Shipping reloading presses

I have a fair few motor boxes laying around. They're used to ship ¾ - 3hp pool pump motors. Come with some type of expansion foam and closed cell foam pads. Probably be just the ticket for shipping a press

KY DAN said:

So I have arrived at a point that my reloading collection has grown to large and I want to down size. I think Ebay maybe the best way of doing this but I have no idea on shipping chunks of steel.

Where can I find actual shipping boxes and supplies to ensure these item arrive safely to their destinations?

I have the following presses and accessories I plan to sell.

Ch auto champ 38 special
Ch auto champ 45 acp
Star universal 45.acp/38 special
Star progressive
Star progressive
Phelps universal
Chevron case feeder
Chevron case feeder

Click to expand...

In the past when I've sent stuff like camshafts or cylinder heads I'd take them to a ups store and have them package them. I think it cost $27 to "fragile pack" a set of V10 cams which was probably a little overkill on the bubbles but they arrived safely.

Worst case you can get fairly big cardboard boxes and packing materials at most hardware stores if you want to save a few bucks.

I disasembled as much as possible followed by bubble wrapped, blah blah... It got to where it was going but torn up and the box was repaired by someone.

Use plastic bags and the expanding foam from home depot. Suspend it by a string off the bottom until the foam is dry. I doubt you could be more secure

Local plumber has heavy duty double walled boxes that well type jet pumps are shipped in (goulds jet pump) take press apart some and bubble wrap/foam in small kitchen trash bags. Foam in bag let it expand in bottom of box with press put in after it sets up. Bags around press with foam inserted and box taped closed.

Pack and ship stores are there for this reason. I’ve also reused Omaha Steak shipping containers, they’re light and strong. Most boxes received these days have those air pillows stuffed in them. It’s a pain saving them, but they do make nice space filler and they’re surprisingly strong. You just have to make sure nothing sharp contacts them.
If you do it yourself, skip all other tape and just get 3M packing/shipping tape. Good luck.

AJC1 said:

Use plastic bags and the expanding foam from home depot. Suspend it by a string off the bottom until the foam is dry. I doubt you could be more secure

Click to expand...

Another vote for AJC1s method . Works like a charm, locks everything in place so nothing can move around . Presses can be fragile in shipping , and if you have shipping/damage issues on ebay it's not fun . Good luck with your sales.

The sources of shipping materials on line such as...
U-Line
https://www.uline.com

Cameron Packaging
http://www.cameronpackaging.com

I'm sure there are others using your favorite search engine.

Dale Alan said:

Another vote for AJC1s method . Works like a charm, locks everything in place so nothing can move around . Presses can be fragile in shipping , and if you have shipping/damage issues on ebay it's not fun . Good luck with your sales.

Click to expand...

What is fragile about a cast iron press with a steel ram ? In general these presses are heavy and bulky, when I shipped one i wanted get it into a flat rate box otherwise it cost more to ship then the value of the press. How do you do that with expanding foam in a bag ?

I shipped some press's i was no longer using. With flat rate boxes. I cut pieces cardboard to line the inside of the box. And taped the heck out of the box to prevent bust through. They made it safely.

As long as the top/bottom and sides of the boxes have some sort of foam to cushion the contents, the weight will distribute against the foam and spread across the side walls of the box and nothing will bust or rip through. Flat rate boxes from the post office will be your best deal. Make sure the burst rating on the box is much higher than the contents. I've shipped a RCBS RC2 in a USPS large flat rate box along with various other supplies without issue.

South Prairie Jim said:

What is fragile about a cast iron press with a steel ram ? In general these presses are heavy and bulky, when I shipped one i wanted get it into a flat rate box otherwise it cost more to ship then the value of the press. How do you do that with expanding foam in a bag ?

Click to expand...

CAST IRON...that's what fragile . Especially ears,tabs , etc .

