After accepting some request for custom cases, panic and paranoia kicked in when it came to getting it ready for shipping. 3hrs, 30lbs and inches of cardboard later only was I satisfied to have reduced the risk of damage somwhat....
I received a damaged custom piece as well and figure maybe this is worth capturing in a dedicated thread so here it goes
Here is my feedback just to get the ball rolling......
Materials I like to use:
1) Stretch Wrap
- very light, very tacky (the sticky kind) so individual pieces are almost like glued to each other
- saw even at Costco but I ordered slightly thicker ones but you can just go around a few times more to achieve the same
- don't use on the outside of your package as your courier will hate you for that and then may do some intentional damage just to spite you
- usually I go ones over the almost finished package and then wrap it all in thin cardboard to avoid giving my courier the tacky box
2) Corrugated plastic vs cardboard
- lighter than similar strength corrugated cardboard
- not as cheap as cardboard you may have lying around but well worth the money (not that much actually)
- easier to cut than heavy duty cardboard but watch out for the sharper edge
- can find large piece for cheap in hobby/arts & craft stores
3) bubblewrap, foamsheets, newspaper etc
- use anything light but the heavier the custom the denser the material has to be
- make sure your custom will not be scratched, discolored or have any other chemical reaction to any of the materials it gets in contact with (Tumbler roof had buffed spots from the protective foam it came in)
4) oh packing tape
- if you must use the cheap thin stuff make sure to at least go over the same spot a few times, preferably all around and not just an inch of the edge
What to look out for:
1) weight shifting
- understand that anything not secured by nutts and bolds and even then could break loose where you least expect it and damage everything from the inside
- use foam, newspaper, bubblewrap etc to stuff up any vacant space preventing any movement
- the heavier the part that could come loose the more dense your stuffing has to be (Woody's batsignal was a fairly light custom and yet the signal broke loose during shipping)
2) box strength
- the more fragile your custom the stronger the box has to be on it's own
- I know it's common sense but when I received my custom in a box that felt like a wobbly chair I suspected the worse
3) space
- custom should not be in it's box edge to edge
- as boxes (possibly much heavier) can be on top or besides it can shift during transport if the stress is transferred directly to the custom, no matter how strong the box it will almost be like squeezing the content directly
- wrap a few layers of foam sheets around at least the edges
3) protective corners
- from corrugated plastic or cardboard for extra protection in case package gets dropped
- easily cut from a square piece with a cut right down the middle from one of the sides towards the middle
4) Labelling
- if heavy (say 30lbs+) make sure to mark it so, no body is going to break their back for your package so they will drop it
- also I believe it gets better treatment than say labeling your package fragile if it is indeed heavy
I received a damaged custom piece as well and figure maybe this is worth capturing in a dedicated thread so here it goes
Here is my feedback just to get the ball rolling......
Materials I like to use:
1) Stretch Wrap
- very light, very tacky (the sticky kind) so individual pieces are almost like glued to each other
- saw even at Costco but I ordered slightly thicker ones but you can just go around a few times more to achieve the same
- don't use on the outside of your package as your courier will hate you for that and then may do some intentional damage just to spite you
- usually I go ones over the almost finished package and then wrap it all in thin cardboard to avoid giving my courier the tacky box
2) Corrugated plastic vs cardboard
- lighter than similar strength corrugated cardboard
- not as cheap as cardboard you may have lying around but well worth the money (not that much actually)
- easier to cut than heavy duty cardboard but watch out for the sharper edge
- can find large piece for cheap in hobby/arts & craft stores
3) bubblewrap, foamsheets, newspaper etc
- use anything light but the heavier the custom the denser the material has to be
- make sure your custom will not be scratched, discolored or have any other chemical reaction to any of the materials it gets in contact with (Tumbler roof had buffed spots from the protective foam it came in)
4) oh packing tape
- if you must use the cheap thin stuff make sure to at least go over the same spot a few times, preferably all around and not just an inch of the edge
What to look out for:
1) weight shifting
- understand that anything not secured by nutts and bolds and even then could break loose where you least expect it and damage everything from the inside
- use foam, newspaper, bubblewrap etc to stuff up any vacant space preventing any movement
- the heavier the part that could come loose the more dense your stuffing has to be (Woody's batsignal was a fairly light custom and yet the signal broke loose during shipping)
2) box strength
- the more fragile your custom the stronger the box has to be on it's own
- I know it's common sense but when I received my custom in a box that felt like a wobbly chair I suspected the worse
3) space
- custom should not be in it's box edge to edge
- as boxes (possibly much heavier) can be on top or besides it can shift during transport if the stress is transferred directly to the custom, no matter how strong the box it will almost be like squeezing the content directly
- wrap a few layers of foam sheets around at least the edges
3) protective corners
- from corrugated plastic or cardboard for extra protection in case package gets dropped
- easily cut from a square piece with a cut right down the middle from one of the sides towards the middle
4) Labelling
- if heavy (say 30lbs+) make sure to mark it so, no body is going to break their back for your package so they will drop it
- also I believe it gets better treatment than say labeling your package fragile if it is indeed heavy
