Shipping 101 Vintage vises, machines and tools so they arrive as they were sent

drivesitfar · Sep 7, 2016

ALL: some of us don't really know how to ship anything bigger or odd size so I thought some of that do fairly often could maybe share a few tips.

first of all TAPE and EXTRA CARDBOARD and PLYWOOD are your friend. use plenty and even though it might weigh a few more pounds it will go miles towards not having to deal with replacing or trying to blame the shipping companies.

I use Fastenal for all my big stuff and since they had too many claims for a scratch by the guys that didn't spend time mounting them to a pallet we now have to make crates for our pallets to ship through them.

if there are private shippers or other shipping companies you want to mention please do even if you own them if you are a quality company and do your best to deliver the packages as they were dropped off.

a few of the shipping companies i know of for under 100 pounds are:

1) USPS flat rate boxes up to 75 pounds or they have several ways to ship
2) FedEX i think has a flat rate, but not sure how much or what yet and they ship many different ways
3) UPS not sure if they have a flat rate and have many ways to ship
4) DHL have used in the past and not sure what their rates or versions are now
5) OWWM.com (I think that's it) has a method to ship big stuff through their members and maybe GJ can get something set up like that since some of us do travel quite a bit with half empty trucks or trailers
6) TBD and will edit this post and add on to this list as more companies are mentioned

anybody have a favorite way to package up a box or crate do tell and thanks for sharing.

drivesitfar · Sep 7, 2016

ALL: i made this pallet/crate for a member so i could ship him a 165 pound Prentiss #22 that he wanted for his workbench and collection. it's not easy to make these when you don't do them daily, but if you have the time, a few screws and a saw it can be done. i had to make it in the back of my Honda Pilot because my trailer was full of Stuff that week and Fastenal can move it out carefully with regular size forks if you help pull i out onto them or if they have a pair of long forks that works best. i did add another 2x6 across the top in the inside of the pallet to help protect the crate in case something was set on it. this vise arrived as it was dropped off and the GJ member might still be smiling as he looks at his bench with it sitting on it.

ask if you have any questions otherwise i'll let pictures speak for themselves. this pallet/crate was dropped off at a Fastenal Hub in Washington and i think 2 or 3 days later it arrived in Southern California. it only takes a couple days longer to go from East Coast to West Coast, but Fastenal doesn't deliver to Canada (yet).

Mintgrun · Sep 7, 2016

I used some rigid foam insulation to package this tool.
Three layers fit perfectly in the box.
It was fun to cut the middle layer to fit the tool.

2oolhound · Sep 7, 2016

+1 for the ridged foam cut to size.

I've shipped quite a variety of large heavy items but sorry, no photos. I shipped a rear projection system to the US that was a challenge. There were 16" by 8' long floor panels that had 1/2" fins sticking up that had reflective screen material on their faces so people or objects could be placed right into the projected scene when standing on the panels with the screen behind. I used a sono tube concrete form to ship those panels with the rolled up screen.

This studio camera stand is capable of supporting 2 - 50 lb large format cameras. A lead counter weight travels inside the column to aid in raising and lowering the cross arm. I dis-assembled it to ship to the US. The 4' cross arm fit inside the main vertical column along with the counter weight. Everything else went into 1 box with the heavy base which was all supported with ridged styro foam cut to size for a super tight fit like mintgrun's box above. I happened to have 3 long cardboard boxes that all fit inside one another with some stro cloth in-between for the column. What really aided the shippers was that I boldly marked the balance point - - - l - - -as with the lead counterweight all the weight was near one end. That way who ever picked it up didn't get any surprises.

drivesitfar · Sep 7, 2016

MINT: is there a source for that rigid foam and where. NICELY DONE SIR and i bet the buyer was very happy to receive it like that.

Tool: i know you can get sono tubes at Home Depot or other hardware stores and guessing you cut a piece of carboard and or just taped up the ends? i like the box inside a box inside a box idea. thanks for the tips.

