I recomend insurance

[odinohi]

I sent biscot 2-65lb boxes of lead. I have sent at least 100 in the last 4 months. One box showed up to his Idaho address, one box ended up in limbo. Turns out his addy was completely gone and mine was still there. I shipped them both from Bellevue, Ohio. They both made there way to Idaho, but this one came back to Clyde, Ohio PO. Seems to be 9-10 pounds missing, but at least I can still make him "whole" again. I think from now on I will recomend insurance, heck I will even split the cost of it. Added the pic of 3 of 4 of my dogs for s$%#@ and giggles. Proud dad what can I say. Thanks for looking, Tom

[Bloodman14]

Somebody here makes a wooden box to fit inside a FRB; don't recall who it was.

[odinohi]

6 sides and 20 screws is strong, but not invinsible. The box looked like they through it down and then drug it behind a pickup truck. I just got done weighing it, 58.5 lbs was left.

[biscot]

I've seen some messed up boxes, but that one takes the cake.
It's been a bit of a frustrating experience, but Tom (odinohi) has been great to deal with on this. We're just lucky that at least his address was still on it, or it would have been bye-bye ingots.

[Phat Man Mike]

I've got a wooden box that fit's inside of the FRB. it's been all over and back! it's the only way to ship ingots IMHO

[redneckdan]

i shipped some lead to montana charlie years back. a few of the boxes never showed up. some how one of the boxes got wound up in a sort machine mechanism. Destroyed the machine drive line from what I heard.

[t_dickinson]

I just shipped some ingots (60 lbs) from NH to IA using a method I found here on the forum.

I placed 6 muffin ingots each in 6 small FR boxes.

Get the medium box taped up good and place the small boxes in with the glue strip facing the middle of the medium box. It’s easier to get them in if you place them in at the same time. Go middle first in a “V” and push the outer edges in last. Repeat for 3 layers.

The small boxes provide 4 times the support of the medium box by itself. My brother-in-law said the boxes looked new after a trip half way across America.

Give it a try.


Note:

Tape the medium FR box, double-reinforcing the edges and corners; especially the bottom. I use a combo of duct tape and clear packing tape. When the job is done, the top and at least one "medium flat rate" stamp is showing. They will turn you away if they can't see the size.

I make sure that the entire box is encased in tape. If it sits in a humid room or truck, the cardboard will tear easily. Tape helps prevent moisture and abrasion.

[Freightman]

I always ship with a re-enforced wooden box inside, I can't get but 55# of lead in as the box weighs right at 9# and the total weight will be 67-69#. I just stop where they are building a house and ask the contractor for the scrap (some of which is good for many uses) all have told me anything in the pile or anything that has a lot of nails in it are mine to take. Measure and set your table saw to correct dimensions and you will have a lot of pre- sawed parts. I had a pile of drywall screws used and use them to put together, I use my nailer if I have no screws. Simple and effective.

[Rangefinder]

Packing is everything. I stack 3 wide x 5 high and duct tape them. 4 stacks of those (making 60 ingots total) will fit a Medium FRB with room all around for padding. Pack foam or as much newspaper around them as you can cram in there. Then use strapping tape around the outside of the box about every 2 inches in all three directions. If the lead doesn't have the ability to shift around in the box, it doesn't tear it out. So far everything I've shipped this way has arrived in one piece--so-to-speak.

[ColColt]

I'll bet the postal service guys hated the day they came out with the "...if it fits, it ships". My postman is an avid shooter and when I receive a package in the 25+ pounds he knows it's lead, Linotype or something to do with shooting and instead of leaving it at the front door where I have to try and pick it up and go around the side of the house to the garage (two story) or take it in and trek down 8 steps and then into the garage, he leaves it at the garage door, just a few feet from where I'll be storing it inside. His reward to date has been about 300-500 pieces of unfired, unprimed 40 S&W brass.

I've been lucky to date on the packaging. Even that 50+ pounds of ww's from Kathie got here in tack all the way from CT to TN unmolested.

[leadman]

I have some heavy cardboard boxes that fit inside the medium FR box. I tape that all the way around, then tape all the way around the po box. So far every box has made the trip.

[geargnasher]

Something else that helps is reinforcing INSIDE the box, like a polyester feed sack or sandbag like the highway dept. uses to anchor construction signs. Anything to help prevent the lead from breaking through. Like was said, keep it from shifting, it's the inertia of moving lead that causes box ruptures when dropped, and count on them being dropped, very far and very frequently.

