The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

zenith82 wrote:One other idea. Since you said it's only a couple of states away, is making a second trip to transport the machine an option? Overall cost would probably be about the same, but you wouldn't have to deal with packing and the worry about "what if...".

Its only about 4.5 hrs away, BUT kids soccer games etc I am not sure when I can find 9 hrs to drive. Thats why I was thinking about shipping. I might be able to come up with something, if not oh well.

You're all very careful and pack cleverly. A heavy thing like a motor cannot be shipped if it's still attached to a motorboard which is less dense and protrudes by all sides! Any kick will ruin the most fragile parts because of the weight of the motor! It is the motor, if kicked, who breaks the other delicate parts to which it is attached. Same with delicate wide wooden cases.
Perhaps another way would be to remove the heavy parts (i e Sporting barrels) and ship them apart. And the horns apart of course. They are most delicate, and must be shipped never attached to a heavier thing that would break it in case of a kick.
Very very clever...

Inigo wrote:You're all very careful and pack cleverly. A heavy thing like a motor cannot be shipped if it's still attached to a motorboard which is less dense and protrudes by all sides! Any kick will ruin the most fragile parts because of the weight of the motor! It is the motor, if kicked, who breaks the other delicate parts to which it is attached. Same with delicate wide wooden cases.
Perhaps another way would be to remove the heavy parts (i e Sporting barrels) and ship them apart. And the horns apart of course. They are most delicate, and must be shipped never attached to a heavier thing that would break it in case of a kick.
Very very clever...

Originally these machines were shipped with sturdy wooden braces inside that would hold the motor in place and prevent damage to the motorboard from happening. I believe that was what Raphael uses when he ships. I do not believe a customer can be expected to properly reassemble a Triumph motor onto the motorboard, but they can be expected to remove shipping braces following proper instructions. Just leaving the motor installed without securing it in place is surely asking for disaster though

Andreas

Actually, when shipping an Opera, Triumph, etc., I will ask the customer if he is comfortable re-assembling the mechanism into the case. If not, then palletized freight is the only way to go.

With regard to a fork lift penetrating a shipment, I suppose it's possible, but I use double-wall boxes, doubled up, with styrofoam inside of all that, and if a fork lift driver hits the sides with his fork, it should be OK. I've never had one penetrated. I do build wood crates when necessary, but most of the time the cardboard boxes suffice and allow for physical separation of the goods, which then will not come into contact with each other in transit.

Problems that I have experienced in the past, even with palletized freight, include the driver in Belgium making the final delivery by dropping the pallet out of his truck rather than using the liftgate and pallet jack; a horn severely damaged (and reported here on the TMF in great detail) by a fork lift driver in NJ who raised the pallet too high and crashed it into the ceiling of the truck ( http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... se#p201387 ; and a customs official in China who decided that the pallets needed to be inspected on their bottoms and upended two expensive upright phonographs in crates. But these were rare, isolated incidents.

All that being said, there are no 100% guarantees. Even personal pickup/delivery has hazards of it's own. I'm driving a big load of stuff from Boston to Florida next month and 1400 miles of interstate driving always has a few close calls along the way.

Raphael

Yes, I agree palletized shipping is a good way to go, but have you ever watched the fork lift drivers work. The drive those things like crazy, charging at full speed toward a pallet, and if the fork doesn't drop down by the time they hit the pallet, there goes your phonograph cabinet. It doesn't matter if you have thick plywood protecting the cabinet, a fork lift tractor charging a 20 to 25 mph toward your crate will go through it like butter. I happened to me. Also, beside the shipping cost, you have to figure the packing cost. If you pack it yourself to save money, then ship with FedEx and there is a disaster, guess who Fed Ex is going to blame? So to be safe, have FedEx pack it if it is small enough to go FedEx. And yes, behind the scenes of all of the carriers, the workers will throw, drop, and toss your un-palletized packages!

There are no absolute guarantees; one must simply do the best to minimize the odds of damage. It has been over a year, with over 300 intervening shipments, since I’ve had any damage. And that includes glass-domed clocks valued up to $100k. Shipping antique clocks make phonographs look like child’s play.

Raphael