ALL: not often do you need to ship something tall like this lat attachment for a power rack i shipped to Minnesota a few years ago via Fastenal. it's 7 feet tall and here's how i shipped it. i had a crate i picked up for a few bucks off of CL and made it work with a little modifying. i also took some metal pipe hanging i have a few rolls of and used it to screw the lat in place for it's trip that made it there in a few days nicely.

G-ManBart · Sep 7, 2016

I just finished boxing up an 8" vise to ship via Fastenal....

I used a small pallet as a base, then 3/4" plywood for almost everything else. The plywood base was 24x36 and the sides were 16" tall. I used 3" coated deck screws to secure the plywood to the pallet (and ran them down into the 2x4s, not just the decking). In this case I needed a couple of 7/8" bolts that were 4" long to secure the vise to the plywood bottom. Then I added 2x fir strips around the base, and made a matching top, securing both with 2" coated deck screws. After that it was just a matter of making 16" tall sides and ends and securing them to the 2" fir strips with 2" decking screws.

In this case I had to secure the vise to the plywood base before building the rest because I'm not strong enough to place it on there in one piece....at least if I want to walk again for the next week!

The one smart thing I did was to put it on a moving dolly before I started working on it...now I can roll it to the door so I can pick it up with the forks on my backhoe.

Mintgrun · Sep 7, 2016

I had some of that foam kicking around and was happy to find a use for it. Last winter I sold some tools and car parts on eBay and got a taste of what all is involved. I found that packaging can take a long time, if you do not have enough materials on hand. I used the foam to package a set of combination squares, tail light assemblies and some rear trailing arms for a 2002tii. I spent four hours crating up the arms. The box weighed over forty pounds. They arrived safely. Unfortunately, I did not snap any photos of those packing jobs. (I was sort of proud of them). Thank you for the kind words of approval.

The pink foam I used also comes in blue and is readily available at Home Depot, or Lowes, etc. Here is a link:
http://www.lowes.com/pd/Dow-R5-Face..._clickID=a9f1eaa3-4757-4850-a61a-4169a8d16bbb

I had some pieces of 1 1/2" which I used along with the 2" to fit the height of some 5 1/2" flat rate boxes. I guess it does not matter so much how long it takes to pack something, if it is fun.

For the combination square set I traced the tools on the foam with a marker, then put a router bit in the drill press. I plunged the bit into the foam and hollowed out the outline of the tool parts. That was fun, but messy. Having a vacuum set up next to the cutter helped a lot. the buyer of that tool actually complimented the packaging in the feedback he left.

I hate getting things that have not had proper care taken, so I tend to try and overdo it, so as to give people the opposite experience.

JABgj · Sep 7, 2016

I had the challenge of shipping a side window for a Bricklin. (Try and find a replacement for that). Built a crate out of OSB and 1 X 4 pine. Used swimming pool noodles for packing foam, slitting it lengthwise and wrapping the window edges and making biscuits to suspend the window top and bottom. Shipped it Fedex ground because they will take almost any size "package". The trick with shipping anything is to keep it from moving around in the box/crate and having air space between the item and wall of the container for shock. I know a guy that uses Igloo coolers and blankets to ship motorcycle engines. Strap it closed and slap on a label.

drivesitfar · Sep 7, 2016

Mint: i totally agree with your GOLDEN RULE type of thinking regarding shipping and i try my best and probably go over the top to have the same results.

nice mess even if you do have some sort of vacuum hooked up near your drill press with a router bit on it cutting up foam. again nice thinking out of the box.

GMAN: yes dollies are a good thing when moving the heavy stuff or next thing on your list might be a good pallet jack or lift table. nice work on the pallet/crate.

Jab: i've actually seen worse than that styrofoam cooler on a pallet. i've seen engines just strapped to a pallet. nice tip on the window shipping. also looks like you are a new member so welcome to the forum.

