so it doesn't get shucked around" . . . .

    The hardest thing I had to pack was a Civil War solid iron cannon ball and a partial of another. They fit in a square FR box but I ended up doing a "box within a box" - cutting lots of styrofoam to completely surround it. It got to the point of destination - the buyer called me laughing that it had taken him over an hour to unpack it . . but he greatly appreciated the great packing job to insure it would get to him.

    Another item I use quite often is a hot glue gun - depending what I'm shipping - it can make easy work of building "cushions" as well as sealing the flaps well on the outer box before taping well.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    For keeping loose items together in the box, I use plastic shipping wrap from the dollar store, the stuff with a handle. Works great, and easier to remove than tape.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master Bert2368's Avatar
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    The free large Tyvek envelopes from US Post Office are a great inner bag , just in case they manage to tear/puncture outer box in spite of all the tape. Bagging up the Lead ingots inside one (or more) of the Tyvek envelopes and then placeing in a FRB, foaming all excess spaces inside of box with the canned "great stuff" foam makes a cube that will have to be cut deliberately to release the ingots-

    I had to take apart several dozen archery targets, the type made of many layers of tough plastic foam. This material is the BEST thing ever for packing Lead- it's designed to stop broad head arrows, and it compresses/bounces back well. Any of you who bought sheet Lead from me have seen this stuff-

    Paper and cardboard works, but you need to think carefully about how to use it. And even then, if it becomes wet, it loses all integrity.
    "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

  11. #11
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    On anything over 20 pounds skip the packing peanuts,wadded newspaper/plastic bags because they compress and the item will start to move. Use solid foam. Scraps from electronics boxes or sheet foam insulation is much better.

    If you do use packing peanuts or other soft material heap it so you have to compress it as the box is taped up. Compressed it will hold things in place better and not let them shift.

  12. #12
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    when packing light fragile items i will often use leftover inflated packing materials from my midway shipments of ballons if the are not handy to take up the extra space in the box and keep the weight down

  13. #13
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    Small C press of cast iron arrived intact but the styrofoam peanuts arrived pounded into pieces the size of bread crumbs. I think peanuts only work to cushion an inner package. Box inside a box were the inner box can spread the weight/force out over the whole bunch of peanuts.

    Something such as a press or ingots with edges or narrow points focus the force on individual peanuts, the peanuts either get out of the way or get smashed.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Just a note: I've seen where many folks have shipped brass and had their packages break apart enroute.

    I got this tip from one of the US Postal Service folks. The Tyvek envelopes are free; and will hold almost anything (within reason), in tact. I filled a SFRB
    full of brass, then dumped it into a Tyvek envelope, sealed it well, then repackaged the envelope into the SFRB; worked great. The receiver said that the box looked like someone had kicked field goals with the box when he received it, yet, the contents were in tact, unopened. Hey, works for me.

    HV
    Life's biggest tragedy is we get old too soon, and wise too late.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Cool

    Quote Originally Posted by HiVelocity View Post
    Just a note: I've seen where many folks have shipped brass and had their packages break apart enroute.

    I got this tip from one of the US Postal Service folks. The Tyvek envelopes are free; and will hold almost anything (within reason), in tact. I filled a SFRB
    full of brass, then dumped it into a Tyvek envelope, sealed it well, then repackaged the envelope into the SFRB; worked great. The receiver said that the box looked like someone had kicked field goals with the box when he received it, yet, the contents were in tact, unopened. Hey, works for me.

    HV
    Packing for shipping is an art form and requires a bit of common sense. If it looks fragile it is! Packages are 'moved' with force from one location to another. Labels can be an incentive, both positive and negative. I became the proud owner of a Cookbook that was supposed to be Christmas gift to someone. It was 'package' with my dBase software upgrade and manual many years ago (the original parcel had 'broken apart'). The software program is long gone but the cookbook is one of my favorites. Remember, just because an item has a box does not mean it can be shipped in the same box without additional protection. Heavy items and many light ones also like to 'migrate' through packing material. Keep the item 'fixed' in place, surrounded with at least two inches of cushioning material and it will arrive in good condition. If in doubt, double box it!
    West of Beaver Dick's Ferry.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
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    Unhappy

    Just shipped primed brass via UPS, boy was that an adventure. first of all the box is supposed to be unlabeled, not ORM D or other markings. brass has to be in original boxes or loose wrapped padded with cloth, no plastic bags allowed. The cost-damn!! compared to USPS Priority flat rate it was double. Supervisor said they change the regulations every couple of months. Advise: never ship primed brass, it isn't worth the cost/hassle.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I think some people think that once they mail it, it's not their problem.
    It's the post office's problem.
    Poor attitude.
    I tried the box in box, and it does work well.
    I taped both boxes, just for extra strength.
    I just tried the foam filler thing.
    I found a foam that, when dried, is not hard. It dries, but stays kind of soft. This one doesn't expand as much as the one that hardens.
    This is how I did it.
    Arrange the parts in the box. Use rolled up paper to keep things separate.
    Take everything out, but keep track of where everything goes.
    Cut-up some plastic trash bags large enough to go up the sides and over the top of the box.
    Lined the bottom of the box with one plastic.
    Put the paper back in how they came out.
    Sprayed some foam between the paper and around the edges.
    Put another plastic over the foam, and let it dry until it get a little stiff.
    Arrange the items in the foam, spraying more foam, under the plastic, to take up space.
    Spray foam into the corners, between the plastic sheets, to take up the dead space.
    Let it almost dry.
    Place another plastic sheet over everything and fill spaces with paper.
    Spray foam over everything, put the last plastic sheet over, close the box, but don't tape it, and let it dry.
    After it dries, open it up and fill any space with paper.
    Cost a little more to pack, but I sure buyer would rather pay a little more, than have stuff all broken up.
    Friend suggested using the small foam bean bag balls, with the foam, instead of paper.
    One big bag cost $15 here.
    I'll probably try it next time

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy Sam Casey's Avatar
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    Always double check cost to ship with both USPS & UPS. Lighter weight medium / large boxes may go cheaper & faster via USPS Priority. Weight, size & distance are all factors. You need a good accurate scale.

  19. #19
    Boolit Mold
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    When shipping something that has a finish you want to protect from abrasion (like a rifle stock or fiberglass part) double-bagging in good heavy plastic bags will help a great deal. I got this tip from shipping some very expensive motorcycle bling, and it should work well for those Perazzi stocks too.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    just got 2 and 1/2 boxes of bullets in several calibers ....all put in sandwich bags.

    supposed to get 3 boxes...one was busted open ...lost hundreds ....maybe more than 1000 i don't know yet.
    postman said they were leaking all over the post office , his truck and likely everywhere the box has been.

    i photo'd the last box being opened....

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check