Posted by Lee Stofer on December 05, 2002 at 07:39:58:
In Reply to: Shipping you tuba. posted by worn out dad on December 04, 2002 at 23:34:27:
W O D,
I can relate - I have 4 daughters!
If you have Amtrak available, that and Greyhound Package Express are the only two shipping services that have a 100% success rate with my company, and both are pretty inexpensive. If using either of these services, a hard case would be sufficient for protection.
If shipping by UPS, FedEx, etc., then it is safer NOT to ship it in a hard case. Use a sturdy box, and encase the instrument in those expanding foam pouches. If you put some foam down the bell, too, and make sure the bell rim is not touching the outside of the box, chances are that it will be perfectly safe. If you do not have access to the foam, then bubble wrap, styrofoam peanuts or other materials will do a pretty good job, but the box needs to be full to the extent that the horn can't move around.
I wish you safe shipping,
Lee "Shipped more tubas than I'd care to think about" Stofer