ALL: here's one of my favorite ways to ship a medium size vise that is under 100 pounds. build a crate inside a box like TriJeff did and of course his Grabber Green Snap on color is growing on me. and here's TriJeff's method of putting a 220 pound Wilton on a pallet and making a crate for it.

notice the use of Zip ties and screws and bolts? i also usually screw the crates together, but nailing them is ok if you don't have a gross of screws around like i do.

pendragon1998 · Sep 7, 2016

When I move, I think I'm going to pack my block grinders in plywood crates like this. I might break down my floor drill press and pack away the headstock and motor like that as well so it will be safer during transport.

Piper27 · Sep 7, 2016

Mintgrun said:
I used some rigid foam insulation to package this tool.
Three layers fit perfectly in the box.
It was fun to cut the middle layer to fit the tool.

Nice job Mintgrun!

Brad54 · Sep 7, 2016

When you guys are shipping vises you've sold here, are you charging extra for the crating?
Also, how do you get a price quote on the shipping before getting it crated? Or is it understood the shipping will be expensive and you've told the buyer to be expecting a healthy shipping fee as part of the deal?

-Brad

drivesitfar · Sep 7, 2016

Brad: i haven't charged any of the members anything for materials or my time to put pallets, crates or boxes with vises in them yet. they also understand that i'm going to ship the vise when i am able and not to be in a hurry. i can get quotes from Fastenal using their website and 3rd party shipping forms.

i've also done it enough so i know the guys at the warehouse so i don't usually have to wait long to get a crate unloaded and they haven't lost or damaged one yet.

i'm not saying i'll never charge for materials or my time to get vises or other stuff ready to ship, but at this point that is where i'm at.

ALL: one member wanted to improve his vise and craftsman block grinder collection and i had a few to sell him so managed to get a few on a crate and send this one cross country in about 4 days via Fastenal. block grinders were just screwed down with wood screws on top of washers in the mounting holes and i always put a bolt in all the vise's mounting holes if possible.

BTW those members that are still waiting for shipments from me i'm either waiting to hear back from you via email or i'm still trying to find time and materials to get it ready to ship. thanks for your patience and email or PM me if you haven't heard from me because i tried to email most or all of you.

Thumper68 · Sep 7, 2016

I had to crate up 3 sets of these,

Each box packed ended up weighing 48.8 pounds.

Of course I made a video of one of the boxes.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sv4K5EWOKzw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

va.grouseman · Sep 8, 2016

This little vise came from Duisburg, Germany, cost me $50.00, and $76.00 to ship through DHL.---I didn't think that was too bad coming from across the pond.---It's weighs 25.4 lbs. and would have fit in an USPS. flat rate for $16.00.---But it is an odd duck so I went the distance.---The seller lined up the shipping and actually I was expecting a price that would make me faint.

Don't pay any attention to the railroad jack I used for size reference.---It was a joke, it's only 10 inches tall.

va.grouseman · Sep 8, 2016

Here's a few of my large ones and their shipping.

The Reed #208R came from Colorado.---291lbs., $175.00 shipping through U-Ship

The Hollands #28 came from Pennsylvania,---300+ lbs., shipped through local shipper that the seller knew.

The Starrett came from Pinch Point, a member here.---Best I can remember, it was $175.00 shipping and I can't remember who shipped.

The Yost came from Pennsylvania,---291 lbs., $200.00 shipped through U-Ship.

Sorry I'm not much help on the shipping part.---And apologize for the obscure pics of the vises.---they are crammed so close together I can't get full pics.

drivesitfar · Sep 8, 2016

VA: thanks for sharing your costs of some of your vise shipping to Virginia. the one from Europe is especially interesting, because i've never thought of shipping anything over there yet.

always nice to see you BIG VISES too no matter how bad the pictures are.

