Shipping a gun blank.....

[GANGGREEN]

I'm about to ship a blank to L&G Woodworking for an upcoming Chamber's kit and I'm unsure about the shipping. Does the USPS even have very long boxes that would accept the blank? If not, can I just write an address for L&G and a return for myself on the wood and expect it to get there without issue? How do they stick their stamp to the blank if I end up shipping that way? Just don't want any surprises with a really nice piece of curly maple.

 

[Col. Batguano]

You're talking about a 2 1/2" thick chunk of maple about 4" wide at the thinnest spot. Even a very well fed troop of gorillas would have a hard time breaking that. Why don't you make yourself a box out of scrap heavy cardboard. Tape it together. If you're still worried, cut a piece of plywood to tape along the barrel channel line.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Good thinking. I'll do just that.

 

[GANGGREEN]

I think this stock might be a humdinger.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Although, I like my second choice too.

 

[Alexander Efremenko]

In the past I haven't used a box. Tape a label on good,insure it. And it'll get there.

 

[Vaino]

Have shipped many blanks and just used a large ink pen to write the info on the wood...it all gets cut away....Fred

 

[sdilts]

I've never mailed one but I have received several that just had the address label taped to the stock.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I had the USPS break a full sized, 4" wide osage stave in half once, I still haven't figured that one out.

When I mailed my last stock blank to Fred Miller before he retired, the mail clerk lady took one look at it and shouted "IS THAT A GUN?" and got real nervous. I assured her is was only a block of wood but she still didn't like shipping it. I had written the address on the wood.

 

[Treestalker]

I had the USPS break a full sized, 4" wide osage stave in half once, I still haven't figured that one out.

When I mailed my last stock blank to Fred Miller before he retired, the mail clerk lady took one look at it and shouted "IS THAT A GUN?" and got real nervous. I assured her is was only a block of wood but she still didn't like shipping it. I had written the address on the wood.f

The postal service has people of all walks of life in their employ. Including gun haters. Your example illustrates the idiocy one sometimes encounters. I had a beautifully striped and finished curly maple Virginia gunstock sent to me from back east. It arrived broken in half at the entry thimble. The shoe print of the animal that stomped it was still clearly in evidence on the box, which was a Remington green box. Moral is, if the turds think it is a gun, they will try to destroy it. After all, who's going to catch them? NEVER give them a clue. Nothing like seeing a fine piece of art work ruined by a ******* who never has and never will have anything masterfully made, much less made by him/herself. And they do it to 'save the children.' Right. The guy didn't insure it, the P.O. said not our problem, there endeth the lesson.

 

[Rifleman1776]

As pointed out, the USPS has some very strange people working for them. My practice is to put guns in a stout cardboard container and use 'click and ship' to send. All done online, you do not have to reveal contents. My stuff gets picked up from my front porch. Fuggit using UPS. If they even think something is gun related they go into hissy fits. Very hard to deal with them.

 

[user 34300]

Ask L and G how they want you to ship it.

Insure it.

I speculate they will send it back in a plywood box like Jim Kibler uses. If I loved the blank I would make a box. They will need a box to send it back anyway. For the return trip a cardboard box is asking for trouble. I also do not trust USPS.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Remember the old American Tourister commercial with the suitcase in the gorilla cage? That's who works there.

 

[GANGGREEN]

I shipped it today. Built a box for it, but only a cardboard box. It will leave L&G and I presume it then gets shipped to Chambers, but I'm not sure. Hopefully L&G has done this enough to know how to protect the wood after it's been shaped and inletted.

 

[Col. Batguano]

It will certainly need more protection then than it does now. I presume they will be then shipping it to you with a barrel? Odds are about 99.9% they will tape the barrel in the barrel channel when they ship it, which will of course protect the forestock. The vulnerable area at that time will be the breech and wrist area, because the breach won't really be locked down the way it will be with a tang bolt through it. The pivot point will be the rearmost wrap of masking tape.

Shipping inletted stocks and barrels isn't. a new activity for Chambers. I would trust them to get it right. If you have any doubts, call them to ask and you will sleep much better.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Oh, I have absolute faith in the Chambers' to get everything to me in one piece.

 

[nhmoose]

When you use UPS they have a charge for non-standard shaped packages. Stick the label on the blank pay the charge. Make a cardboard rectangular box to hold it from scrap boxes using tape. that cost $.25 cents and save the extra charge. Be smarter than the service.

By the way a stain from using ink to do the address on the wood would get a non-acceptable package at the shop I owned.

 

[Bob McBride]

Here's how most guys ship them as said above. This is a nice hard and curly piece of Maple from Allen Martin.

 

[Vaino]

Through the years I've shipped more than 20 MLers and many blanks which had no packaging and have had excellent service w/ the USPS w/ one exception....took 12 days for a LR to make the trip from WI to TX. Otherwise, no damage to any of the packages or guns.

My Mlers have been shipped in TOW's cardboard shipping containers w/o any damage to the gun or the container.....I think the reason for zero damage is that the total weight of the packaged MLer is approx 10 lbs which contrasted to wooden shipping crates is much lighter and easier to handle. .....doesn't need a fork lift to handle .

The only precaution is that because the container is shipped on end, , extra blocking and padding is used on both ends of the gun.

Tried to ship a MLer through Fed EX and they refused because it was a "gun" and UPS is much more expensive......a large penalty is tacked on for the addt'l inch or 2 of length.

So.....my experience w/ USPS has been excellent in contrast to the complaints of others.....wonder why?.....Fred