Packing a tuba for shipping (lots of pictures)

[Norm Pearson]

As I was packing my Mirafone Firebird to send to it's new owner it occurred to me that sooner or later most us have deal with shipping a tuba cross country and try to figure out how we can make it less susceptible to damage from the "shipping professionals". I have been lucky for the most part receiving instruments in good condition but on two occasions the tubas arrived damaged due to improper packing.

I also have to fess up: once I listened to bad advice from the FedEx counter guy and he did not add extra packing materials like he promised and the mouthpieces I sent were damaged (sorry Jay and Morris ).

The moral of the story, pack the box yourself, use the proper materials, and don't rush or take short cuts.

The tools you need are simple:

One Tuba


A large HEAVY cardboard shipping box. Steve Ferguson was kind enough to give me a factory Mirafone box (Also got to play some great tubas but that's for another post)


Bubble wrap: I bought a 125' roll 2' wide with the large bubbles


A tape gun and lots of tape ( clear tape and strapping tape)


A small beach ball to put in the bell. It cushions the bell and helps spread out the shock in case the box is dropped.


WARNING be careful that you don't knock over the tuba while wrapping it up
It may be wise to have a helper on hand.

1. Wrap the tuba in lots of bubble wrap and tape (did I mention to buy lots of tape), don't be stingy! I started at the bottom and made a cushion for the bottom bow.


2. Next Start wrapping the body


3. Insert the beach ball into the bell and start wrapping the bell


4. Keep on wrapping until the tuba looks like a mummy



The last picture shows the wrapped Firebird next to my Yamaha YFB822. There is a lot of bubble wrap on that tuba!

[Norm Pearson]

The box I used is from Mirafone but you should be able to buy a suitable box at a shipping store. Don't be stingy on a box that is holding a $$$$$ musical instrument. The box I used measures 48' X 22" 30"


5. Add a layer of packing peanuts to the bottom of the box approx 6" deep.


6. Put a piece of cardboard over the layer of peanuts. This helps to keep the tuba from working it's way to the side of the box. This was a great piece of advice I got from Steve Ferguson.


7. Lay the tuba in the box and put a piece of cardboard on each end. Pack some peanuts between the cardboard and the end of the box. This will also help keep the tuba in the middle of the box.


8. Fill the box to the top and push the peanuts all around the tuba. I used a very large bag. If you can find large air filled packing pillows buy them instead of the peanuts. Packing peanuts are a mess when you try to dispose of them. The pillows can be cut up with a utility knife and put into a recycle bin.


9. Tape the box with strapping tape.


I am not an expert but I thought that others would be able to learn from my experience. By all means if anyone sees something I overlooked or has a better idea, chime in.

Norm Pearson

[tubatom91]

When I recieved my tuba (from WWBW) it was inside of my hardcase (i know it is different). Around my tuba were strips of the air "pillows" they were squares about 6"x5" bubble wrap. I enjoyed the ease of disposal that these allowed rather than a million penuts. I got a Humes and Berg straight mute (aluminum) from Baltimore brass that had these pillows all around it and it was full (the mute) of penuts, those little things just kept coming out for a solid 5 minutes. It was humerous to say the least. Both the mute and tuba were shipped in double walled cardboard boxes, both faired very well. The only scary part was when I picked up my tuba at the freight depot. The tuba (in Box) was strapped to a pallet and had to be fork lifted into the bed of my truck, the operator missed the pallet on one side and the fork went under the box shaving the first layer of the double walled box off. No damage though luckily.

[Norm Pearson]

Around my tuba were strips of the air "pillows" they were squares about 6"x5" bubble wrap. I enjoyed the ease of disposal that these allowed rather than a million penuts.........it was full (the mute) of penuts, those little things just kept coming out for a solid 5 minutes. It was humerous to say the least.

I know what you mean. I prefer the pillows as well but I had trouble finding them close to home. The peanuts are a real mess, especially when you try to unpack a box outside on a windy day

Norm

[ztuba]

Hey Norm !!! I swear by that warm up routine you laid on me! What a difference!

Thanks!

[jimgray]

not to hijack the thread, but...

ztuba or Norm: care to elaborate on the warmup routine?

Great shipping advice, btw-

[joh_tuba]

Thanks for the ideas! I especially like the idea of using cardboard in the box as a buffer to prevent a horn from settling to one side.

My solution is to own a Walt Johnson case and have the case shipped back to me once the horn arrives. I always use the ball in the bell idea though. The one time I didn't bad things happened.

I've only ever used Amtrak or Greyhound for shipping tuba sized items. Always had good luck. I thought the conventional wisdom said you should stay away from UPS and FedEx for tubas.

Does this conventional wisdom still hold true? I once had a tuba shipped to me from BBC via DHL. That seemed to work out nicely but they packed it to resist a nuclear bomb too. MANY years ago Custom shipped me a PT6 in the cheap wood shell case via airline freight shipping. I think after 9/11 they stopped using that method because of changes in security rules. That method scared me to death. What an awful idea. Thankfully the horn was fine.

[tokuno]

The extra cardboard to prevent settling is a great tip. I'll do that in the future.
Couple other things I do:
1) My outermost layer on the horn (over the bubble-wrap) is a couple of large garbage bags, so the un-bubble-wrapping doesn't include static-y cling-on peanuts - those stay with the garbage bags, that are easily slipped off.
2) Call me paranoid, but I throw into the box a piece of paper with the destination name/address and my return address. I tape-over the outer shipping address label with clear packing tape to buffer it from scraping and water-staining, and I ship with sufficient insurance, but nevertheless, I feel better having the backup info inside the box.

