Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Mark · 24th February 2006, 07:34 PM

Hi, folks.

Now that we all are turning to the packing and shipping process, I've started to focus on some issues. Mostly, what packing materials to use?

A big issue that has to be kept in mind is weight. Naturally, a fiberglass or aluminum gun case or a wooden crate would be nice and safe, but those are going to weight too much.

For the Masters of Fire exhibition, I understand that FedEx set a 5kg per package weight limit, and that is very likely going to happen for History of Steel as well. That means most of us will have to divide our contributions into several packages. Bear in mind that the Museum is paying for all of this, and the shipping alone is going to cost tens of thousands of dollars. It is going to be crucial to strike the right balance between protection and weight.

We have spoken a little about using PVC pipe, which would be very good, but I am afraid about the weight factor. It was used successfully by many of the Masters of Fire smiths, but they each had only one sword to ship. I am going to buy some and do a trial package of three or four bundled pipes to see how much it weighs. Rick has found some stuff that looks very sturdy and is not too expensive (again I don't have the link right now, but I'll add it), but I still wonder at the weight factor. If I can I'll get some of that this week-end, too, and do a weight trial. Added: the pipe is called ADS and is $4.00 per foot in 8" diameter

Now, we all love our collections and want the safe, but let's be honest. Haven't we all used cardboard most of the time for shipping, even internationally? And how many problems have their been, at least when the internal packing was careful? Personally, I have not had a single problem in the course of dozens of cardboard-packed swords. The only packing failures I have had have been when I or the other guy used a recycled box/tube that was weakened from prior use.

Antonio has put up a page with some suggestions on how to pack in carboard tubes. I'll add in the link later because I don't have it on this computer. Please consider this way of doing it, at least for the swords & knives. I am pretty sure that I will use this packing when it comes down to it. It will keep money in the budget for things like catalogue printing and promotion, which will be key to the exhibition's success. Obviously, axes, shields, armor, puppets (yes, I have two Burmese marionettes with swords that we might use!), etc., need a different treatment.

But in any case, let's get the ideas out here for discussion on the forum, so we can share the knowledge and experience and find the best way to do this.

Mark

Link to pipe manufacturer: http://www.ferguson.com/

24th February 2006, 07:34 PM	#8
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	Some packing issues Hi, folks. Now that we all are turning to the packing and shipping process, I've started to focus on some issues. Mostly, what packing materials to use? A big issue that has to be kept in mind is weight. Naturally, a fiberglass or aluminum gun case or a wooden crate would be nice and safe, but those are going to weight too much. For the Masters of Fire exhibition, I understand that FedEx set a 5kg per package weight limit, and that is very likely going to happen for History of Steel as well. That means most of us will have to divide our contributions into several packages. Bear in mind that the Museum is paying for all of this, and the shipping alone is going to cost tens of thousands of dollars. It is going to be crucial to strike the right balance between protection and weight. We have spoken a little about using PVC pipe, which would be very good, but I am afraid about the weight factor. It was used successfully by many of the Masters of Fire smiths, but they each had only one sword to ship. I am going to buy some and do a trial package of three or four bundled pipes to see how much it weighs. Rick has found some stuff that looks very sturdy and is not too expensive (again I don't have the link right now, but I'll add it), but I still wonder at the weight factor. If I can I'll get some of that this week-end, too, and do a weight trial. Added: the pipe is called ADS and is $4.00 per foot in 8" diameter Now, we all love our collections and want the safe, but let's be honest. Haven't we all used cardboard most of the time for shipping, even internationally? And how many problems have their been, at least when the internal packing was careful? Personally, I have not had a single problem in the course of dozens of cardboard-packed swords. The only packing failures I have had have been when I or the other guy used a recycled box/tube that was weakened from prior use. Antonio has put up a page with some suggestions on how to pack in carboard tubes. I'll add in the link later because I don't have it on this computer. Please consider this way of doing it, at least for the swords & knives. I am pretty sure that I will use this packing when it comes down to it. It will keep money in the budget for things like catalogue printing and promotion, which will be key to the exhibition's success. Obviously, axes, shields, armor, puppets (yes, I have two Burmese marionettes with swords that we might use!), etc., need a different treatment. But in any case, let's get the ideas out here for discussion on the forum, so we can share the knowledge and experience and find the best way to do this. Mark Link to pipe manufacturer: http://www.ferguson.com/ Attached Images Last edited by Mark Bowditch; 24th February 2006 at 09:14 PM. Reason: I mistyped the weight -- 5kg NOT 50kg! Also added links and tube info