Nahhh

South Prairie Jim said:

What is fragile about a cast iron press with a steel ram ? In general these presses are heavy and bulky, when I shipped one i wanted get it into a flat rate box otherwise it cost more to ship then the value of the press. How do you do that with expanding foam in a bag ?

Click to expand...

There is two methods. 1. Put the item in a plastic bag and let the foam fill the box around the item. This is easier. The second is to use two bags around the item and spray the foam into the bags and allow them to swell to fill the void. This is harder to get right but easier for the end user to unpack.

Yes I like that but' when filling the box how do you control the expansion? IME that stuff can push a cow out the door.

South Prairie Jim said:

Yes I like that but' when filling the box how do you control the expansion? IME that stuff can push a cow out the door.

Click to expand...

Treat it just like foam insulation. Fill and then saw off the excess. Or just use small squirts and go slowly.

Sounds like a lot of trouble compared to bubble wrap and air pillows, or even stryo peanuts strategically placed. Many packing and craft stores sell blocks of stryofoam that can easily be cut to fit the ends of the press to keep it from poking through the box

AJC1 said:

Treat it just like foam insulation. Fill and then saw off the excess. Or just use small squirts and go slowly.

Click to expand...

I may try this next time im scratching my head on how to secure something.
Thx

AJC1 said:

Use plastic bags and the expanding foam from home depot. Suspend it by a string off the bottom until the foam is dry. I doubt you could be more secure

Click to expand...

I've shipped motion picture lighting fixtures and parts like this. Squirted foam (hardware store foam in an aerosol can) in the bottom of a box, covered with plastic (trash bags work well), push fixture/part into the covered foam, cover item with plastic, (tightly) and fill to top of box and close flaps while foam is still expanding...

Shipped a Dillon SL-900 couple years back to CA from VA with a bunch of extra spare parts. Went to local furniture store and asked if I could have some boxes…went home and “custom made” what I needed. Took some time but cheaper and I knew it was packaged safely.

There are 2 types of foam you can get in a can. One is for doors and Windows and it will not move your settings while expanding. The foam for cracks has alot of expansion strength and will go where it's not restrained. If restrained it will build pressure till somethings gives. This is the difference between the 2 types. Use the one for door and windows and it will be easy to control.

The marine foam used in boats and structural has a lot of expansion strength. With it your mixing 2 parts together on the clock. Once you mix the 2 you have 15-20 sec to get it fully mixed and another 15-20 sec to pour it where you want it. It waits for no one. Higher the temp the less time you have to work. The stuff I used had a 30:1 expansion ratio.

KY DAN said:

reloading collection ... shipping chunks of steel ... to ensure these item arrive safely to their destinations?

Click to expand...

I have shipped quite a few presses/complete reloading kits by USPS over the decades to include sensitive equipment like beam scales and never had a damaged shipment.

Parts were individually or group wrapped in plastic cling wrap (Saran, Reynolds, Costco, etc ... Learned this trick from a mechanic who sprayed parts with oil and wrapped parts never rusted). More delicate parts or stuff that could get damaged were suspended inside the press void in packing popcorn/bubble then plastic cling wrapped or in extreme cases, even strong box frame was made from dimensional lumber/wood.

I essentially packed the shipment to withstand a drop from several feet (waist height) and used Styrofoam with multiple layers of cardboard at impact points/corners with the entire box heavily wrapped in packing tape/duct tape with shipping label taped to the box using clear packing tape.

Key is to eliminate metal-to-metal contact/rubbing during shipping/handling and rough truck ride and wrapping parts together with plastic wrap accomplishes this while Styrofoam/cardboard padding provide impact protection.

AJC1 said:

Use plastic bags and the expanding foam from home depot. Suspend it by a string off the bottom until the foam is dry. I doubt you could be more secure

Click to expand...

I have used expanding foam over the years mostly for filling building/house insulation voids but never for shipping. I have received shipments that used expanding foam and plastic bags and was impressed. I will keep this in mind for my future shipment packing option.