ALL: i had a few of these double cardboard boxes from dumbbells i had shipped and one worked perfect for this 30 pound Craftsman vise. i bolted the base to a piece of plywood and there was room for another small piece of plywood on the end where the handle is and one for the top just before taping it up (used a lot of tape). it arrived safe and sound a couple days later via UPS to member in Southern USA.

jimreed2160 · Sep 9, 2016

I just posted this on the Vises thread, but it is an example of a seller going the extra mile for a little Rock Island #571.

markbugno · Sep 10, 2016

The best tool I've found for cutting styrofoam and foam board is an electric carving knife. They can usually be picked up for a buck or two at flea markets.

Mark

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bottlecapdigger · Sep 10, 2016

That yost on. The back of the truck is frekin hugh! My god! I love it. BCD.

Mintgrun · Sep 10, 2016

"The best tool I've found for cutting styrofoam and foam board is an electric carving knife. They can usually be picked up for a buck or two at flea markets."

I have been meaning to pick one up for cutting foam, but did not think of using it for rigid foam. I wonder whether it would work to make the blades narrower, to cut sharper corners, while leaving the tips wide where the pin connects them. That is a good tip Mark. Thank you.

Cutting rigid foam on a bandsaw makes an awful mess. Static makes the 'dust' stick to everything.

(So, I noticed the underlined tool above and learned it has to do with something called VigLink, so I looked into it and opted out of it... not that I ever opted into it. Then I tried to edit this to remove it, but to no avail. Sorry).

drivesitfar · Sep 10, 2016

Jim: thanks for showing how your Rock Island with that cool Whirlpool badge arrived at your house. cool vise and happy to see a good packing job.

Mark: nice tip on the hot knife and i'll have to get some foam and find one of those if i don't already own one in one of my buckets of tools.

ALL: i can't find a picture of this so if any of you have one or a better explanation please post pictures or the words. i had a member fill up a plastic bag with that expanding foam and put it in a USPS flat rate box then set a wilton bullet on the bag and held it down while the foam expanded and filled up around the vise. then you can add several pieces of cardboard, piece of plywood or another bag with more foam to put on top and tape up the box real good. it worked great and the mess of the foam was contained and not a speck of it on the vise. this should work for odd shaped items and tools too to keep them from rattling around.

any more pictures or tips please post as you have time to. thanks everybody

drivesitfar · Nov 22, 2016

ALL: anybody have any pictures and comments to post about shipping heavy tools or machines post them up cause a lot of these old tools end up in scrap yards instead of in the person's garage or shop that could actually make use of them. this one for instance went to scrap as i watched and i can only hope the scrap guy found a good home for this 100 year old machine.

Maui · Nov 22, 2016

I found that my 24" Delta Milwaukee scroll saw does a great job of cleanly cutting any type of foam and produces minimal dust.

Maui

va.grouseman · Nov 22, 2016

Drive, was that an old lathe or just what?

drivesitfar · Nov 22, 2016

VA: it was a very early 1900's punch. i can't recall how much it weighed or the model #, but it was at least 20 ton and maybe it was double that. the boys moving it around had maybe the biggest fork lift i've ever seen.

ALL: so i'm packing up another vise for a trip across the US and i had plywood, 2x6's and 2x4's here and there to make a nice stout pallet/crate for this 150 pound vise.

a few pictures and heading out now to finish it up and drop it off, but still need to add a front and back piece and plenty of base supports so the vise doesn't move.

also just an FYI. i'm building this pallet/crate inside my Honda Pilot after i get it to a certain point. just a reminder to you guys that when you drop it off have the fork lift driver get long forks for his fork lift or have him get the forks just under the front lip of the pallet so you and maybe a helper can pull it on the forks. don't want to have the fork lift driver dent or damage your back door do you?

F124C · Nov 22, 2016

Instead of cutting foam boards to surround an item in a crate, you might also use expanding foam. I've seen this used to transport e.g. armoured windscreens (v.v. expensive). Wrapping the item in a plastic bag first helps with clean-up. Iirc this foam can be dissolved with Acetone?

