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Transporting Glass...

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

Moderators: Ron Percell, Mike Jackson, Danny Baronian

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Larry White
Posts: 1213
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 4:18 am

Transporting Glass...

Post by Larry White »

Aho-
For those of you that have attended out of town Letterhead meetings and have flown in, I was curious as to what would be the largest size glass panel that is comfortable to transport back with you?

If a preordered shipping container was made available for purchase ahead of time, would that aid in the transportation of your project?

I would prefer to do something on the "medium to large" side, I'm just not sure what the limits are.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Koobashaw,
WB
Patrick Mackle
Posts: 478
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Monrovia, Ca.
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Post by Patrick Mackle »

Larry,
I would be happy to share some crating knowledge. I have shipped acid etched panels valued at up to $6,000 a piece with confidence.
The key to sucessful shipping is not just how you pack the glass but how you position the crate and label the shipping warnings directly on the crate.

"If you can't dazzle 'um with brilliance, baffle 'um with BS".
Pat
Russ McMullin
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:57 am
Location: Tooele, UT
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Post by Russ McMullin »

My box was probably overkill, but it worked out great. I used 2x4s and 3/4" birch plywood for mine. Sheets of blue insulation foam worked great for the padding. The FRAGILE GLASS labels on the side must have aided in the handling, because it wasn't beat up at all when I got home. Each way on the round trip the box was waiting in baggage claim, in a separate area for specialized luggage. Delta allows the box to be 62 linear inches, which is the total of all the sides. If you go above that, or above 50 pounds there could be extra charges.

Danny Baronian's box was smaller than mine, and lighter, but built solid. I have no doubt it made it without incident. Dan Seese is the one that took it home. How did it travel Dan?

Kelly Thorson's box was smaller still, and even lighter. She had no problems either. If I needed a box that would stand heavy abuse, I'd go with my design. However, it seems the airlines tend to treat the boxes with care.
Kelly Thorson
Posts: 502
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:53 pm
Location: Penzance, SK Canada
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Post by Kelly Thorson »

Hi Larry,
My glass made it home safely. I was actually quite impressed, there were no chips or dings in the box that it was stored in. The airlines kept it separate from all the regular luggage which they seem to abuse hideously. The guidelines for checked luggage on the flight I was on were a max (W+H+L) of 62 total inches and a maximum weight of 70 lbs.
So you could have a box with outside dimensions of say 4"+24"+34". I did notice that there were some packages a lot bigger than that in the oversize and fragile pickup, but I have no idea what kind of charges apply.
My box was made of 3/4 plywood sides with 1/4 plywood back and front. I packed it with isulation foam and everything made it home fine. In all honesty, for those going through customs that have to pick up their luggage and recheck it I wouldn't want anything any bigger than that. Sometimes it is a long hike to where you have to recheck the luggage. I think the most important thing is to plaster it with fragile stickers.
I believe there is no shame in failure. Rather, the shame lies in the loss of all the things that might have been, but for the fear of failure.
Tony Segale
Posts: 702
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:20 am

Post by Tony Segale »

Koobasawshay.

We need a canoe.
and he took that golden hair and made a sweater for baby bear.
http://www.tonysegale.com
http://www.tonysegale.wordpress.com
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