Also, my last horn I lacked a large-enough box, so I over-lapped two smaller, more obtainable (but still large) boxes together. No problems with the result. I've since received two euphoniums packed and shipped by UPS that also used two taped-together boxes.

[tubatom91]

I forgot to mention this in my previous post, there was ONE packing peanut in the bottom of the box .

[Rick Denney]

I just received a tuba shipped to me by Jeff Rideout, and he used peanuts, but put them in ziplock plastic bags. That's the best way to use peanuts I've seen in a long time. No peanuts escaped into the home environment. The tuba itself was in a plastic bag, same as the manufacturers use. It's a lot better than the first tuba I had shipped from that store in Detroit, maybe 25 years ago, which was packed in straw in a wood crate.

But I have decided that just about the cheapest packing material and perhaps the best is new, rolled paper towel. I go to Costco and buy several of the big 18-packs. I leave the individual rolls in their plastic wrappers, which provide an air cushion as well as the paper cushion. The advantage of the paper cushion is that it damps shock beautifully.

They can be used in lieu of the beach ball, and you can achieve the double-boxed effect without the sheets of cardboard. I put the tuba in a plastic bag, and then tape the rolls to the outer branches to center the instrument in the carton. No need to fill every air space--the rolls won't leak into other parts of the box.

And there is no waste. Everyone can use a stock of paper towels.

Rick "who went this route when shipping a 20J after pricing bubble wrap" Denney

[MaryAnn]

I once received a tuba that was shipped bell-down, with no beach ball. You can imagine the result. I still don't know if the sender packed it that way or if the shipper put the label on upside down and it got shipped that way by accident. Either way...the packing should have taken that possibility into consideration, like the fine example shown in this thread.

MA

[tubamirum]

When I ship horns, I like to use hot glue to fasten the bottom inside flaps down so the peanuts don't get under and weaken the box. Also a couple of pieces of masking tape over the receiver keeps anything out of the leadpipe. Everything else said previously is very good.

[timdicarlo]

That exact same beach ball was in the bell of my Miraphone 184 when Ferguson Music shipped it to me. Is the pirate beach ball an industry standard for shipping tubas?

[Homerun]

*deleted reply that was meant for another forum. Guess I should only use one browser tab.*

[Norm Pearson]

Sorry about the missing pictures: my Photobucket account went away so I had to open a new one.

Feel free to add to this post if you have any better ideas on packing tubas for shipping.

Norm Pearson

[imperialbari]

Fine series of photos!

Also liked the repeated statement that not all libertarians are against all consequences of inflation.

Klaus

[roughrider]

Packing a tuba for shipment ( with huge thanks to Norm Pearson for his very informative tutorial on this subject;
1. Using strapping tape with string embedded in it, tape every seam on the outside of the box.
2. Using recycled cardboard of the correct dimensions, cut slits in several pieces and create a grid with nine empty spaces and place it on the bottom of the box.
3. Using strapping tape, tape every edge of the grid to either the floor or side walls of the box.
4. Take nine plastic shopping bags and fill them with plastic peanuts.
5. Place one bag in each of the empty space in the grid at the bottom of the box.
6. Using a piece of recycled cardboard cut to the proper width and length, place this on top of the bags of plastic peanuts.
7. Using bubble wrap and tape, make a u shaped cushion to fit over, under, and around the bottom bow of the horn.
8. Place an inflated beach ball in the bell of the horn.
9. Wrap the ball securely with bubble wrap and tape to the horn.
10. Starting at the bottom of the horn and moving to and including the top, mummify the horn in bubble wrap.
11. Place the horn on its side inside the box.
12.Using Jumbo paper towels, fill every available space. Especially at both ends of the box. When done the horn will be under at least two layers of towels.
13. Seal the box using strapping tape.
14. Address correctly including phone numbers.
15. Transport to Greyhound
16. Have a really big drink, you"ll need it!

[TubadudeCA]

About how much does all of this total out to? Seriously considering doing this SOON. I'm having Kaiser Tuba Withdrawals

[roughrider]

In response to your question, I priced it out and came up with the figure of $110.00 CAD. The two most expensive items were the bubble wrap and the paper towels. Of course, I overbought on both items so that I would not run out and have to make another trip. The paper towels were easy, Walmart to the rescue. I had a heck of a time finding bubble wrap. I ended up having to go to a store which does "industrial shipping" and of course had to buy the entire roll at $38.00. Once my horn returns from Ontario, I will take the tuba out and reseal the box and put it in a storage locker I have. That way if I have to ship another tuba all of the hard work will be done already. Also, we filled the box with the paper towels because dealing with the peanuts would have been a hassle. To each their own, you may find the peanuts easier to use and quite a bit cheaper.

[Bruce R. Roberts]

Norm, way back in 2002 you blogged about a 188 Mirifone, serial 10345. Well, own it. The horn now resides in Nanaimo BC Canada which is on Vancouver Island. I like the horn but have recently purchased a Meinl Weston and prefer it for its big, deep sound. Only problem is noisy valves.

Just thought you would be interested in where your old horn ended up.

Bruce Roberts