Al.

drivesitfar · Nov 22, 2016

F124C: i had a member ship a vise in a USPS box that he wrapped the vise in plastic then shot foam in the box to surround the vise. worked like a charm and all i had to do is make a few cuts in the foam to dig out the vise. i suppose you could put the foam in the plastic and have the vise in the middle and maybe use 2 bags to have sort of a mold.

Using USPS flat rate boxes you can ship the large one with up to 75 pounds in it across the US for usually under $20. only think is the items can't be longer or wider than i think 11 inches or maybe it's 12 so not very many vises will fit in the box. you can sure pack a lot of hand tools in a box that size though.

Derek420 · Dec 3, 2016

I wish I had a monster big vice but can't find one lol if anyone has one to sell I'm your guy and I didn't know how big things we're shipped thanks for info pm me if anyone has a vice any brand but want heavy as I can buy

Cruzan80 · Dec 3, 2016

Yeah I just sent a 3/4" ratchet, a long DBE and about 10-12 3/4" sockets in a flat rate. Had to modify the box slightly, but as long as you don't add any extra cardboard, they don't care. In this case, I shortened the flaps so they met instead of overlapped, to give me another inch or two in length.

Craptain · Dec 4, 2016

drivesitfar said:
F124C: i had a member ship a vise in a USPS box that he wrapped the vise in plastic then shot foam in the box to surround the vise. worked like a charm and all i had to do is make a few cuts in the foam to dig out the vise. i suppose you could put the foam in the plastic and have the vise in the middle and maybe use 2 bags to have sort of a mold.

Using USPS flat rate boxes you can ship the large one with up to 75 pounds in it across the US for usually under $20. only think is the items can't be longer or wider than i think 11 inches or maybe it's 12 so not very many vises will fit in the box. you can sure pack a lot of hand tools in a box that size though.

I use the foam technique for packing. I usually use either sandwich bags or grocery bags to contain the foam and keep it from sticking and screwing up the product. I have also wrapped in cling film to protect but find the bags work well and I always have plenty on hand. I generally use "Great Stuff" from HD.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

mattblast · Dec 4, 2016

Here's a post I made a while ago about how I pack up vises.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243741

I had one too many vises and had to get rid of one on ebay (I still have 3 or 4 left, so no worries). Thought I would share my packing process for anyone that needs to ship one of these safely. This vise was almost 70lbs packed.

1. Head to local grocery store or Costco and pickup two tray style boxes (the ones with no lid that are used to display items for sale). You should find boxes that nest inside each other so that one can be fashioned into a lid by sliding over the other. Banana boxes also work great and include lids. Also grab a few other boxes to cut up for packing material.

I used "Wild Alaska Salmon Burger" box for bottom and "Perdue Buffalo Style Chicken Wings" for top. They were a perfect fit.

2. Grab some scrap plywood the size of the box bottom (I didn't have any and headed to Home Depot where they sold 2x2 sheets for $10, or there was a stack of cut off pieces by the panel saws which they sold me for $0.50 each!)

3. Cut plywood to fix inside box bottom. My box had clipped corners so I had to trim they plywood.

4. Bolt the vise to the center of the plywood. Be sure to use bolts large enough so that vise cannot slide (bolt diameter should match size of hole in vise). Use washers and nuts to secure carriage bolt.

5. Carriage bolts still stuck out a little below plywood, so I cut a scrap of cardboard to go under plywood to protect box from puncture.

6. Place vise/plywood in box and surround with folded up cardboard so that box cannot be crushed. I also filled area on top of vise with more cardboard.

7. Place second box over top and use strapping to secure (doesn't everyone have a strapping set at home like I do?). If no strapping is available you can use filament tape which looks like packing tape with embedded strands of fiber to strengthen it.

