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I am about to send a guitar out for finishing. I have never done this before and I have some questions for those of you who have. First, I am only sending the body, I am going to finish the neck myself. Second, it is a custom shape and I do not have a case for it yet. What I have been thinking of for it is to build a wooden crate and firmly pack the body in the crate with fitted supports of the blue foam. It seems very shock absorbent. Do you think this will do it? I was thinking also of maybe a crate inside a crate to even further remove any shock points. The outside crate could be joined to the inner on the faces so a corner shock does not travel to the inner one. If anyone else has done something like this before I would love some guidance. Also, when shipping things like this in the winter, do you take any precautions against freezing weather? Thanks,

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

in a fitted case inside a cardboard box with about 2" of bubble wrap all the way around is the best way. If you don't have the case then you will need to at the least build a padded, fitted container of some sort. A wood crate is great but shipping will be high.

Burton, I believe Brock or Lance have shipped their guitars in a computer box. I think they even custom cut foam to fit the guitar for protection. This allowed the neck to be shipped off the guitar and a smaller box is cheaper than shipping a full guitar case and box to cover it. Maybe they will chime in soon. Also, Tony Ferguson swears by USPS instead of UPS and Fedex. He feels that there are much smaller item going by mail and less chance of larger items coming in contact with the more fragile guitar.

Burton I agree with the others and I have shipped to and from Tony many times.

Consider that the heavier and more massive the case/box the higher the likelihood that it will get damaged from it's own weight and mishandling.

Lance uses a stout computer box with a custom foam insert and the neck and body are shipped unattached and isolated from each other.

Also consider that some foam may contain release agents that may contain silicon.....  Combine this with sub-zero temps and RH of below 20% as well.  I would wrap/seal the guitar in plastic, pad with foam/bubble wrap, and try to use a carton that is stout but not heavy.  Personally I would avoid using a crate simply because most common carriers will use more benign schlepping methods on lighter, smaller, more carton like packages.  It will save you a few bucks too.

And Tony indeed likes USPS better then the others and I do too.  Remember to have a few before approaching the post office this time of year.....

Thanks guys, great advice. Come to think of it, I have never seen the USPS man throw something off of the truck like everyone else..... That's a good idea. I think cutting the foam to exact size is a must for the inside, I just have to figure out how much protection on the outside. Weight matters not so much for UPS but maybe the plywood crate is too much for the Post.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Hesh, we were typing at the same time. Plastic wrapped body, good idea. Thanks!

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.