Gear

[Doby45]

I use the tyvex Priority shipping envelopes inside the FRB and then fiberglass tape the box.

[MikeS]

You have some cute dogs there! Some people like the big dogs, but I like little ones.

[odinohi]

You have some cute dogs there! Some people like the big dogs, but I like little ones.

I know your right. Little dogs rule, but big dogs are cool too.

[MBTcustom]

I got some of Lead from Doby45 and those bags really worked! The box looked as bad as the one in the OP but double bagged in those fiber bags I didn't lose a single ingot. I dont think a blunt object could cut that stuff.
I also had 60lb sent to me in a custom wooden box and they arrived in perfect order, by far the best shipment I received. Here's a picture of the box.
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_1184.jpg
I saved the box back for future business. This worked really well and I dont care at all if it was a little light on the weight "which I dont think it was" I was happy to receive the whole unmolested shipment.
Now I had some trouble with some of my shipments of just ten Lb. in small FR boxes. I learned that just taping the thing is not enough, even for just ten Lb. I lost one of the boxes in rout. The fella contacted me weeks after I thought our business was done and informed me that he never got his shipment! That was $130 worth of solder down the toilet with no hope of recovery. I sent him another box and learned a hard lesson. I could have insured 4 packages for what I lost on that one.:x:groner: Never again.

[MikeS]

When I ship the lead bricks, I use something called gatorboard. It's 2" thick styrofoam with a hard surface on either side, used a lot for signs on buildings, it's light weight, but very strong. I make a bottom & top the size of the MFRB and then place the 2 bricks in the middle, and I make spacers around the bricks so they can't move. So far a couple of the boxes I've sent have broken a little, but so far no lead has been lost. Of course the fact that I'm sending only 2 bricks per box could have something to do with that!

[slide]

I love those dogs!

[odinohi]

When I ship the lead bricks, I use something called gatorboard. It's 2" thick styrofoam with a hard surface on either side, used a lot for signs on buildings, it's light weight, but very strong. I make a bottom & top the size of the MFRB and then place the 2 bricks in the middle, and I make spacers around the bricks so they can't move. So far a couple of the boxes I've sent have broken a little, but so far no lead has been lost. Of course the fact that I'm sending only 2 bricks per box could have something to do with that!

I had been using some blueboard (insulation board about 2" thick) to take up the remaining space before I screw the top onto the box. While running late for work (or so I thought) I saw that someone had several pieces of it sitting out with their trash. I turned around and picked it up. I had to put the hammer down to make it to work ontime, but all worked out with no speeding tickets.

[Tammany42]

I have received 6 each 50 pound boxes of sheet lead from California w/ no problems. The sheets dont move like ingots can

[man.electric]

I often fill small flat rate boxes and then place those in the medium box for shipping. so far no problems with that route and the PO delivers more every time I run out.

[rmcc]

+1 for the dogs!!!

[white eagle]

do you know what it takes to file a insurance claim with the p.o?

[Springfield]

Wooden boxes are fine when they hold up, but I have received lead where the outside box is torn and the wooden box is busted up. No matter what you do you have to reinforce the USPS box. I have shipped raw WW with a box inside a box with lots of tape and it works fine. The weights just have to be packed tight, no movement inside. And newspaper is not packing materiel, it just gets all flattened in a hurry. Putting everything inside the Tyvek bags works well to keep everything together, even if the outside box tears.

[Springfield]

Wooden boxes are fine when they hold up, but I have received lead where the outside box is torn and the wooden box is busted up. No matter what you do you have to reinforce the USPS box. I have shipped raw WW with a box inside a box with lots of tape and it works fine. The weights just have to be packed tight, no movement inside. And newspaper is not packing materiel, it just gets all flattened in a hurry. Putting everything inside the Tyvek bags works well to keep everything together, even if the outside box tears.

[NoZombies]

+1 for Tyvek. That stuff is great, and the PO Literally gives it away.

[Defcon-One]

Wooden box inside the FRB. Never lost a shipment. I also pack it tight so the lead can not move.

I have had others send shippments to me that never arrived. (Three times or more.) Insurance did not help! I'd never pay for insurance on anything under $200.00 as it is not worth the battle and the wait that will ensue if THEY loose it.

[WILCO]

I love those dogs!

Me too.

[odinohi]

Me too:bigsmyl2:
Me too.