8. Place HEAVY sticker on box (available from most UPS drop points).

drivesitfar · Dec 4, 2016

Matt: any chance you might be able to just download your pictures to GJ or can you fix them cause i can't see them?

Craptain: if you have the camera at the ready would you mind posting up a few pictures of your packing method. i think that works well to get the product to the buyer as you shipped it. also once you open and spray some out of can of GOOD STUFF can you re use the can or is it a one can per package sort of expense?

CRUZE: not sure how you modified the flat rate USPS box to fit in your 3/4 inch ratchet, but i'd like to see how that is done. also how long was the ratchet? i never knew you could modify a box to send USPS and speaking of which i need to send out a few USPS boxes to members and i think i finally got my printer and laptop to talk so i can make labels again after almost a year of working out the snags.

ALL: great time to be shipping stuff and learning how to do it better than you thought possible. the Pallet/crate i built for the 150 pound vise left Fastenal in the state of Washington on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and even with the Holiday ended up on the east coast 6 days later. they do a great job if you are shipping heavier items.

mattblast · Dec 4, 2016

drivesitfar said:
Matt: any chance you might be able to just download your pictures to GJ or can you fix them cause i can't see them?

Should be OK now. I added link to original post and uploaded the photos to this post. Oddly, it looked fine on my iphone but when I viewed from a PC the photos were missing (they were links to the photos in the original post)

drivesitfar · Dec 4, 2016

Matt: thanks for the pictures and nice work packing that vise. just curious what UPS charged you to ship that vise and how far did it go?

mattblast · Dec 4, 2016

drivesitfar said:
Matt: thanks for the pictures and nice work packing that vise. just curious what UPS charged you to ship that vise and how far did it go?

It was back in Oct 2014. I sold the vise on eBay for $150 and charged $20 for shipping. It ended up costing me $17 for shipping though my work - we get discounted rates. It shipped from NJ to PA (zone 2) and weight was 52lbs. That cost included $200 of insurance. Published rate was $23.

I've used this method to ship vises around the country using UPS and FedEx. Never had any issues with them arriving safely.

G-ManBart · Dec 15, 2016

Here's another variation on the crate in a box. I bought a 16x12x12 heavy duty box from Home Depot then used 3/4" plywood for a top and bottom, 2x4s and 2x2s to make the crate. The 3/4" plywood top wasn't on in the pic since that's the last thing to go on after lowering the crate down into the box.

This is a pretty easy way to crate up a smaller vise...doesn't cost much, or weigh much, but should help minimize the chance of damage (not that I'm challenging anybody at UPS or Fedex!).

Cruzan80 · Dec 16, 2016

Sorry, didn't see this until now. My "modification" of the flat rate box was to ignore the pre-creased fold lines they build into the cardboard, as these cause two layers to overlap on the ends. Instead, I folded them about half the size, so they met in the middle vs overlapping. This allowed me to fit the ratchet on a diagonal. Everything inside was wrapped in bubble wrap. I then put about half a roll of strapping tape on the box to make sure nothing tore out.

Had a guy ship me some cut pieces of steel in a flat-rate box that was simply flattened, and then the ends wrapped with packing tape. USPS states the box can not be enlarged using extra cardboard, not re-apportioned to fit a different shape than the standard.

drivesitfar · Dec 16, 2016

Cruzan: if you do this again and can take and post a few pictures that would be great cause i'm sure this would help a lot of us that ship odd shaped tools. thanks

GMan: well i knew you didn't paint it that Extreme green for yourself, but it sure is PURDY. looks like it found a good home. in case you might have watched the Seahawk game last night did you happen to see their new uniforms. SAME EXTREME GREEN and it worked cause they clinched their division after last night's game.

ALL: post up pictures and shipping thoughts as you have time. also shipping companies and maybe a few not so common tips or rules that would help us.

cheers

Shipping 101 Vintage vises, machines and tools so they arrive as they were sent

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