Shopsmith Forums

Can anyone recommend the best way to pack and ship the Shopsmith plus the joiner, belt sander, etc. across the country?

For starters, disassemble it and unless you are really familiar with putting it back together, take lots of photos so you remember how everything went. Also, put all the bolts/nuts back where you took them off so you remember where each one went.

Exactly what to pack it in will depend on how you are shipping/transporting it. I really you would pack it in 3-4 boxes/containers but I'd figure out what carrier and method of shipping you are going to use and then discuss with them. Freight is probably the most affordable way to go, in which case you could pack it in multiple boxes and stack them all on a single pallet.

For packing, I'd box the headstock in one box, either by itself or perhaps with some of the smaller stuff in with it as the box dictates. I'd recommend double-boxing it as it's heavy and relatively fragile. In a single box, it's prone to settling in transport, in which case it will end up against one side of the box and prone to damage if dropped or anything struck that box. Find a durable inner box that will fit it, wrap it in lots of bubble wrap (the kind with the big bubbles - they sell it by the box at U-Haul stores and this is a good place to find boxes as well). Resist the temptation to put any packing peanuts in the inner box - they have a bad habit of breaking into little pieces and finding their way into motors and such. Once the inner box is packed up, place it in an out box that has 2-4" of space all the way around the inner box - you can use peanuts in this one if you sealed up the inner box. For the rest of the stuff, wrap in bubble wrap and pack in boxes as needed. The jointer should probably be boxed up similar to the headstock - it's heavy and prone to settling, so double-boxing wise.

Lastly, before you seal each box, place a piece of paper inside each one with your contact info etc. in the hopefully unlikely case it gets separated from the rest.

Instead of putting the nuts, bolts and washers back in place for shipping, I put them in sealable plastic bags with a note as to how many there were and what they were for. I didn't mix any together: SS leg nuts and bolts were in 1 bag, Pro Planer leg nuts and bolts in another, etc. Not having them in place made it easier to pack the pieces.

You may want to contact Jacob Anderson in Virginia Beach and ask him if he can recommend a way to package the headstock. He has shipped a bunch of them and I am sure he has a list of what to do and not to do.
However, insurance is a MUST!!.
Bill V

I would worry about the jointer as much as the headstock because of its weight.

If you have the material (books) that came with your SS both the maintaince manual and I believe the Power tool woodworking book contain instructions for packing and shipping the SS. I personally kept the box my SS came it for that exact purpose.

One of the manuals show how to build wood crateing to ship the SS.

jfidler wrote:Can anyone recommend the best way to pack and ship the Shopsmith plus the joiner, belt sander, etc. across the country?

If you are in the San Diego area and need assistance, email me. I have shipped a few items.

Here's Shopsmiths' recommendation for shipping the MKV.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/productmanuals/MKVPacking_for_shipping.pdf

Mike

While I haven't shipped a complete machine, I have shipped bandsaws & jointers & from my experience, Fedex ground was the most reasonable when I did it.

Be careful with FedEx Ground. The driver kicked the box containing my Power Station out the side door as I stood watching in my garage. The heavy motor bounced around and caused about $100 in damage.

A PowerPro headstock being returned to me from Shopsmith somehow took a hit causing the idler shaft to be knocked into the headstock. The new idler shaft has two bearings in a split eccentric. The inner bearing was barely in the eccentric. I never noticed it as I didn't put the hubs back on. When I turned the PowerPro headstock back on, it vibrated so much, every look screw, handle or anything fell off. The Shopsmith with the wheels up started vibrating across the wood subfloor.

Shopsmith makes a plastic piece that attaches to the belt cover that does a great job of protecting both shafts.

Here are Shopsmith's packing instructions for the headstock:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/prod ... orShip.pdf